JAY Kim Jinhwan in an official teaser portrait for his 2025 album 207.

JAY (Kim Jinhwan)

Status: Active iKON member and solo artistYears active: iKON 2015-present; solo 2023-present

StatusCurrent member

Years2015–present

JAY is Kim Jinhwan (김진환), an iKON vocalist, dancer, songwriter, musical actor, and solo artist from Jeju. He spent years in YG Entertainment’s trainee system, survived two televised lineup competitions, debuted as iKON’s oldest member in 2015, and finally released his first solo record in 2023. His individual work did not replace the group biography. It added another room to the same house.

Quick File

Stage name: JAY (formerly promoted as Jinhwan)
Birth name: Kim Jinhwan (김진환)
Born: February 7, 1994
Birthplace: Jeju, South Korea
Occupations: Singer, dancer, songwriter, musical actor
Group: iKON
Group roles: Vocalist and dancer; the oldest member
Active: 2015 to present as a recording artist
Current company: 143 Entertainment for iKON activities
Solo debut: BLUE MOON, July 18, 2023

From Jeju to YG’s Team B

Kim Jinhwan was born on Jeju Island on February 7, 1994. He entered YG Entertainment as a trainee in January 2011. That date matters because the public did not meet a brand-new trainee when he appeared on television. He had already spent more than two years training before WIN: Who Is Next began airing in 2013.

Jinhwan competed as part of Team B with B.I, Bobby, Yunhyeong, Ju-ne, and Donghyuk. Team B lost to Team A, which debuted as WINNER. Losing the program did not dissolve the team, but it did leave the members waiting while viewers already knew their faces and abilities.

YG put the lineup through a second survival program, MIX & MATCH, in 2014. Jinhwan, B.I, and Bobby were confirmed as iKON members before the remaining places were decided. Yunhyeong, Ju-ne, Donghyuk, and Chanwoo completed the seven-member debut lineup. The process is part of Jinhwan’s career record, not a cute pre-debut anecdote. He trained, lost one program, returned for another, and had to perform while the future membership of his team was being decided in public.

iKON: Debut, Voice, and Performance

iKON released the warm-up single “My Type” on September 15, 2015, followed by the first half of Welcome Back on October 1. The group built its early identity around hip-hop, direct choruses, and members who could make large stages feel rowdy without losing the song.

Jinhwan’s part of that sound is easy to undersell if a profile stops at “main vocalist.” His voice is light, flexible, and recognizable beside the group’s heavier rap tones and rougher vocal colors. On stage, he does not wait for a high note to prove he belongs at the center. His control shows in transitions, footwork, and the way he keeps singing while the choreography is moving hardest.

He also became one of the members who could carry emotional material without making it feel disconnected from iKON’s louder catalog. Songs such as “Apology,” “Goodbye Road,” and “Why Why Why” need singers who can sound exposed without losing the group’s plainspoken delivery. That is where his tone earns its place.

iKON’s biggest commercial period included “Love Scenario” in 2018, a song that became bigger than its original promotion cycle and won Song of the Year at the 2018 Melon Music Awards. The success belongs to the group, but it also changed the scale of the stages, touring, and public expectations surrounding every member.

Lineup Change and a New Company

B.I left iKON and YG Entertainment in June 2019. The remaining six members continued, releasing I DECIDE in 2020, “Why Why Why” in 2021, and FLASHBACK in 2022. They also competed on Mnet’s Kingdom: Legendary War in 2021. That period forced the group to redistribute musical and performance responsibilities after losing its leader and a central producer.

All six members left YG Entertainment after their contracts expired at the end of 2022. They signed with 143 Entertainment as a group in January 2023 and kept the iKON name. The move was not a disbandment. iKON released TAKE OFF in May 2023 and toured under the new company.

Songwriting and Creative Credits

JAY’s public image is built around vocals and dance, but his credits are not limited to performance. He is credited as a co-composer on iKON’s “Dragon,” released on FLASHBACK in 2022. His solo work expanded the writing record further.

The useful distinction is that JAY does not present himself as the sole architect of every song bearing his name. His releases list teams of lyricists, composers, and arrangers. That is normal pop production, and the credits should stay visible. It also makes his own credited contributions easier to identify instead of burying them under a vague “self-produced artist” label.

Solo Debut: BLUE MOON

JAY began his official solo rollout with “Paradise” on June 21, 2023. The song arrived before the five-track EP BLUE MOON, released July 18. The record gave him a smaller, more intimate frame than an iKON title track. It leaned into his voice, adult styling, and controlled performance instead of trying to rebuild the group around one member.

BLUE MOON was released immediately before his military-service break. That timing turned the EP into both a solo introduction and a temporary goodbye. He began alternative service on July 20, 2023. The release did not receive a long promotion cycle, but it established a solo catalog he could return to after completing his duty.

Military Service and the 207 Return

JAY completed his alternative service before resuming public schedules in 2025. His first full solo-album cycle began with the prerelease “We Can’t Explain” on July 24, followed by 207 and the title track “OBEY” on July 31. The album title points to his February 7 birthday.

“We Can’t Explain” put choreography at the front of the comeback without treating the vocal as background. The performance works because he moves like a singer who understands dance phrasing, not a dancer lip-syncing around difficult sections. CVM Sekai’s full React is here: “We Can’t Explain”: JAY Came Back With a Question His Body Already Answered.

“OBEY” gave the album a firmer title-track statement. Taken together, the two songs showed the range he was claiming after service: restrained tension on one side, direct command on the other. The album also moved him beyond the five-song introduction of BLUE MOON and into a fuller solo set that could support touring.

Stage Work and Touring

JAY’s résumé includes musical-theater work as well as idol concerts and televised competition stages. The crossover makes sense. His strengths are live control, movement, and expression that remains legible from farther than a music-video close-up.

After 207, he took the album into solo concerts and Japan tour dates. The live format let him place iKON history beside his own releases without pretending those catalogs belong to different people. A 2026 Seoul finale continued the 207 concert chapter, while iKON also prepared group touring activity. Solo work and group work were running beside each other, which is exactly why two separate biographies would be useless.

Solo Discography

Extended play

BLUE MOON (July 18, 2023), five tracks. Preceded by “Paradise.”

Studio album

207 (July 31, 2025). Preceded by “We Can’t Explain” and led by “OBEY.”

This list covers JAY’s primary Korean solo releases. His full group catalog remains part of iKON’s discography rather than being duplicated here track by track.

Selected iKON Milestones

2013: Competed as Team B on WIN: Who Is Next.
2014: Confirmed for iKON through MIX & MATCH.
2015: Debuted with iKON and Welcome Back.
2018: “Love Scenario” became iKON’s defining public hit and won major year-end awards.
2019: Continued as part of the six-member lineup after B.I’s departure.
2021: Competed with iKON on Kingdom: Legendary War.
2022: Received a co-composition credit on “Dragon” from FLASHBACK.
2023: Moved with iKON to 143 Entertainment, released TAKE OFF, and made his solo debut.
2025: Returned from alternative service with 207.

What to Listen For

Start with the contrast. In iKON, JAY’s voice often cuts through a crowded arrangement and gives the rappers a different surface to hit. In his solo work, there is more room around that same voice, so breath, restraint, and timing become easier to hear.

Watch his feet during a live stage, then check whether the vocal line stays stable. That combination is the job. He is not the member doing the largest gesture in every second, and he does not need to be. His best performances look settled because the years of training are doing quiet work underneath them.

Zodiac side quest, for fun only

This is fandom entertainment, not evidence about his real personality. Jinhwan’s February 7 birthday makes him an Aquarius in Western astrology. Because Lunar New Year began on February 10 in 1994, he was born at the very end of the Water Rooster year rather than the Wood Dog year that began three days later.

The playful Aquarius reading fits the performer who can look reserved offstage and then become the emotional anchor of a group performance. Water Rooster symbolism adds preparation, precision, and pride in presentation. Put them together and the fandom version is a compact vocalist who notices every stage detail, keeps the team steady, and refuses to let height decide how much space he can command.

FOUREVER world tour and the 2026 group return

Jinhwan’s post-service return expanded from the 2025 solo album 207 into active iKON work. In 2026, iKON announced the FOUREVER world tour, opening at Seoul’s Jangchung Arena on May 16 and 17 before continuing through international stops. The tour places Jinhwan and Bobby at the front of a group chapter shaped by staggered military schedules, solo careers, and a fanbase that continued to treat iKON as active.

This matters for directory status. Military service paused Jinhwan’s personal activities, but it did not make him a former iKON member. His return to concerts and group touring is direct evidence that the correct visible label remains Current member · 2015–present.

August 2026 status checkpoint

As of August 12, 2026, JAY remains a current member of iKON and an active solo artist. His profile records 207, the “We Can’t Explain” performance material, musical work, and the FOUREVER tour without folding his solo catalog into iKON’s discography.

Kim Jinhwan is indexed here as JAY (Kim Jinhwan) because several K-pop performers use Jay as a stage name. The full-name label prevents his card from colliding with Jay of ENHYPEN or Jay of ASC2NT, while alternate-name text preserves search access.

YouTube tracking history

This tracker follows JAY’s official solo music video and refreshes daily and total YouTube views.

Official Socials

143 Entertainment official iKON profile
iKON official YouTube
JAY official BLUE MOON catalog

Sources

Tagged Current Member, Group Member, iKON, Jay, K-pop, Kim Jinhwan, Person Profile, Solo Artist