SBS’s popular “Star King” contestant, ShannonWilliams, revealed that she’s a fan of JYJ’s Junsuand musical actor Brad Little.
The aspiring young singer attended their musical, “Tears of Heaven“, on February 5th and shared photos she took with both of them after the show.
She revealed, “I want to grow up fast and stand on the same stage as the seniors.” Junsu added, “I saw her perform on SBS’s ‘Star King’ numerous times. Shannon has such impressive skills, I’m sure she’ll grow up to become an amazing singer. I’ll always be supporting you and watching for you.”
Shannon then presented Brad Little with a bouquet and praised, “Your performance was so touching; my eyes were unable to look away through the entire show.” Brad replied, “I’m confident that I’ll be able to watch Shannon perform on amazing stages. …I hope to treasure this new-found relationship with her.”
Shannon Williams recently signed on with Core Contents Media, and the public is greatly anticipating the ‘four-note’ singer’s debut.
JYJ’s “Music Essay” has become Hanteo’s weekly bestseller!
Usually categorized in the book section, JYJ’s “Music Essay” has been picked as the weekly bestseller album on Hanteo, beating out other artists such as Park Jung Min, Seungri, and TVXQ.
Reaching #1 as bestsellers on various sites such as Hanteo and Kyobo, a lack of broadcasting time on TV and participation in a lawsuit has seemingly no effect on the success of the boys. Their triumphs have been accredited to the tremendous love and support they have been receiving from fans.
The Shorty Awards, the Twitter equivalent to television’s Golden Globes or Hollywood’s Oscars, is an annual competition to recognize “the best people and organizations on Twitter and social media.” But when the Shorty Awards organizers put together this year’s 3rd annual competition, they probably weren’t expecting such outright dominance by Korean celebrities.
As further evidence (as if we needed any) of K-pop’s global reach, K-pop celebrities are dominating the leaderboard for “Best Celebrity on Twitter“, with JYJ’sJaejoong (@mjjeje) and Super Junior’sHeechul (@heedictator) taking 1st and 3rd place, respectively. Tween sensation Justin Bieber is ranked 2nd, Jay Park 5th (just beating Selena Gomez, who’s currently 6th), and fellow JYJ membersYoochun and Junsu bringing up the rear at 13th and 14th.
In the midst of what can only be put lightly as a mountain of obstacles, JYJ is putting their best foot forward and unintentionally kicking up the music scene yet again.
Now months after the release of their first album, “The Beginning”, and yet only one live performance (at the KBS 2010 Acting Awards), most would not be surprised if the boys were a bit frustrated. However, the reality? They are optimistic, learning, and growing from the challenges.
In a statement released by a JYJ official, the group says: “Because of our lack of freedom to meet our fans through TV, we had to think of different routes to be connected with them. New concepts like our music essay, visiting shows that are not frequented by celebrities, and trying new things have taught us a great deal.”
Working around their effective ban from popular television by using innovative strategies and concepts like their newly released “Music Essay,” JYJ is not only still connecting with fans, but flipping the conventional marketing strategy upside down.
After being released just three days ago on January 24th, JYJ’s “Music Essay” has already sold 150,000 copies and has taken over the #1 spot on the Bestseller’s List- without any of the traditional on-air promotions.
The boys have accredited their unprecedented success to their dedicated fans who stuck with them during their split from SM Entertainment- and each personally thanks them in their new album, which they personally wrote, composed, and directed as a thank you to their fans.
Though we may not see them on TV, it goes to say that we certainly haven’t seen the last of them. With Junsu’s performance in the musical “Tears in Heaven,” an “internet drama” featuring 24 hour music, video, and photo contents of the boys set to launch on March 3rd, and an upcoming eight part series tentatively called, “JYJ’s Real 24 Hours”, on the cable network QTV, the boys and their fans seem to be saying that for JYJ, success is guaranteed ’till “fan-dom come”.
In response to the growing public outcry over “slave contracts” and the alleged mistreatment of idols (as evidenced by the JYJ-SM Entertainment / KARA-DSP Entertainment controversies), government officials and broadcasting executives met today to discuss policies to protect the rights of idols, who are increasingly entering the industry at younger and younger ages.
Also discussed was the problem of defining “indecent exposure” (the amont of exposure deemed unsuitable for public broadcast), which seems to be more of a vague idea than an actual standard, as it varies from network to network.
Attendees included the Secretary of Health and Welfare, the Fair Trade Commission, theCommunications Commission, and a number of other related government regulatory bodies. Representatives from the “big three” broadcasting stations included the KBS Content Director and the heads of production of MBC and SBS.
On today’s episode of Cable TV MBN’s Live Today Part 2, JYJ’s Jaejoong was presented with a cake to celebrate his birthday. Jaejoong turned 26 today in Korean age, 25 in American age.
Because this is a rare occurrence on a news show, everyone, including Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsumade surprised expressions. Jaejoong blew the candles and said words of thanks while the members clapped and congratulated him on his birthday.
Yoochun said “At the birthday party yesterday we talked a lot and met many people. It’s a birthday that comes every year but I hope it gets more meaningful and happier by year. I hope (Jaejoong) becomes happy.”
JYJ has been through a lot these past years. We all hope JYJ can forget all the bad memories on this day and we wish Jaejoong the happiest 26th birthday!
When Jaejoong, Junsu, and Yoochun – or JYJ – waved goodbye to Dong Bang Shin Ki, I was a little worried, mainly because they no longer had that easy access to the high production value that SM Entertainment provides. As far as audible quality goes, SM spends a ridiculous amount of money to make their artists sound extremely good (don’t quote me on that), and let’s be honest, 95% of the time they do. Not only that, but JYJ were faced with the absence of two key singers – one bass and one tenor, and I mean, what’s a burger without buns? Of course, those two members (Changmin andYunho) faced a far more challenging road ahead of them without their main vocalists there to fill in the voids. Both ways, the dynamics changed, and it was going to be interesting to hear exactly how they would manage to divvy up their parts. More so in HoMin’s case than JYJ.
But unlike their brethren, JYJ have had the opportunity to expose themselves and gain a little more experience as a three-member ensemble. Last fall, they released “The…” in Japan, and it was the first time we heard JYJ without the other two members (on a recording). As always, they reached #1 on the Oricon charts, and at this point, charting at number one should not come as a surprise to anybody. Rather than going back home to Korea though, they packed their bags and flew to America, where the sound of “The…” was noticeably replaced with a more Americanized style with hopes to break into the US market. JYJ released “The Beginning” in October with the help of American producer/rapperKanye West and renowned producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins.
To put it lightly, their American foray was messy. Both the marketing and content of the album were way off base from the standards I had held in my mind for JYJ, and I know that if they had a clear plan of attack, things would have gone a little more smoothly. There were two or three songs on “The Beginning” worth salvaging, and okay, it wasn’t the worst thing ever, but one thing was certain: We still didn’t have a clear idea of what kind of sound would be definitive of JYJ.
Now Jaejoong, Junsu, and Yoochun are back in Korea with their latest EP, “Their Rooms“, and I should point out the emphasis on ‘their’, because they basically did everything: composed, wrote, sang, everything.
To say this mini album is impressive just doesn’t cut it. I sincerely forgive them for the mess and a half that was “The Beginning” because “Their Rooms” is exceptionally done, especially for the aforementioned fact that they did everything on it.
Oh, and by the way, I’ve introducing a rating system.
01. “Mission”
The first track on “Music Essay” opens the doors wide open to Yoochun whispering, “yeah, brand new JYJ“, and a simple string section playing a mysterious, staccato riff that starts sounding pretty cool once the beat kicks in. Though the lyrics triggered several rounds of laughs (it’s K-pop, what else is new?), I couldn’t help but let myself be engulfed by the pounding beats and catchy chorus. “Mission” isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but it’s nonetheless an impressive upbeat thriller. It feels very K-pop but without really crossing the lines of gimmicks and tackiness.
4.5/5
02. “Nine”
“Nine” is a nice mixture of lush vocals with soaring melodies and a really pretty instrumental. There’s just enough going on for it to not be considered a ‘filler’ track. It also helps if you’re a sucker for good ballads, like myself, especially ones sung by people who were gifted with gorgeous voices. Jaejoong, the head honcho who wrote and composed this, constructed a very engaging chorus that not only sticks, but transmits emotions well beyond the language barriers.
The only glaring place worth revising is the song’s opening lines. Yoochun, buddy, that’s not the right octave.
3.9/5
03. “Pierrot”
What a name. “Pierrot” is a mid tempo song chock-full of Junsu singing his head off to the word ‘pierrot’ and words that rhyme with it. He sounds amazing though, and if you’re a fan of his adlibs, you’ll enjoy this song. The break left room for improvement; the instrumental started doing something interesting and then… nothing.
Having said that, there’s a lot of other elements at play that add substance to this piece. Like Yoochun’s pre-chorus line or the spacious instrumental. I’ll be spinning this song a few dozen times this week.
4/5
04. “Fallen Leaves”
The thing about this particular number is not so much the song, but JYJ’s interpretation. It’s one thing to hit the right note and another to understand ‘how’ to hit it, and well, JYJ know how to do it like nobody’s business. All three members have moments within this song where they shine and sound absolutely amazing. I mean, the way they ease into the notes and hold them out just a hair melts my insides.
I’m a little iffy about the instrumental on this ballad though. String sections tend to tick me off because they are always over the top and massive-sounding. I think a smaller ensemble would have been a better complement. Imagine a cello/bass line playing through the verses!
*Dies*
That is if they decided to use a real orchestra.
3.9/5
05. “I.D.S.”
You want me in your what?! Oh, plans? Phew, I thought Junsu meant something a little more… lewd. “I.D.S.” is the only song so far that features auto-tune, but it’s scarcely used, so no worries. It’s in here more for effect rather than fixing any bad singing. It’s JYJ; bad singing does not exist. The synths sound vaguely familiar, but I just can’t put my finger on it.
Overall, the song is pretty simple, with the exception of the middle 8, which is the most gorgeous thing ever. Then it goes back to the same hypnotizing rhythm.
3.5/5
06. “Untitled Song Part 1”
This song will impact listeners, if you know the lyrics, in ways that don’t really apply to me. I’m not going to get into the content of the words, but it is pretty clear that Yoochun’s rap is rooted in a particular emotion that seems to smear right over the lyrics. While the rap is somewhat passive-aggresive, the soft beat and added vocals serve as a really powerful complement.
3.9/5
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For a mini-album in K-pop, this is perfectly paced and brilliantly composed. Not a single song falls short or gets lost among the others. From one song to the next, there’s a strong sense of cohesion and it feels like the perfect amount of songs with just the right amount of energy in each. JYJ has proven that they don’t need the luxury of a high brow agency to produce amazing work, and actually, the fact that their sound isn’t at all like it was under DBSK helps it remains refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable.
