eaJ Geeks out on Manga, Spirituality, and YouTube Singing Tutorials
eaJ is all about getting into that flow state when it's time to cook up stellar tunes.
by JV Ordoñez
Published on Nov 24, 2025
Korean American singer and an overall chill individual, Jae Park, or better known as eaJ, is a self-proclaimed music and manga nerd and a spiritual songwriter through and through.
Esquire Philippines got to sit down and catch up with the artist fresh off his second solo Manila show held at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
"I would say probably like 75 percent of my hooks are written usually in the shower or on the walk to my car of the day," he told us, speaking on how he comes up with his infectious alternative pop lines.
Serendipity is a perennial driving force in a musician's creative process, and eaJ is not an exception to that phenomenon.
"When you're writing and you're in your flow state, you subconsciously write about things that you have been thinking about inside but not consciously thinking about," he adds.
The Korean performer noted that he usually gets epiphanies about his songs even after release day or after he finishes writing them.
Before our conversation with eaJ, we swung by his show at the music hall and got to see eaJ's chops as a vocalist and even something spiritual in the process. Right after he sang one of his crowd-favorite tracks, "When the Rain Stops," he broke into the Lord's Prayer for a tableau of an intersection between faith and music.
"It's funny how music does that and how when you're writing and you're in your flow state, you subconsciously write about things that you have been thinking about inside but not consciously thinking about," he tells us.
He had released a snippet of a song he put out that goes "I got used to the dark, but then you turned on the light. You put your hand on my heart and you brought me back, and you brought me back to life."
In hindsight, eaJ realized that the line he wrote started out as a soliloquy that eventually morphed into a conversation that he had with God.
eaj Park and his band in Manila
The YouTube singing route, discovering new jams
If you scan through eaJ's catalogue, his style covers an array of soundscapes and genres.
The Manila show setlist didn't fall short in showcasing the singer's versatility in tracks such as Hip-Hop-centric "enemy," the metal guitar work in "Red," and the boisterous alternative rock stylings in "burn." Another crowd favorite is the ballad "pacman," which eaJ surprisingly tells us is one of the tougher songs to perform vocally.
His discography sort of demands that he make full use of his vocal range to deliver on the vision set out for each and every track he puts out.
"I think the softer songs are harder because, vocal training-wise, I've gotten a ton. But I don't think I've learned too much or absorbed too much from those lessons," he recounts. "I've gotten so many lessons in my life, but it's just like scales—not really like I didn't really learn how to sing."
The singer went the unconventional way of upgrading his pipes: YouTube tutorials.
"I still don't feel like I'm too good—but the development of me, the most development I've had is right after I left K-pop until now," eaJ reflects, citing his departure from K-pop group Day6. "I kind of just watch YouTube videos and do shows, and every time I do a show, I'll listen back to it, figure out what I did wrong. YouTube has been really helpful."
eaJ also sang praises for alternative music savants and juggernauts Michael Todd "Mk.gee" and Dijon. Being a guitarist himself, it was only natural for the artist to be enamored by the otherworldly tones from Mk.gee, who has been making waves in the industry with his frequent collaborations with the aforementioned Dijon, and even with the likes of Bon Iver and Justin Bieber.
"I just think it's so interesting, and if I ever get to meet him, I think I would ask him the question of how you engineer a sound and why dynamics are so important," he tells us. "He has to really pluck hard at a string for you to hear the full tone, and when he's playing regularly, it's just like a pad."
This has been a prolific year for the Dijon and Mk.gee duo, with new albums and production/writing credits on stellar albums like Bon Iver's. Think of the sounds of arpeggiated guitar plucking and raspy vocal goodness. This is the package you get when you listen to a Mk.gee record. Dijon, on the other hand, just takes you on an emotional rollercoaster with his earnest songwriting, glitchy production, and passionate vocal performances. which are second-to-none.
eaJ geeked out on his love for Dijon's Absolutely record and its corresponding live film that features a young Mk.gee.
"I will say this: I don't think I understand his newest album yet, though," the singer says, referring to Dijon's latest album, Baby, which he released earlier this year.
"All my producer friends love it, and they're like, 'This is so good,' I think I'm just not musically inclined enough to understand it yet. But maybe, because I feel like even Absolutely took me a few months to digest and really love."
How Manga Shaped eaJ's Tunes
eaJ also shared his obsession with Japanese comics or manga as a major influence on his work and his life in the long run.
The heart-wrenching manga Your Lie in April was probably the most impactful work on his life, even having the line "arigatou" tattooed on his arm in reference to a tear-jerker of a scene from the series.
"That one—it wasn't even the musical aspect of it for me. The thing that hit the hardest was the scene where he remembers her and she's looking back and she's saying thank you," eaj recounts.
It' no wonder the singer's tunes evoke so much vulnerability and honesty, considering his penchant for using music as a medium for his own struggles and the cathartic themes often found in Japanese stories.
Collabs with Filipino artists
eaJ has already collaborated with surging Filipino music acts such as the P-Pop girl group sensation BINI and, more recently, Filipino-Canadian Mico.
One local artist he's crazy about? Maki. The Filipino singer recently released his debut full-length pop album Kolorkoaster, which eaJ is a huge fan of.
"There's just so many dope artists all around the world that I really want to collaborate with. But Maki is definitely one too," he says. "I just did a cover of his song ("kahel na langit") and we've been friendly. We've been talking—he's just a nice guy. I listened to his album and he just had his first sold-out show, which is fire. I think everyone's proud of him."