In her new digital single “ZOOM,” Jessi raps about people’s preoccupations with pictures, especially ones posted on social media. But hey, as long as we’re stuck obsessing over taking photos wherever we go, we might as well be “feelin’ like a million bucks!” Jessi sings.

Jessi is known for her confidence and savviness, and she’s been showing it off for the past 17 years with hits like “Life Is Good” (2009), “Nunu Nana” (2020) and “Cold Blooded” (2021).

On April 13, during an online press conference for her new song, Jessi said it’s “a song that was completed in almost two days” and that it “makes the listener feel good.”

Different from her previous songs, like “Ssenunni” (2015) and “What Type of X” (2021), “ZOOM” puts Jessi's tough and sexy image aside and brings out the singer's more fun, energetic side.

“This song can seem cuter than my other songs, because it isn’t as fierce as them,” Jessi said.

The music video, which topped over 6 million views in less than a week after dropping on YouTube, features the dance crew Lachica. Consisting of three original members Gabee, Rian and Simeez, the team competed in Mnet’s hit dance show “Street Woman Fighter” (2021) and came in third place.

Lachica took the helm of creating the choreography for “ZOOM.”

“This song screams out Lachica. I just knew it,” Jessi said. “I was worried whether I could work with Lachica because I know how busy they are, but they sent me the draft right away. I loved it instantly. Lachica usually has a sexy image, but this choreography is powerful yet cute at the same time.”

When asked what her favorite dance move in the choreography was, Jessi said that she particularly liked the “zoom in, zoom out” part, where she emphasizes her face with her fingers.

It’s just one of the many choreography pieces that Jessi’s songs are popular for, while also being catchy and easy to remember. Her song “Nunu Nana” went viral on social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok for its dance challenge. The music video for that song has been viewed over 169 million times and is considered to be one of Jessi’s best songs.

“It’s so cool. I’m grateful for all the love. It makes me focus on the little details, all of them,” Jessi said of “Nunu Nana” receiving so many views.

“This music video [for 'ZOOM'] has so many different points, that I feel like everyone will have divided opinions on which parts they like best.”

On Jessi’s TikTok channel, she posted a series of short clips that feature her co-stars in tvN’s television variety show “Sixth Sense” (2020-). The program stars entertainer Yu Jae-seok, actors Oh Na-ra, Lee Sang-yeob and Jeon So-min, singer Mijoo (former member of now-disbanded girl group Lovelyz) and Jessi.

The stars all dance to “ZOOM” in a show of their friendship that Jessi said she is always “thankful for.”

Jessi was born in New York, but came to Korea in 2003 to pursue her music career. She released the EP "Get Up" in 2005 and continued to drop music as a solo artist and also worked with hip-hop groups Uptown and Lucky J. However, she never found great success and took a break from 2009 to 2014 and returned to the United States.

Her major breakthrough is considered to be when she returned to Korea in 2015, not with new music but to compete with other female rappers in Mnet's hip-hop competition show "Unpretty Rapstar" in 2015.

Her music style has long been mainly hip-hop and anything that accentuates her sexiness.

However, Jessi has presented a much more straightforward and down-to-earth image through her frequent appearances on popular variety shows like SBS’s “Running Man” (2010-) and MBC’s “Hangout with Yoo” (2019-). On YouTube, she has her own talk show called “Jessi’s Showterview” (2020-), also uploaded to SBS’s channel, where she interviews celebrities or influencers currently the talk of the town.

Jessi (Ho Jessicah Hyun joo)


Date of birth: Dec. 17, 1988
Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York
Debut: December 2005 with the EP “Get Up”
Agency: P Nation

Jessi debuted as a solo singer in December 2005 with the EP “Get Up.” Initially she was known as Jessica H.O, but she changed her stage name to Jessi. She was briefly a member of the hip-hop group Uptown in 2006 but officially became a member of hip-hop trio Lucky J from 2014 to 2016. The group released three songs: “Can You Hear Me?” (2014), “Pitiful” (2014) and “No Love” (2016). Jessi has been very open about how she struggled with her music career in the past, taking an extensive hiatus from 2009 to 2014 until her appearance in Mnet’s highly-successful rap competition show “Unpretty Rapstar” in 2015, in which she finished in second place, which many considered to be her breakthrough. Her hit songs as a solo artist include “Life Is Good” (2009), “Nunu Nana” (2020) and “Cold Blooded” (2021).

This information was confirmed by P Nation on April 16, 2022.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]