[TRANS] 101108 PIA Magazine - 5 Years of 東方神起

T/N: this's just an article from an old magazine but nevertheless , pls do enjoy~

This year marked the 5th anniversary of Tohoshinki in Japan. Just released their first ever ‘Best Album’, to-date they had stood firmly as one of the most popular group in Japan. Their road to where they are today is not easy; how did Tohoshinki achieved their height in Japan entertainment industry? Together with their past photo taken, let’s search the footprints of their lives in Japan.

3 main points for them to reach the ‘Summit of Jpop’.

#1 Challenge Jpop as a newbie

As the first male group artist to get featured in a female magazine ‘JJ’ front cover, that issue was out of stock, and the situation continues for a long time. Even to the extent of selling at 5,000 Yen, just from this situation, it had clearly shown the fanaticism of Tohoshinki.

Truly speaking, the Tohoshinki today can be considered as the best artist to achieve great numbers. This feverish situation started about 2 years ago where their single ‘Purple Line’ was released and took their ever first on Oricon chart. Their popularity then increased tremendously, with excellent performances and charming outlooks had caught many girls’ hearts. They had then started to attend all variety shows; un-skilled Japanese had become their ‘weapon’, which soon after their names were spread among all audiences. As for their activities after that it’s something that everyone should know of. All the records on CD sales charts, to a point where they had to rewrite their own record, but all these are not something easy for them.

They debuted in their own country, Korea, where they had immediately risen to one of the top artists when debuted in Japan. They did not tag themselves as ‘Hallyu’ artists. Instead, they entered as a Jpop singer to challenge the market. In the end, they managed to excuse themselves from all the other Korean artists who had risen in popularity riding on ‘Hallyu’ wave. They had worked hard to overcome all obstacles earnestly. All these obstacles were none other but Japanese. What’s more, they had risen as one of the ‘Top Star’ in Korea the moment they debuted who did not experience any setback before had their very first taste of it in a foreign country where they have problem communicating with.

Leader YunHo described the situation as, “At the very beginning, there were situations where the audiences were lesser than our expectation. Of course we were worried and anxious, but I think that kind of situation had help us to growth, to work together as one, unite as one.” To perform on the stage which do not even consider as a ‘stage’, to promote ‘TOHOSHINKI’. However, it is those adverse circumstances that had strengthened their bond as ‘One Tohoshinki’.

klik the title !!

#2 Superior and outstanding performing skills

Debuted as a new group in Japan, step-by-step they worked hard, and it can be said that it’s a successful strategy by the company to suggest this activity policy. Then how should we appraise Tohoshinki?

Every member have their own unique individual talents, outstanding performance skill, to be frank, they are in an ultimate stage already. No matter how hard a vocal and dance group work, they will still be categorized under ‘idol’ group; however Tohoshinki’s performance had thoroughly cleared this prenotion.

During the promotion of their 2nd album ‘Five In the Black’, YooChun said, “He wanted everyone to like the ‘Tohoshinki that is able to do everything’, something that is different from the usual us.” That had also shown the confidence they had with themselves.

I think we can’t say that the success of Tohoshinki is all because of the right strateg; it is because of their incomparable talents and their determination, to strive harder in order to achieve a greater height, to reach where they are today. After the release of ‘Purple Line’, during the promotion of their 3rd album ‘T’, JaeJoong said, “During our Japan activities, due to the difficulties in Japanese pronunciation and complication of the language, we had encountered many problems.”

However, with their outstanding dance ability and singing skill along with the improvement of their Japanese, their fan base is growing tremendously and at the same time opening up more opportunity for them. Moreover, their sense of music had also improved, their self-composed songs were included in their 4th album ‘The Secret Code’, which ChangMin had commented, “It is not possible that those (their songs) are included in the album just because it’s the member work; they want everyone to listen to great music,” which showed the determination they had to produce great music.

[/b]#3 Their personalities and unity[/b]

The 5 of them have the ability to sing and dance individually, which is something that did not happened in Japan entertainment history. However, each and every one of them has their own unique points, which is something we can see on stage, for example ChangMin’s high note, YunHo’s rap, etc. Every one of them had a special stage to take note during their live performance.

The most outstanding one has to be JunSu, during their new song interviews, he would often say his oyaji gag suddenly and interrupt reporter’s questions to shift the topic away. However, he would always end up getting a ‘scolding’ by the calm and cool ChangMin. These kinds of role-sharing do not only happen on stage but also in their daily life. They are able to coexist with each other no matter on stage or in real life that form the ‘Tohoshinki’ as one.

Need no further explanation; being someone who had watched them behind the camera during a few interviews, I can affirm that the love among members and their unity is very strong.

Tohoshinki is a team that can only be achieved with 5 members, and their fans are waiting for a better them.


Debut Days (‘05/4)
Not only in Japan and South Korea, their activities were also held in other Asia countries. After completing their performance in Thailand, we went to Japan for interview straight away, often taking a nap in the midst of traveling.

"The biggest difference in South Korea and Japan is the timing of promoting the songs. In South Korea, it was the album which is more important and only will promote the album after its release. In Japan, it was the single, which is more important, and promoting a lot before it is released. Immediately after its release, we have to prepare for the next single." – Yoochun

However, I felt that there are not any big differences in their Korean and Japanese music.

First Performance for a-nation ('05 / 8)

2007, regarding "the memories in summer"
"Speaking of summer memories, it should be when we first performed in Kobe 'a-nation'. That time, we only released two singles. Thus, we sang those two songs. Really frightening. My whole body had goose bumps. I had never seen an outdoor activity with so many audiences. However, the audience was Japanese, and my Japanese was not very skilled. I felt relaxed after I was in the middle of our performance. I had been working hard." (Laugh~) – Jaejoong

Regarding all the miracles that happened surround them.

“I think in Japan, Tohoshinki has yet to reach the ‘Top’ list. But I dare to say what we had today is all thanks to the fans and staff who had always supported us.” – JunSu

“Heard from the staff that ‘topical had increased’; it’s really frightening. However, on the other side, I’m looking forward to reach that kind of level.” – ChangMin


[/b]To accomplished as the VIP at Koda Kumi’s Tokyo Dome Concert.[/b]

“Tokyo Dome, it’s really awesome ah~ the best. The tent is really high, wide and to get high with so many audience.” – JaeJoong

“But it’s not scary; it’s really enjoyable while singing. Very meaningful, to sing with so many support from the audiences; it’s really happiness. I envy Koda Kumi on that.” – JunSu

“Wish that in the near future Tohoshinki can stand on that stage as well. It is not ‘wish’; its ‘want’. please look forward! Therefore, it is a new start. 2008, fighting~” – YunHo

2005
April – Debut at Japan and released their 1st single ‘Stay With Me Tonight’ and ranked 37th on Oricon Chart.

July – Their 2nd single ‘Somebody to Love’ and was ranked 14th on Oricon Chart. Which is the ‘must perform’ song at their concert where members and fans can jump high to reach the climax of the live concert.

August – Their 1st appearance on a live event ‘A-nation’, performed 2 songs at the beginning.

2006
March – Released their 1st album ‘Heart, Mind and Soul’ and was ranked 25th on Oricon Chart.

May – Their first live tour in Japan. Focusing on all ‘Live House’ in Japan and final stage at ‘Zeep Tokyo’. Though they were still worried about their position on Oricon Chart, but they still managed to have all their tickets sold out.

July – Performed at live event ‘A-nation’ central main stage.

November – Released their 8th single ‘Miss You/O – 正。反。合‘ and was ranked 3rd on Oricon Chart.


2007

March – 2nd full album, ‘Five in the Black’ released and was ranked 10th on Oricon Chart.

May – Tohoshinki's 2nd Live Tour started on 'Hall' as the focus point of the tour, ending in Nippon Budokan stop, with a 2 days show.

Just before the Budokan stop, Tohoshinki's 11th single, ‘Lovin' you’ was released and was ranked 2nd on the Oricon, Tohoshinki's highest record on the chart. Just before the concert at Budokan started, the single selling outside the concert hall sold out. This marked the actual sharp increase of Tohoshinki's popularity.

August – Tohoshinki's 12th single ‘Summer Dream’ released and was ranked 2nd on Oricon. Following ‘Sky’, ‘Summer Dream’ is another song that made a deep impression in people's hearts.

'Summer Dream' was being heavily promoted as a commercial song, causing the single to be sold as a popular item for a very long time. [Summer Dream] is also a song that promoted Tohoshinki to the entire nation as one of their representative song.

Tohoshinki's first performance on ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’
Junsu started his oyaji gags and impersonating the other members. He started using these gags on other shows, showing the audience his 4D personality.

November – Tohoshinki was being featured in Koda Kumi's upcoming single ‘Last Angel’.

In between the continuous release of singles within 5 months, being featured in Koda Kumi's single and performing in ‘Music Station’, Tohoshinki also attended Koda Kumi's first Tokyo Dome concert in December as a special guest.


2008

January – Tohoshinki released their 16th single, [purple line], which was ranked 1st on the Oricon charts, which broke Tohoshinki's record after being ranked 2nd by ‘Lovin' you’, 2nd by ‘Summer Dream’, 2nd by ‘Shine’, 4th by ‘Forever Love’ and 3rd by ‘Together’.

February – Tohoshinki's 3rd full album, ‘T’ was released, ranking 4th on the Oricon charts. With ‘TRICK’ as the album's theme, each member had their chance taking up the role of lead singer for their new song in their respective singles for 5 continuous weeks.

March – Tohoshinki's 3rd live tour started with the 'arena' as the focus point of the tour and ending with Saitama's super arena as their last stop with a 2 days performance. They attracted up to a total of 150 000 people with 17 concerts for the tour. Sam-san was the Dance Director for this tour.

July – Tohoshinki released their 24th Single ‘Dōshite Kimi o Suki ni Natte Shimattandarō?’ and was ranked 1st on the Oricon Charts. This single was the 3rd consecutive single which was ranked 1st on the Oricon charts, making Tohoshinki the first foreign artist to have their singles ranked 1st on the Oricon charts for 3 consecutive times. Furthermore, this song was ranked first for being the most downloaded song on downloading sites.

October – Tohoshinki released their 25th single ‘Mirotic’ and was ranked 1st on the Oricon charts. Issues started as the Korean lyrics of the song was declared by the Korean Commission of Youth Protection were provocative and was detrimental to youths under 19 years of age. The High Court ruled in favor of Tohoshinki and cancelled commission's claim. 2008 was really the year of Tohoshinki as they set a record for having 4 of their singles ranked 1st on the Oricon chart.

December – Tohoshinki attended ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen Music Festival’, being the first foreign artists to do so. The song they performed, ‘Dōshite Kimi o Suki ni Natte Shimattandarō?’ ranking continued to rise on the charts.

2009
January – Tohoshinki's 26th single, ‘Bolero/kiss the baby sky/Wasurenaide’ was released, ranking 1st on the Oricon, breaking Tohoshinki's record that they have set with their previous single by being the first foreign artiste to have 5 consecutive singles ranking 1st on the Oricon chart.

March – Tohoshinki's 4th full album, ‘Secret Code’ was released, ranking 2nd on the Oricon charts.

It’s the first time for Tohoshinki performing alone on ‘Music Station’. Other than music shows like ‘Music Lovers’ and ‘Our Music’, Tohoshinki also went on ‘SMAPxSMAP’ and other talk shows. Their popularity was at the peak.

May – Tohoshinki performed in 6 stops of ‘A-Nation’. More than half of the audiences were eating food made by Tohoshinki.

September – ‘Endlessly Sweet’ was released online for the first time. Also being the commercial song for ‘Pinky’ which Tohoshinki endorsed. The song was ranked 'most downloaded' on downloading sites.

Jaejoong and Yoochun formed a duet and released the single ‘Colours~ melody & harmony/Shelter’ and was ranked 1st on the Oricon charts.

‘4th live tour 2009 'the secret code' FINAL IN TOKYO DOME’ was released and and ranked 1st on the Oricon chart.

December – Tohoshinki attended Kōhaku Uta Gassen, marking their 2nd consecutive time performing on the music festival.


2010

January – Released their 29th single ‘BREAK OUT!’ and was ranked 1st on Oricon Chart. It’s their first ever number one on Oricon monthly chart. On top of that, they had also renewed the record held by foreign artists by selling 25 thousand copies in the first month of sales and breaking their own record for having 7 number one songs on the Oricon Chart.

February – Released their first best album ‘BEST SELECTION 2010’. When they debuted in Korea, their potention to reach as the top star status are unquestionable. Monopolized music awards, had shown that they are more than just being ‘Idol Stars’. In order for them to get recognition in Japan, the most important thing to let people see their talents and potential.

However, the ‘Hallyu Wave’ was very strong during that period of time. They took the courage to stay away from being a part of the ‘Hallyu Wave’, but that had resulted in them having very few media appearances and was ranked 37th on the Oricon Chart. The only thing they can do is to work their way through by efforts and talents. The first time ever for ‘A-nation’, they were the opening artist and had performed only 2 songs.

Everyone knew that the opening act was just a platform to showcase the artist name. During that time, the seats were mainly empty, even if they want to put on a good show to promote themselves, but nobody was really paying any attention. Though it’s said to avoid the ‘Hallyu Wave’, but in their debut days, the supporters were mainly their passionate Korean fans.

Even though it was tough, but during their first live tour, their tickets were all sold out at their 2 days final at ‘Zeep Tokyo’. However, their popularity didn’t expand because of that. They continued to sing to those people that supported them, to sing to them.

Gradually, their efforts were being paid off. It was easy to tell by the music charts and their activities. The tickets for their concert at The Nippon Budokan were sold out on the very day it went on sale. Furthermore, they later released single ‘SUMMER’ which became a huge turning point in their career. Recorded as number 1 on the Oricon Charts, collaboration with CM was successful. ‘SUMMER’ became a long-term ‘Hot Sale’ object. Tohoshinki also began appearing on popular TV shows led by ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’ this increased their popularity even more.

To tell the truth, their popularity’s gradually rise is no doubt because of the fact that they were Korean idols. The representative track from ‘Summer’ is ‘Summer Dream’, this song provided the proper road for Tohoshinki’s music. It’s simple, but memorable. On TV shows Tohoshinki told funny stories using very simple and short Japanese, which caught many people's attention so their personality became a hotter topic among people than their music.

However, that’s a good thing. Like what was written in the beginning, ‘being known by everybody’ is the most important. On talk shows, they completely take off their idol image and show 100% of their confidence. From then on, it was common to see songs from them that aren’t the usually pop type make it onto music charts. Tohoshinki’s talents were widely recognized.

So last year their 2 final stages at Tokyo Dome was sold out on the very day it went on sale. Shortly after that during the “a-nation” concert, more than 80% of the audience there was Tohoshinki’s fans. They carried green towels and created a fantastic sight.

Now, no one can call Tohoshinki just 'Idols'.

東方神起

Name: Jung YunHo
Birthdate: 6th February 1986
Height: 184cm
Weight: 66kg
Blood Type: A

Without him, Tohoshinki might not be established. His love and ability to be a leader for his members are outstanding. He is an understanding leader who is calm and clearly knows what is the best for the 5 of them with the ability to make the right judgments. For the sake of Tohoshinki and his members, he can place himself at the last and doesn’t mind about it.

YunHo had that kind of sharp stare that shows his strong determination, which he had no fear no matter who he is dealing with. Ever since the debut of Tohoshinki, he had always been the arrow as well as the shield for his members. Though sometimes he looks as strict as a first-class student with serious talks, results in giving others a cold image, but his members had also ensure everyone that there isn’t any other person as lively as YunHo already.

If to see the 5 as a family, YunHo is no doubt taking the father role. However, sometimes he will give an interesting expression that belongs to a 24-year-old young adult, which will catch you off guard and attracted your full attention.

You can often hear his bass vocal and fast-rhythm rapping that nobody is able to catch up with. His dance move on stage is also had the power to trap your sight to him. But he would never over-showoff himself on stage, which is also an awesome point of him. Even though he is alone on the stage, there will be sight of ‘Tohoshinki’ as well, with an expression that he is proud of, to perform with his best for his members, for his group. What’s more, this passion of him will continue to move Tohoshinki forward, the energy they have are most likely be endless.


Name: Kim JaeJoong
Date of Birth: 26th January 1986
Height: 178cm
Weight: 63kg
Blood Type: O

Probably there isn’t anyone that suits this nickname– Hero. A dignified and beautiful face and a robust physique. People could not help to use those usual words, which were already used to describe him: Like a person who came out from a fairytale. Together with a little tenderness, he is a perfect prince. However, his real charm is not just his gentleness. He did not even know what his real charms are. So, what are they actually? Sure enough, his singing ability. Refreshing from the treble to the deep mid-range, enabling people to feel the physical and psychological pleasure, also depicting a beautiful change in the songs of the different sound levels, this is difficult for a singer. Radical rock melodies, upbeat pop, R & B dance music… Tohoshinki’s music really has a variety. It is precisely the tone of his voice so that he can sing Tohoshinki’s songs with his own personality, as an independent, with a strong sense of being. He and Yoochun are the best composers in the group. Even though there are not many songs which had been published, the two of them seemed to have saved a lot of songs.

His deep feelings were filled with the love of the members. Speaking about this, the other members would surely agree in unison. He is the most concerned for his members, and he felt anything amiss, he will be the first to discover and ask them naturally. Junsu said, “He was just like my mother. (Laughs~).” If Yunho is a father in the group, then Jaejoong must be the mother; what an enviable family. His tolerance towards the other members would be Tohoshinki Jaejoong’s greatest charm.

cr: OneTVXQ.com