Jay Chang
Jay Steven Kapossy survived two idol competitions without receiving the neat debut ending television usually promises, then built three overlapping careers anyway: ONE PACT main vocalist, B.D.U project-group vocalist and a solo singer-songwriter with rock and R&B instincts too large for one filing cabinet.
New Jersey, family music and the long route into K-pop
Jay grew up in New Jersey in a musical household. His father performed in a band, a family history that later helped shape the title and late-night-band atmosphere of Jay’s first EP. He learned to sing in English before Korean television ever placed a ranking beside his name, and he developed enough interest in instruments to make drums and guitar part of his public musician file rather than decorative profile trivia.
His first Korean release was “Is You” in November 2020. “Liar” followed in 2022. Neither arrived with the machine of a major-company debut, but they document an artist learning how his voice behaves on record before the larger audience from Boys Planet found him. That chronology matters. Jay did not materialize fully trained when a survival show discovered an unusually recognizable belt.
Under Nineteen, Boys Planet and finishing one chair short
Jay appeared on MBC’s Under Nineteen in 2018. The show introduced him to the brutal arithmetic of idol television: individual skill, editing, popularity and team results are related but never identical. He did not reach the final debut group, and the industry moved on faster than the contestants could.
He returned to the format on Mnet’s Boys Planet in 2023. Jay’s performances made his high notes and soulful tone impossible to ignore. He reached the live finale and placed tenth, one position outside ZEROBASEONE’s nine-member lineup. “Almost” can become a permanent identity in K-pop, especially when fans spend months watching a contestant move through rankings. Jay refused to let tenth place become the end of the sentence.
The program also created the network that fed into ONE PACT. Jongwoo, Seongmin, TAG and Yedam had their own survival-show histories. Their group did not pretend television competition had been a cute pre-debut camp. It turned five unfinished stories into a working team.
Late Night, Neighborhood and a solo catalog with his fingerprints on it
Jay released the six-track EP Late Night on October 17, 2023. Double title tracks “Rockstar” and “I’ll Be There” showed the range he wanted attached to his name: funk-rock confidence on one side and a warmer band song on the other. “Up to You,” “Sunlight,” “I’ll Be There” and the album’s production let him sing full choruses instead of waiting for one survival-show climax.
Neighborhood followed in November 2024. “LaSalle Ave” turns childhood geography and family memory into a song about the place that formed him. “What You Need,” featuring ONE PACT’s TAG, connects his solo and group worlds without inventing a new collaboration unit. Jay participated in writing across the project, and the result sounds less like a company guessing which concept fits him and more like a singer protecting the details that make the songs personal.
The rock single “Runaway” arrived in December 2025, co-written by Jay, followed by “FEEL” and “HIGHER” in 2026. That run clarified the solo direction FM Entertainment had previewed: live-band energy, R&B phrasing and songs that use the grain in Jay’s voice instead of polishing every edge flat.
ONE PACT and the main-vocalist job
ONE PACT debuted on November 30, 2023 with Moment. The name combines “one” and “impact,” while the members’ real advantage is that they arrive with distinct creative jobs. TAG is central to much of the group’s production. Jay is the voice producers can use when a chorus needs height, grit or a clean emotional landing.
His schedule has not allowed a perfectly continuous group presence. B.D.U commitments kept him out of ONE PACT’s 2024 PARADOXX promotions. That absence produced understandable worry, but it did not automatically remove him from ONE PACT. He returned to later activity while balancing separate contracts, releases and tours. Profiles should describe the scheduling conflict accurately instead of upgrading every missed comeback into a secret departure.
ONE PACT’s catalog continued through fallIn’, Pink Crush, One Fact and 2026 releases. Jay’s solo version of “180928~” is a useful example of how the group makes room for individual color without treating the member as a guest on his own record.
Build Up, B.D.U and the prize that created another calendar
Jay entered Mnet’s Build Up: Vocal Boy Group Survival in 2024 as a known idol still willing to be judged from the beginning. His team with Bitsaeon, Seunghun and Kim Minseo won the program. The result created B.D.U, a project vocal group managed separately from ONE PACT.
B.D.U debuted with Wishpool in June 2024 and toured internationally. The project gave Jay a format built around vocals rather than choreography-first idol music, but its two-year operating period also collided directly with ONE PACT. Winning the show was both an opportunity and the reason he missed a group comeback. K-pop success occasionally arrives carrying its own scheduling problem.
Voice, instruments and the difference between loud and uncontrolled
Jay’s tone is bright at the center with a rasp he can introduce for urgency. His belts attract the clips, but the more useful skill is control across styles. He can pull a line toward rock, soften it into R&B or keep a pop chorus clean enough for several voices to stack around him. The best performances do not sound like he is waiting for permission to sing the highest note in the room.
He plays drums and guitar, writes lyrics and participates in composition. Those skills help explain why his solo music leans toward band arrangements. He hears the rhythm as a player, not only as a vocalist counting choreography. His English fluency also makes him an easy bridge during international schedules, though translation labor should not become the main-vocalist’s unofficial permanent position.
Discography and selected credits
| Year | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | “Is You” | Early solo single released before his major survival-show recognition. |
| 2022 | “Liar” | Solo single and music video. |
| 2023 | Late Night | First EP, led by “Rockstar” and “I’ll Be There.” |
| 2023 | ONE PACT Moment | Group debut EP. |
| 2024 | B.D.U Wishpool | Project vocal-group debut after winning Build Up. |
| 2024 | Neighborhood | Second solo EP, including “LaSalle Ave” and “What You Need” featuring TAG. |
| 2025 | “Runaway” | Rock-oriented digital single co-written by Jay. |
| 2026 | “FEEL” and “HIGHER” | Digital singles continuing his band and R&B direction. |
Jay Chang on CVM Sekai
Read the “YES, NO, MAYBE” RaeRae Reacts
Read the B.D.U schedule-collision report with receipts
YouTube tracking history
2024LaSalle AveOfficial music video · NeighborhoodDaily+26Total views132.3K
2024What You NeedOfficial music video · featuring TAGDaily+13Total views129.3K
2025RunawayOfficial video · co-written by Jay ChangDaily+15Total views43.7K
2026FEELOfficial music videoDaily+31Total views68.6K
2026HIGHEROfficial music videoDaily+88Total views183.4K