Maps of Music

Rain 2 (2003)

Where the lyrics of Rain 2 take you, and where it was really made.

The album was released under two titles, and its Korean title is also the name of its lead single.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Rain 2 is the second Korean-language studio album by South Korean recording artist Rain
Also titled How to Avoid the Sun; Korean title 태양을 피하는 방법
Released 16 October 2003 through JYP Entertainment
R&B and pop album
Primarily written and produced by JYP founder Park Jin-young and Bang Si-hyuk, with several other contributors
Two singles: the title track and "You Already Knew"
Also referred to as How to Run From the Sun

The title track concerns a person who still harbors feelings for a previous lover
The sun serves as a metaphor for being unable to stop thinking about that person
The lyrics and music video show the sun as omnipresent, impossible to avoid even underground or covered by a palm
At release, the title track existed in two versions: the radio mix credited as the guitar remix, and the original version
Promoted on Music Camp (former version of Show! Music Core) and Music Bank from October 2003 to January 2004

Jung Ji-hoon, born June 25, 1982 in Seosan, South Korea, performs under the stage name Rain (Korean: 비).
Recruited as a trainee by JYP Entertainment in December 2000 after being repeatedly rejected at auditions.
Debuted as a member of the boy band Fanclub at age 16; the group was not commercially successful.
Debuted as a solo singer on May 13, 2002 with the album Bad Guy.

Breakthrough with the third Korean album It's Raining (2004), which spawned the number one single of the same name and sold over a million copies across Asia.
Released the Japanese album Eternal Rain (2006) and the Korean album Rain's World (2006).
Held the Rainy Day Tour and Rain's Coming World Tour, including a sold-out concert at The Theater at Madison Square Garden and the first Korean artist concert at the Tokyo Dome in 2007.
Named to Time's 100 most influential people list in 2006 and 2011.
Acted in Full House (2004), Speed Racer (2008) and Ninja Assassin (2009), becoming the first Korean to win an MTV Movie Award.
Revived his music career in 2020 with the viral song Gang and the trio SSAK3.

The first single put Rain on the map in Korea, going to number one on the charts

In 2021, Melon and the newspaper Seoul Shinmun ranked the title track at number 62 on their list of the top 100 K-pop songs of all time
Critic Jung Min-jae praised Rain's emotional performance on the song
Jung Min-jae wrote that this work solidified Rain's career as a singer

The album is also titled How to Avoid the Sun, the same name as its lead single.
The music video for the title track was shot in Seoul, showing Rain running from the sun around the city.
In 2007, Stephen Colbert parodied the title track's music video on the Colbert Report, singing in Korean and copying scenes such as running from the sun.
The Colbert parody was made in response to Rain topping Colbert in Time's open online poll.
Rain also performed the title track on Yoon Do-hyun's Love Letter on November 21, at the 2003 Mnet Music Video Festival on November 27, and at the 24th Blue Dragon Film Awards on December 11.