2004: Debut
TVXQ made their first appearance on December 26, 2003 during a BoA and Britney Spears Showcase. They performed their debut song Hug as well as an acappella rendition of O Holy Night alongside BoA. The group eventually released two physical singles (Hug and The Way U Are), accompanied by photo books, before their first album in 2004. TVXQ reached #1 on Korean music charts in three months after their debut.
An official fan club was created, named after the Cassiopeia constellation near the Big Dipper. TVXQ's fans chose the name "Cassiopeia" for their fan club because the constellation has 5 stars in its galaxy, and TVXQ has 5 members. When traced on a computer keyboard, "TVfXQ" makes the constellation Cassiopeia.
SM Entertainment had once considered adding a Chinese member to the group and have member rotation to help boost popularity in other countries, as hinted in The 3rd StoryBook - TVfXQ!, and to also branch each member into different solo activities, or possibly combine other trainees into the group. However, the idea was immediately abandoned due to a great deal of fan opposition and outrage who tried to also boycott SM Entertainment products at the time.
2006: Overseas expansion and release of third Korean album
Going overseas
Before returning to their homeland South Korea with their third album in fall, TVXQ endeavored to spread their sphere of influence further in other East Asian countries. They held their first Asian tour, were featured on commercials, and made guest appearances in Malaysia, Thailand, China and Japan. TVXQ members were the first Korean performers to ever stage a concert in Malaysia for their "Rising Sun 1st Asia Tour" in Bukit Jalil (Putra Indoor Stadium) [1]. The tour, which was in promotion for their 2nd Korean album Rising Sun released in 2005, continued to Bangkok in Thailand at the Impact Arena. The tour had also held its first concerts in South Korea.
Soon after, they was kept busy in preparation for the first tour in Japan in promotion of their first japanese album Heart, Mind and Soul. The members focused on strengtening their grasp on the Japanese language to increase promotions in Japan and communicate better with fans during the concert and in interviews, similar to BoA in her early debut years in Japan [2]. Then for the first time, TVXQ performed at a-nation, an annual Japanese live summer concert organized by Avex Trax that features highly popular j-pop artists such as Hamasaki Ayumi, Koda Kumi, and Namie Amuro among others. Moreover, they also released as many as five Japanese singles in total that year.
Their move to stretch outside of South Korea was successful and the fan response was overwhelmingly supportive. They were the first Asian group to win two Thailand Music Awards for both Best Music Video (Rising Sun) and Favorite Asian Artist. Their seventh Japanese single Sky hit #6 on the Oricon Weekly Chart, with their eighth single Miss You reaching #3 in Japan.[citation needed] They have topped both the Japanese and Korean charts on the Malaysian radio show "988" twice with their singles "Begin" and "The Fighting Spirit Of The East". The show has an audience of about 4.2 million listeners, reaching as far as Singapore.
Return to Korea
The group returned to Korea in late August in order to prepare for their third album titled "O"- . . . ('O' - Jung.Ban.Hap), released on September 29, 2006 with two editions. "O"- . . was re-released on November 11, 2006 to coincide with the group's image change for the promotion of their second title song "Balloons." The release contained two further editions with new versions of "Balloons" and "Get Me Some", along with a new track named "White Lie" written and composed by Xiah. "Balloons," in contrast to their lead single "O" Jung.Ban.Hap' and its heavy techno beats, is a lighter pop song about the innocence of childhood. It is a remake of an old hit by Five Fingers, re-written with a "modern feel" to try and appeal to kids of the new generation while relating to adults familiar with the original in an attempt to broaden their fanbase further.[3] In the first month of its release, the third album surpassed the 100,000 mark in South Korea, and to date has sold over 330,000 copies, the highest ranking album for 2006 in Korea.[4]
Their All About TVXQ became the best-selling DVD for 2006 in South Korea, with sales of 47,186 copies. With the success of the DVD, SBS and SM Entertainment, the co-producer of the TVXQ DVD, are planning to release "All About TVXQ 2" (working title) currently in the works.[5]
TVXQ were special guests at the 51st Asia Pacific Film Festival, held in Taipei. They presented an award together with Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin and performed "'O'-Jung.Ban.Hap." At the 2006 MKMF Music Festival, the group won four awards, including Best Group and Artist of the Year.[6] At the 16th Music Seoul Festival, which was held on the 1st December, the group won a total of three awards which included "Daesang," equivalent to 'Artist of the Year' award.[7] They also won the Daesang at the 21st Golden Disk Awards 2006, held on December 14th, in addition to a Bonsang.[8] At the SBS Gayo Awards 2006, held on 29th December, the group won another Daesang in addition to a Bonsang, making the group the king of the awards show sweeping four Daesangs in four major Korean music awards.
Their wins in major award shows coincided with increasing criticism of such shows. Doubt and discontent regarding the group "sweeping" the Daesangs were expressed by netizens whose votes are used as a measure of popularity. The results of the polls are "determined by mouse clicks of passionate fans," not the public.[9] Veteran artist Jang Hye-Jin raised concerns to establish the "Korean equivalent of the Grammy Awards."[10] The awards also had a long list of absentees such as Lee Hyo-ri, Rain, and PSY, and YG Family. While Lee and Rain cited busy schedule as a reason, their move was seen as a boycott.[11]
2007
On March 7, 2007, the group released their tenth Japanese single, Choosey Lover which charted #4 on the Oricon Singles Chart in Japan on the week of its release. On March 14, 2007, TVXQ released their second Japanese album entitled, "Five in the Black", debuting as #6 on the Oricon album charts.
From early April, TVXQ members started hosting a weekly radio program "TVXQ Bigeastation" on Japan FM Network channel, currently being aired on seven local FM stations.[12]
On May 26th 2007, TVXQ represented Korea on MTV's Video Music Awards Japan Best Buzz Asia in Korea. They performed 'O' Sei.Han.Go / 'O' Jung.Ban.Hap live that combined both the Japanese and Korean versions of the song. They won the 'Best Buzz Asia in Korea' award.
As a way to promote Korea's E-Government system's publicity and activities, TVXQ has recently been appointed as the public ambassadors on June 9th, at Gwanghwamun Central Government Building. [13]
Their 11th Japanese single, titled Lovin' You, debuted as #2 on the Oricon charts on June 13, 2007. Their 12th summer single, SUMMER ~Summer Dream/Song for you/Love in the Ice~ was released on August 1, 2007 and debuted as #1 and is still no.1 on the Oricon charts. 'Love in the Ice' from their Summer Dreams single will be the ending theme for the k-drama "Snow Queen" Japanese on air version. Hero Jaejoong sang a duet called "Just For One Day" with TSZX for their new japanese release Piranha[14].
"2nd Asia Live Tour Concert 'O'
With the album released in seven Asian countries (South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong), the band has begun its second Asian tour in support of their third album. The tour kicked off on the February 23, 2007 at the Olympic Park in Seoul. 12,000 fans attended the three Seoul concerts, including over 1,500 fans from Japan, China, Thailand, and five other Asian nations. The concert repertoire included 24 songs and dance sequences.[15].
The tour will travel through six other cities in Asia in the later half of the year including Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur.[16][17].
"2nd Live Tour 2007 - Five in the Black" (Japan)
With the release of their second Japanese album, 'Five in the Black', TVXQ will be going on its second Japan Live Tour nationwide. The tour will begin on May 5th, and end late July. The group was originally scheduled to hold 14 performances in 9 cities, but plans were altered after "pleas by fans who were devastated that their original shows had sold-out" [18]. There will be 16 live performances instead, including two new shows at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan Hall.
Members
The first member to join was Kim Jun Su ( ). He enjoyed singing at his church when he was young. At the age of 12 he was brought into the band through a televised talent search in which Moon Hee Jun and Kangta from H.O.T. were judges. His vocals won over the judges and won him through training for the next six years. After three years of training, he was supposed to debut, but puberty caused his voice to change and he was unable to sing until his puberty ended late after another three years. After six years, he debuted as Xiah Junsu ( ; Xiah is pronounced Shee-ah in Korean). Xiah was a stage name that Kim himself chose, explaining to his fans that the name was short for "Asia," as Asia is pronounced "a-shee-a" in Korean. "Xiah" would be a reference to his desire to become not only a star in Korea, but a star recognized all throughout the continent.
The group's second member, Jung Yun Ho ( ), secured his spot in TVXQ through a dance competition, winning first place. Prior to this, he accumulated some musical experience as a rapper and backup dancer for K-pop singer DANA in her Diamond video. As a dancer, he accompanied many Korean singers, travelling to China as well. Jung debuted as U-Know Yunho ( ). His chose his stage name as "U-Know" from his Korean name "Yun Ho"; U-Know is pronounced "You know" in English. However, it is meant to mean "Yunho 'Knows You'" in regards to understanding the other members as their leader. He is the second oldest member and the "leader" in TVXQ.
Kim Jae Joong ( ) left his hometown in Chungnam to audition for SM Entertainment. Having left the shelter of home, he experienced poverty and strife before becoming a celebrity. Kim debuted as YoungWoong Jaejoong ( ; the English definition to his stage name is "Hero") His manager picked the name Hero for him because he wanted him to be the hero of the music industry. Kim was selected from an audition of 5000 people. Kim won first place, both in best looking and best vocals. Thus Kim became the main vocal of TVXQ.
Shim Chang Min ( ) was grouped with the youngest participants in the audition. Like Xiah Junsu, he impressed the judges with his powerful voice. He joined the band under the name ChoiKang Changmin ( ; the English counterpart to his stage name is "Max"). ChoiKang in Korean means "the best"; "Max" became an international rendition of this name.
One month before the group's debut, a final member was added. Park Yoo Chun ( ) lived in Fairfax, Virginia for roughly four years and auditioned for Brothers Entertainment and was sent to Korea to SM Entertainment. Micky was Park's English nickname when he lived in Virginia. As the winner of a talent show, he was granted the opportunity to sign with SM Entertainment in Korea. He now performs under the stage name Micky Yoochun ( ).
Member profiles
Hero Jaejoong
Stage Name : HERO | Young Woong Jae Joong ( or )
Real Name : Kim Jae Joong ( , )
Birthdate: January 26, 1986 (1986-01-26) (age 21)
Birthplace: Chungnam ( or )
Position: Main Vocals
U-Know Yunho
Stage Name : U-KNOW | U-Know Yun Ho ( or )
Real Name: Jung Yun Ho ( , )
Birthdate: February 6, 1986 (1986-02-06) (age 21)
Birthplace: Gwangju ( )
Position: Baritone, Leader
Micky Yoochun
Stage Name : MICKY | Micky Yoo Chun ( or / )
Real Name: Park Yoo Chun ( , )
Birthdate: June 4, 1986 (1986-06-04) (age 21)
Birthplace: Seoul ( )
Position: Bass-baritone
Xiah Junsu
Stage Name : XIAH | Xiah Jun Su ( or )
Real Name: Kim Jun Su ( , )
Birthdate: December 15, 1986 (1986-12-15) (age 20) (registered on January 1, 1987)
Birthplace: Gyeonggi ( or )
Position: Baritenor
Religion: Seventh-day Adventist[19][20]
Max Changmin
Stage Name : MAX | Choi Kang Chang Min ( or )
Real Name: Shim Chang Min ( , )
Birthdate: February 18, 1988 (1988-02-18) (age 19)
Birthplace: Seoul ( )
Position: Tenor
Religion: Buddhism[21]
