東方神起 A SPECIAL J!-ENT FEATURE ARTICLE & INTERVIEW tohoshinki DBSK TVXQ BY DENNIS A. AMITH, MICHELLE TYMON & NUR LINA IMAGES COURTESY OF AVEX ENTERTAINMENT, INC. J!-ENT Celebrating our 15th Year Anniversary
contents TRF OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.avexnet.or.jp/ trf/ NANA PREMIUM LIVE PHOTOS by MASAYUKI NODA IMAGES COURTESY OF AVEX ENTERTAINMENT, INC. 4 TVXQ 2004-Present A special look at the debut, history and accomplishments by TVXQ from 2004-present. 8 Tohoshinki 26 The Profile Get to know each member of Tohoshinki. J!-ENT Interview J!-ENT interviews Tohoshinki. previous interviews Visit www.j-entonline.com for the following interviews and articles currently available on J!-ENT. Click on a cover to access a previous article/interview. A J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE ANNA TSUCHIYA BY WYNNE IP, HIROSHI TAGAWA, MISTY CREECH and DENNIS A. AMITH OPENING BIO by DAVID HICKEY (COURTESY OF AVEX ENTERTAINMENT, INC.) ANNA TSUCHIYA OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www. anna-t.com ANNA TSUCHIYA ON itunes - CLICK HERE J! - E N T TRF A SPECIAL J!-ENT 15TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE A J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE GLAY BY DENNIS A. AMI T H & H I ROSH I TAGAWA IMAGES (and BEAT FREAK IMAGES) CO URT ESY OF AVEX EN T ERTAI NMEN T I NC. BY WYNNE IP IMAGES COURTESY OF TOSHIBA-EMI GLAY OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.glay.co.jp J! - E N T J! - E N T Copyright 2008 by J!-ENT. www.j-entonline.com. All Rights Reserved.
東方神起 2004-Present Tohoshinki (from left to right): JUNSU (Xiah), YUCHUN (Micky), JEJUNG (HERO), CHANGMIN (MAX) and YUNHO (U-Know). Image courtesy of Avex Entertainment, Inc. Tohoshinki. The group that originated from Korea has been dominating the music scene with their catchy lyrics, impressive vocals, awesome choreography, charisma and style. Despite being a foreign group, they have achieved several top 10 hits in Japan within a short amount of time. Although their activities are mostly concentrated in Korea and Japan, Tohoshinki has unknowingly garnered fans from all across the globe. The group is known by various names in different countries. In Korea, they are known as DBSK which stands for Dong Bang Shin Ki; while in Japan, they are known as THSK, which is the acronym for Tohoshinki. When the group travels outside of Korea and Japan, they use TVXQ!, the short form for Tong Vfang Xien Qi. This name is based on the Romanized Chinese characters of their name. Each name roughly translates to Rising Gods of the East. In order not to confuse people in this article, we opted to use DBSK when focusing on their careers in Korea, and Tohoshinki to describe their careers in Japan. DBSK was originally formed by a popular Korean entertainment company, SM Entertainment (SME). SME is known for its history of promoting the musical careers of pop artists such as BoA, S.E.S. and H.O.T, just to name a few. The group consists of five members; YUNHO (U-Know), JEJUNG (HERO), YUCHUN (Micky), JUNSU (Xiah) and CHANGMIN (MAX). In December 2003, DBSK made their first appearance in Korea, performing with fellow SM Entertainment and rhythm zone artist, BoA. From that point on, people started to pay attention to them and it was the beginning of something big coming their way. Something they never expected. On January 14, 2004, DBSK released their first Korean CD single titled Hug and on March 6th, it reached #1 on the Korean music charts. The group published their first book, The 1st Storybook [Hug] in March 2004. In June 2004, their second CD single titled The Way U Are became another #1 hit and the group released The 2nd Storybook [The Way U Are] in August. In October 2004, DBSK launched their first album, titled TRI-ANGLE. The album reached #1 on the Korean album charts and their fan club, Cassiopeia (which is named after the constellation that consists of five main stars) was formed. In November 2004, the group released The 3rd Storybook [TVXQ! Special Photo Essay in L.A]. The song HUG did well on the Asia Charts and reached #1 on Hit FM for two consecutive weeks (Nov. 21 and 28). The international version of HUG was released on Nov. 25, 2004. With SM Entertainment s wide vision, the company did not just focus on the Korean market. The label had earlier joined forces with Japanese label, Avex Entertainment, Inc. to seal a basic foundation in the Japanese market. Avex Entertainment has an urban sublabel, rhythm zone, which is known for their artists such as Koda Kumi, EXILE, m-flo, among many others. The first group from the SME label to break into the Japanese market was S.E.S. which was back in 1999. But, it wasn t until the popularity of BoA that SME would later bring more of its boy bands to Japan with groups such as Fly to the Sky (2001) and SHINHWA 4 J!-ENT
PHOTO: Tohoshinki performing live at a-nation 2007 in Japan. Image courtesy of Avex Entertainment, Inc. (2001). In spring of 2005, Tohoshinki made their official debut in Japan. 2005 was a very demanding year for Tohoshinki. They debuted with their CD single Stay with Me Tonight in April 2005. While releasing CD singles in Japan, the group was winning awards for their work in Korea. The group continued to promote their music, both in Korea and Japan. Apart from their busy schedule of traveling back and forth between the two countries, all members had a daunting task to learn to communicate and understand the Japanese language. In order to sharpen their grasp in the Japanese language, the group held miniperformances and fan club-events that require them to interact with the fans. Back at home, DBSK launched a photo-book titled, THE FIRST PHOTO- BOOK [Travel Sketches in Los Angeles]. Then, they released their third Korean CD single Hi Ya Ya 여름날 in June 2005 and followed up with THE 2nd PHOTOBOOK [SUMMER PARA- DISE in Bora Bora] that same month. The following month, they released their second Japanese CD single, Somebody to Love. The CD single would be their first to break into the top 10 of the Oricon CD Single Charts at No. 7. In Aug. 2005, Tohoshinki took the main stage at the Avex summer music festival in Japan known as a-nation. They returned to Korea to promote their second Korean album Rising Sun in September. They made guest appearances on various music shows and festivals in Korea throughout October. The group flew back to Japan to promote their third CD single My Destiny which was released in Nov. 2005. Within that same period, they returned to Korea to promote their fourth Korean CD single release Show Me Your Love which was a special collaboration done with another popular SM Entertainment boy band, Super Junior. The single was released in Dec. 2005. 2006 marked some major changes for TVXQ. One such change was to focus their music in Japan as Tohoshinki by releasing more CD singles monthly. However, they did not want to alienate their Korean fans. Hence, DBSK made sure that their Korean fans would continually receive information of the group s activities in Japan via their blogs on the Internet. The group also expanded their musical influence to different countries with an Asian tour and appeared in various commercials in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, China and Japan. They also won a variety of music awards in Asia. DBSK started 2006 in Korea by having their first concert Rising Sun. Their Korean album Rising Sun became the No. 1 album on Channel V s International Countdown Chart from Feb. J!-ENT 5
PHOTO: Tohoshinki performing live in concert in Japan. Image courtesy of Avex Entertainment, Inc. 18th till Mar. 4th. On Mar. 8th, Tohoshinki released their fourth Japanese CD single Asuwa Kuru Kara which was used for the ending theme of an anime titled One Piece. They launched their first Japanese album titled Heart, Mind and Soul on the 23rd of the same month. And if you thought that they were done for that month, you thought wrong. Just two days later, they released their first book in Japan titled Tomorrow -000777days. In April 2006, their fifth CD single Rising Sun / Heart, Mind and Soul was released. From May through June, Tohoshinki went on tour in Japan for their 1st LIVE TOUR 2006 aptly titled, Heart, Mind & Soul. Kicking things off in the summer 2006, Tohoshinki launched their sixth CD single in Japan with the sultry ballad Begin. In that same month, they were the winners of Channel V s Music Video Awards for Asian Most Favorite Artist and International Most Popular Video. The summer of 2006 brought new opportunities as the group made history as the first Korean artist to hold a concert in Malaysia in July 2006. In August 2006, Tohoshinki launched their summer inspired seventh CD single, Sky which debuted at #3 on the Oricon CD Single Daily Charts. That same month, Tohoshinki performed at avex s summer music festival a-nation 06 and continued to go on tour in Japan throughout September. They returned to Korea and began preparations to promote their third Korean album O 正 反 合 ( O -Jung. Ban.Hap.). The album would later become the highest selling Korean album in 2006. Included in one of the versions of this album is a DVD featuring DBSK, expanding their talent in acting with a 4-episode drama titled VACATION. Their 8th CD single in Japan titled miss you along with their second double A-side single O 正 反 合 was released in Nov. 2006 and their official Japanese fan club BigEast hosted their first major fan event. DBSK ended 2006 on a positive note in Korea with the top album and DVD (All About TVXQ) sales and also various Artist of the Year awards. In 2007, Tohoshinki focused solely on their music for the Japan market. Tohoshinki found success in Japan with monthly releases and even debuted several times in the top 10 list of the Oricon Daily Charts. Their 12th CD single Summer Dream/ Song for you/love in the Ice debuted at No. 1 and many of their 2007 CD single releases also broke into the Oricon top ten charts with some placed within the top five. In Nov. 2007, Tohoshinki collaborated with J-Pop diva and fellow rhythm zone artist, Koda Kumi for the song Last Angel. The song was used as an image song for the film Resident Evil: Extinction. That same year, Tohoshinki hosted their radio show titled Tohoshinki BigEast Station 6 J!-ENT
PHOTO: Tohoshinki performing live in concert in Japan. Image courtesy of Avex Entertainment, Inc. on Japan FM Network. They also won an award at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan for Best Buzz in Asia and ended the year with performances of their 2nd Asia Tour concert in Malaysia and Thailand. In three short years, the five members of Tohoshinki have managed to become the hottest Asian boy band in Asia with a growing fandom worldwide. What is in store for Tohoshinki in 2008? So far, Tohoshinki continued their upward surge of popularity with the release of the up tempo, catchy single called Purple Line, which became Tohoshinki s first CD single to debut at No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. The group released their third fulllength album T in Japan and their official fan club Cassiopeia would be acknowledged by Guinness Book of World Records as the Largest Fan Club membership for a Music Artist (at this time, not an official GBW record). The official fan club now consists of 800,000 official paid members. This does not include the unofficial fan clubs and their members worldwide. From February through March 2008, Tohoshinki began their TRICK CD single campaign which features a CD single released each week within a span of 6 weeks. The five CD singles will not only feature new tracks but a double-a track featuring a solo song from each member. Their 17th CD single kicked off their new CD single campaign on Feb. 6th with Two Hearts / WILD SOUL (CHANGMIN from Tohoshinki) ; their 18th CD single Runaway / My Girlfriend (YUCHUN from Tohoshinki) which was released on Feb. 13th; followed by their 19th CD single If...! / Rainy Night ( JUNSU from Tohoshinki), released on Feb. 27th; their 20th CD single Close to you / Crazy Life (YUNHO from Tohoshinki) which was released on March 5th and finally, their 21st CD single Keyword/ Maze ( JEJUNG from Tohoshinki), released on March 12th. Their 22nd CD single Beautiful You/ Sennen Koiuta was released on April 30th and debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon CD Single Daily and Weekly Charts. J!-ENT has gone worldwide in search of Tohoshinki fans in nearly every continent to learn more about their fandom and why these fans are so passionate about the group. For this special article on Tohoshinki, our goal is to get our readers acquainted with the hottest boy band in Asia and also take a peek at the worldwide fandom from nearly all corners of the globe. This, and so much more! What we discovered were fans of all ages, boys and girls, men and women. We discovered fans who were inspired by the group by being part of unofficial fan clubs in hopes of giving back to the community. We hope you enjoy our special feature on TVXQ and their worldwide fandom. J!-ENT 7
TOHOSHIN
KI PROFILE
JUNSU (Xiah) Kim JunSu BIRTHDATE: 12.15.1986 BLOOD TYPE: B
시아준수
YUCHUN (Micky) Park YooChun BIRTHDATE: 6.4.1986 BLOOD TYPE: O
믹키유천
JEJUNG (HERO) Kim JaeJoong BIRTHDATE: 1.26.1986 BLOOD TYPE: O
영웅재중
CHANGMIN (MAX) Shim ChangMin BIRTHDATE: 2.18.1988 BLOOD TYPE: B
최강창민
YUNHO (U-Know) Jung YunHo BIRTHDATE: 2.6.1986 BLOOD TYPE: A
유노윤호
東方神起 The J!-ENT Interview BY DENNIS A. AMITH & MICHELLE TYMON IMAGES COURTESY OF AVEX ENTERTAINMENT, INC. J!-ENT
東方神起 The J!-ENT Interview The year has started off quite well for Tohoshinki. With the success of their CD Single, Purple Line, and their album T, the group launched a campaign named TRICK, where one CD single from each letter of the word was released almost every week from February till March. Typically, weekly or monthly releases are reserved for artists that have been succesful in Japan. On April 23rd, Tohoshinki scored another #1 hit on the Oricon Daily Charts with their 22nd CD single Beautiful you/sennen Koiuta. At the time of this interview, Tohoshinki was in the midst of their third nationwide tour in Japan and was busily preparing for their performance in the U.S. for the Korean Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California in May. J!-ENT was able to secure an interview with Tohoshinki during a very tight rehearsal and concert schedule and talk to them about their life in Japan, as well as their worldwide fandom. We do want to mention that because of the timing of the interview during their concert tour, we were able to get quick answers from the group with the amount of time given for the interview. So, we do appreciate Tohoshinki and Avex Entertainment Inc./rhythm zone for accomodating us. J!-ENT: Before Tohoshinki became a group, how did you guys feel about meeting each other for the very first time? TOHOSHINKI: We all felt like we were making new friends, so we were all very happy. J!-ENT: For this special J!-ENT project, were you aware of your fandom all over the world? How does it feel to having fans scattered throughout the globe? TOHOSHINKI: It makes us very happy! Also, even though our languages are different, we feel that we are able to connect through the music and that is a very mysterious and amazing feeling! J!-ENT: As a child, what did you imagine yourself being as an adult? A doctor? Teacher? Lawyer? YUNHO: A public prosecutor JEJUNG: A supermarket manager YUCHUN: A singer JUNSU: A soccer player CHANGMIN: A reporter J!-ENT: From the day you first debuted to now in the present, what has been the biggest thing that inspires you as music artists? TOHOSHINKI: Our fans. That s the rea J!-ENT 27
son we are able to even be on the stage and sing is because of all of our fans. J!-ENT: You have had a good number of CD singles including your recent album T becoming chart toppers in Japan. What was your reaction when Purple Line reached #1 on the Oricon Charts? TOHOSHINKI: When we first heard that we hit #1, we were all very surprised. We didn t really do anything special to celebrate though because our schedules were so busy. But we were very happy! J!-ENT: You have collaborated with BoA, TRAX, Super Junior, Tenjochiki (The Grace) and Koda Kumi. How was the experience of collaborating with these artists? TOHOSHINKI: Collaborations are very fun and we learn a lot from them. If we have more opportunities in the future for collaborations, we would definitely love to do them. J!-ENT: For our interviews, we tend to give the fans a chance to ask questions to their favorite group or artist. Because of the overwhelming response by your fans, we selected questions from fans all over the world. THARUDEE (from Thailand): Which song in T is your favorite song? YUNHO: TRICK JEJUNG: DARKNESS EYES YUCHUN: Rainbow JUNSU: Forever Love CHANGMIN: NO? MELISSA (from Hawaii, USA): What has inspired each of you recently to write lyrics to a song or to start composing a melody? TOHOSHINKI: We think that each of us have our own various inspirations but we think that movies are one of the sources of our inspiration. KATRINA (from Brisbane, Australia): My favorite song on the T album is Kiss Shita Mama, Sayonara. It really touched my heart, it made me cry when I first listened to this song and I was wondering if it was hard for you to record it in the studio? TOHOSHINKI: It was the first song that we made in Japan, so we were really nervous. There wasn t anything hard in particular but we sang the song with a lot of emotion. 28 J!-ENT
東方神起 The J!-ENT Interview NIKKI (from the Philippines): In your album T, you experimented with a lot of different musical genres and were very succesful with it. Are you going to continue this? Especially the genres of the songs such as Clap and TRICK? TOHOSHINKI: Yes, we definitely plan to keep experimenting with different genres of music! TONYA (from Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA): What was the easiest part of recording T and what ws the most difficult part of recording T? TOHOSHINKI: We didn t find anything hard in particular but if anything, we d have to say Clap was slightly hard. There were some very high parts in the song so Jejung had a little trouble with it. NATALIA (from Moscow, Russia): You have many fans worldwide. Would you ever consider doing a world tour. IF so, any countries that you would love to perform in? TOHOSHINKI: We would like to visit any country and perform there if we have the opportunity. COURTNEY (from Canada): Out of all your performances, which one was the most memorable one for you and why? TOHOSHINKI: We would have to say Rising Sun. We believe our performance for that song fits perfectly with the song s image. TINTIN (from the Philippines): What was your biggest challenge shooting the film VACATION? TOHOSHINKI: There were times we were shooting very late at night, so it was a bit exhausting. Also, it was really cold! LAVENA (from Malaysia): One particular question that I would like to ask you is how does it feel being so popular? I ve seen your popularity grow so quickly within the past two years. It s really amazing! TOHOSHINKI: It s very hard to get accustomed to. ALESSANDRA (from Brazil): Learning Japanese is difficult. Was it very dif- ficult to learn the language? TOHOSHINKI: Of course, we did struggle a little bit but we ve been watching a lot of Japanese dramas and listening to J-Pop to keep learning. SORIA (from France): What was your first dream when you guys first started the group? TOHOSHINKI: We had just released a CD single, so releasing an album was our first dream. LAUREN (from Germany): Are there any musical artists that you would love to collaborate with? TOHOSHINKI: We definitely would like to collaborate with The Gospellers. TONISHA (from Atlanta, Georgia): With the hectic schedules that you have flying back and forth from Japan and Korea, are you ever able to find any free time for yourselves? TOHOSHINKI: Unfortunately, not really. We are currently busy rehearsing for our third tour, so please wish us the best! J!-ENT 29
AIZAMIA (from Malaysia): I was wondering what are the main differences between creating Korean songs and Japanese songs? TOHOSHINKI: There really aren t any major differences. J!-ENT: We would like to thank the many fans who submitted their questions to J!-ENT. Now, let s get to our final questions. Recently, TVXQ s Cassiopeia Fan Club was acknowledged by Guinness Book of World Record (not an official record at this time) for having the largest fan club membership. How do you guys feel about that? TOHOSHINKI: It makes us very happy. We will continue to do our best for the fans. J!-ENT: If you had to describe yourself in one word, what word would that be and why? TOHOSHINKI: Passionate. Because we are very passionate. J!-ENT: Every group has its up and downs but what is your secret on how you guys remain strong as a group? TOHOSHINKI: We talk things out a lot. We have been living together for six years now, so we basically are a family. J!-ENT: In every J!-ENT interview that we do, we have a section called Word Play where we give you guys a word and you give us your definition for the word. Here is the first word: a. LOVE TOHOSHINKI: Family and fans b. SUCCESS TOHOSHINKI: Dreams and albums c. FAMILY TOHOSHINKI: Very precious and TVXQ. d. Kiss Shita Mama, Sayonara TOHOSHINKI: Tears e. TVXQ TOHOSHINKI: Friends and confidence J!-ENT: What final words would you like to say to all your fans worldwide? TOHOSHINKI: First of all, thank you very much for all your love and support. We plan to make more great songs and do amazing performances, so please keep cheering on! DENNIS A. AMITH is the founder/owner of J!-ENT and is an entertainment-writer-at-large. MICHELLE TYMON is a translator and entertaiment-writer-at-large. 30 J!-ENT
A J!-ENT SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE AND INTERVIEW AVAILABLE NOW ON J!-ENT DO YOU WANNA ROCK? TASTE OF CHAOS TOUR INTERVIEW WITH MUCC, D ESPAIRSRAY & THE UNDERNEATH PLUS NERGENE ARQUELADA S J!-ENT TOC J-ROCK PHOTO GALLERY INTERVIEW BY WYNNE IP PHOTOGRAPHY BY NERGENE ARQUELADA J!-ENT Celebrating our 15th Year Anniversary
J!-ENT Written by the staff of J!-ENT, a Japanese and Asian entertainment and pop culture website celebrating its 15th Year Anniversary in 2008. www.j-entonline.com Dennis A. Amith, is also known to Japanese and Asian pop culture fans as KNDY. Dennis is the owner of the multidisciplinary communications and design business, nt2099 media and entertainment and founder of Japanese and Asian entertainment and pop culture website, J!-ENT. Graduating from California State University, Fresno with an educational background in mass communications and journalism, Dennis A. Amith has interviewed and featured many talents and industry professionals in the United States, Europe and Asia and is recognized for promoting the entertainment and pop culture of different countries to an International audience. Currently residing in California. Michelle Tymon has contributed to J!-ENT since 1996 as a translator of Japanese music lyrics and her promotion of Johnny s Jimusho groups. Michelle s work includes her involvement as a translator, writer and photographer for J!-ENT. Michelle has interviewed bands, talents and industry professionals. Michelle currently runs media operations in the Northwest region of the US for J!-ENT and is a graduate of the University of Washington. Michelle grew up with both cultures, living in Japan and the US. She grew up watching Japanese TV shows and anime and listening to Japanese music and has been a fan of Japanese entertainment all her life. Other than translating, her interests include writing, art, music, and entertainment. Michelle s dream is to one day live in Japan and work in the Japanese entertainment industry in some way. Nur Lina has a music degree in Contemporary (Jazz Piano Performance) and is currently pursuing her postgraduate degree in Music Studies in Australia. She wants to become a music educator upon graduation, hoping to encourage the importance of music to her future students and bring awareness to them about the value of pursuing music purely with passion and interest, and not for the sake of earning a certificate. She believes that when you pursue something, you must have that endless enthusiasm for it so that even when it gets tough, you will always have the drive to face the challenge and overcome it. Lina is the founder of the website: http://tvxqpiano.livejournal.com
ALSO, AVAILABLE: THE J!-ENT ONLINE-ONLY 500-PAGE FAN-BOOKLET! 東方神起 & THEIR WORLDWIDE FANDOM tohoshinki DBSK TVXQ INTERVIEW WITH TOHOSHINKI PHOTOS FROM DBSK/TVXQ FAN CLUB GATHERINGS & PARTIES WORLDWIDE FANDOM FEATURE FAN MADE ARTWORK & SO MUCH MORE! THIS SPECIAL FEATURE IS FREE BY DENNIS A. AMITH, MICHELLE TYMON & NUR LINA Visit us at www.j-entonline.com J!-ENT Celebrating our 15th Year Anniversary