3 TVXQ members to make comeback as JYJ next month
From left, JYJ members Hero Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu [Prain Inc.]
Hero Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu, whose singing careers as members of group TVXQ have been on a halt since being involved in a legal dispute with agency SM Entertainment, will make a comeback to the music scene next month as a trio named JYJ.The group's publicist Prain Inc. announced through a press release Wednesday that JYJ, representing the first letter of each singer's name, will release their worldwide studio album titled "The Beginning" on October 12.
Recorded in English, a total of 10 tracks including seven new songs and three remixes will be featured on the album.
"Ayyy Girl", the first track on the upcoming release, was produced by 14-time Grammy Award-winning rapper Kanye West and features Malik 'The Poet' Yusef, called the maestro of spoken word.
And Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, who has worked with top global artists such as the late King of Pop Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, composed "Empty" and "Be My Girl" for the new album.
"I am extremely happy to be taking part in JYJ's world debut...... It was a very special and precious project", Jerkins was quoted as saying.
The three idol singers contributed to the record as well with self-written songs; Hero with "Still in Love", Micky with "I Love You" and Xiah with "I Can Soar".
Warner Music Worldwide will be in charge of the album's simultaneous release worldwide on October 12, the same day a special limited edition of the record will go on sale for 99,999 cents. Further details on the album can be found at www.jyj-thebeginning.com
Hero, Micky and Xiah debuted in 2004 as part of five-member boy band TVXQ but despite seeing phenomenal success in the Asia region, they ceased to remain a single group when in July of last year, they filed a lawsuit against SM questioning the validity of their 13-year contract.
After the court sided with the boys, they maintained their presence in Japan by signing with major entertainment group Avex earlier this year but Avex abruptly suspended its relation with the three just last week, citing concerns over the boys' Korean management agency C-JeS Entertainment Co.
Avex stated it cannot promote JYJ's activities in Japan since reports were saying that the head of C-JeS holds a criminal record and that he is also related to a criminal organization, although Avex remains the legal representative for TVXQ in Japan.
The trio refuted Avex's statement, arguing that Avex had been aware of the criminal record but that he was unrelated to a criminal organization. They rather claimed that Avex brought the reason to issue when JYJ failed to agree to new terms of a contract Avex drew up.
"We cannot rid ourselves of the thought that Avex regarded us as a tool for their company's profits rather than treating us as artists. We are just frustrated that we cannot say when we will be able to meet with our Japanese fans now. We ask for your active support and interest for the resolution of this", the three said in the statement.
Jessica Kim jesskim@
Korea Culture Center to host K-pop event in Argentina
The Korean Cultural Center of Latin America, which is based in Argentina, will hold a special K-pop contest at the 350-seat Samsung Studio in Buenos Aires on October 10 from 3 to 6 p.m.
Sponsored by Korea’s Samsung Corporation’s Argentinean offices and the Cultural Office of the Argentina, the event will be attended by Hallyu (Korean Wave) lovers from ten Latin American countries, including Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Paraguay.
This is the first K-pop contest to be held on such a large international scale.
A total of 281 performers from 92 teams applied to participate, including 32 teams and a total of 98 performers from Argentina, two teams and six people from Paraguay, 17 teams with 45 members from Mexico, 16 teams and a total of 64 participants from Chile, four teams for a total of 12 people from Columbia, five teams and 15 people from Venezuela, 11 teams and nearly 30 people Peru, one five-member team from Ecuador, three teams and 6 performers from the Dominican Republic, and one person from Costa Rica.
Argentina held two preliminary rounds before selecting its K-pop performers. Dance groups from other countries were required to submit sample videos of their performances for the screening process.
“We hope the upcoming show play a pivotal role in raising interest in Korean pop culture in the Central and Latin America region,” said Yi Chong-yul, director of the Korea Cultural Center in Argentina. “It’s important to open this function in Argentina, a country that will also participate in Korea’s G20 Financial Summit.”
The director added that he is also putting out all the stops in his efforts to promote Korea, and is in the process of asking Argentina’s Ms. Universe to be the promotional ambassador for K-pop. The event is also being widely advertized on channels including CNN Spanish and through an Argentinean ad agency. “The Culture Office of Argentina selected our K-pop contest as an ‘interesting cultural festival (Declarado de Interses Cultural por la Secretaria de Cultura de la Nacion)’,” said Yi.
In the past, Argentina was considered one of the toughest places for the Korean Wave. However, thanks to entertaining programs launched by the Korea Culture Center, Korean singing groups like Super Junior, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, and the Wonder Girls now have some 1,000 active K-pop fans in the country.
“From what I gather from K-pop fan club managers that exchange Korean entertainment news through YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, the number of fans may exceed 10,000 when including Brazil and other neighboring countries across South and Central America,” said Yi.
For more information on K-pop events in the region, please visit: Centro Cultural Coreano en America Latina
(http://argentina.korean-culture.org/welcome.do)
By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net Staff Writer
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