There has been an influx of new Clouds and new Rain fans, and Rain has mentioned working on new music. Don’t know if he is or not, but now is a great time to go all the way back and get folks up to speed on his albums, from 1998 to 2017!
My fourth installment of this series celebrates the time when 22-year-old Rain dropped his third album in October 2004, Vol. 3 It’s Raining, and became known as the real deal and not a manufactured idol. You see, even though his first two albums made him very popular, some people and the media still saw him as only Park JinYoung’s protégé, yet another product of JYPE. It’s Raining put a stop to that real quick and Rain was seen as a bona fide star, a unique talent in his own right. His road to ending up an icon well and truly took off.
Korean album images credit: jessloveblues ↓ ↓
Also that year, TV drama Full House (with Song HyeKyo) premiered in 11 Asian countries plus Australia and India, and made him a household name and the originator of the Korean Wave that rolled over Asia. The drama was so popular, its ratings were as high at 52% and it spawned a massive fan base. Everyone would stop what they were doing wherever they were and watch this show!
In Korea, there are singers who act, and actors who sing. Rain is one of a rare few who is considered an actor and a singer equally by the Korean people. AND he had his very first live concert (RAINY DAY) three months after album It’s Raining dropped.
The song “It’s Raining” is still celebrated by the industry, journalists, and music aficionados today. I expect it always will be. 🙂 — Stephe ^@@^
Fan cam, 2019. “It’s Raining” at the Z_Pop Dream Live Concert in Seoul, this past February 2019. He’s still got it!! ^@@^ (Credit: mang2goon)
