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Tong Vfang Xien Qi

Revision as of 16:08, 7 May 2009 by Solarblade (talk | contribs) (→‎Japanese Discography)
DBSK

Tong Vfang Xien Qi (東方神起 in Hanja/Chinese/Japanese; 동방신기 in Hangul) is a five-member male chorus group based in Korea by SM Entertainment. In Japan, they are officially known as TOHOSHINKI. Due to differences in romanization of the Hangul by fans, they are often seen as Dong Bang Shin Ki or Dong Bang Shin Gi. Depending on which romanization is used, they are abbreviated as TVXQ, TVfXQ, DBSK, DBSG, or THSK. On official material in Korea and Japan they are shortened to TVXQ and THSK respectively. The group itself mostly uses the "TVfXQ" abbreviation.

TVXQ has debuted in Korea, Japan, and China and is well known as one of the leaders of the Hallyu Korean Wave. They are currently under the SM Entertainment label in Korea and the avex rhythm zone label in Japan.

Members

  • Hero (Kim Jaejoong 김재중)
  • U-Know (Jung Yunho 정윤호) (Leader)
  • Micky (Park Yoochun 박유천)
  • Xiah (Kim Junsu 김준수)
  • Max (Shim Changmin 심창민)

Information

TVXQ promoting "Hug"
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TVXQ promoting "Hug"

Formation

The five members of Tong Vfang Xien Qi were chosen via several auditions held by SM Entertainment. The first member to joing the group was Kim Junsu, who was chosen for his singing ability. He entered SM at twelve years of age and was trained for about six years before he debuted as Xiah Junsu. The second member added, who would later become the leader, was Jung Yunho, who went by U-Know Yunho. He was chosen for his dancing ability and first place in a dance competition. Previously, he had rapped and done work with Dana. The third member added was Kim Jaejoong, who won a competition for both looks and voice. His nickname, Youngwoong, which translates to Hero, was given to him by a fortune teller. Fourth came the youngest member, Shim Changmin, who was chosen for his vocals. Finally, Park Yoochun was added before the group's debut. Yoochun had been living in Chantilly, Virginia in the United States with his family, where he attended high school, and went by the name Micky. He was spotted by SM Entertainment in an all-state singing competition, in which he had won first place.

TVXQ promoting TRI-ANGLE
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TVXQ promoting TRI-ANGLE

Debut and Early Works

TVXQ debuted in Korea on December 26th, 2003 during a BoA performance in tribute to Britney Spears, singing "Oh Holy Night" a capella with BoA, as well as their first single HUG. They chose the name "Cassiopeia" for their fanclub because the constellation has five stars, matching TVXQ. Though evidence surfaced that SM Entertainment had intended upon a group with rotating membership, the idea was abandoned due to strong fan dissension. They quickly found themselves at number 1 on the Korean Charts as they released their first album TRI-ANGLE on October 13th, 2004. They released their second album, Christmas Gift from Dong Bang Shin Ki, a Christmas tribute featuring a few a capella tracks that December. Soon after they turned their attentions to the Chinese market, releasing Chinese/English versions of the songs "Hug" and "TRI-ANGLE". In 2005, they released their third Korean album, Rising Sun, which was also a success, selling 284,045 copies overall.

First International Activities

Between their second and third album, TVXQ began their "Rising Sun 1st Asia Tour" tour across Asia, making stops in China, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan [1]. In 2005, they debuted in Japan with their single Stay With Me Tonight. Though the group did not speak Japanese, they found themselves thrust into the Japanese market in an attempt to increase their notoriety. Learning Japanese from staff members, they went on to release six singles and an album between 2005 and 2006, though not to much commercial success. When asked to reflect on their first venture in Japan, group members agreed that it was lonely and they had spent a lot of time in their apartment. After their single Sky, a moderate success which placed # 6 on the Oricon charts, they once again returned to focus on Korea and began preparations for their third Korean album.

TVXQ promoting 'O' - Jung.Ban.Hap
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TVXQ promoting 'O' - Jung.Ban.Hap

Third Korean Album and Scandals

In late 2006, the group began promoting their third Korean album, 'O' - Jung.Ban.Hap and its repackaging with the song "Balloons". The album saw great commercial success, eventually selling over 370,000 copies in Korea and internationally, winning the group a variety of awards.

2006 was a year full of scandals for the group. In April, Jaejoong was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He appeared in their next concert, however, and apologized to fans 100 times. In October, an incident with an anti-fan left Yunho hospitalized after he drank from a bottle containing Cyanoacrylate, also known as Super Glue. Though the girl's identity was known, no charges were pressed as Yunho stated that he has a sister near the same age as the girl. Yunho was replaced in the performances around that time by a masked dancer. Towards the end of November, a man named Han came forward claiming to be Jaejoong's biological father and filed a lawsuit against his adoptive parents. The lawsuit was withdrawn, however, when Jaejoong recognized the man as his real father but chose to keep his adoptive name.

Return to Japan

Keeping a busy schedule, in late 2006, TVXQ turned their undivided attention back to the Japanese market. In December, they released their 9th Japanese single, miss you / "O" - Sei・Han・Gou, which charted on the Oricon in the #3 spot. All five members began taking intensive Japanese lessons to help their ability to communicate and subsequently began appearing on many Japanese variety shows while continuing to release singles and their second Japanese album, Five in the Black. Then began their "FIVE IN THE BLACK" tour and due to their popularity, added two concerts at the legendary Tokyo Nippon Budoukan Arena. In June, they released the single Lovin' you, which was a great success and ranked #2 on the Oricon. In August, they released their four-sided SUMMER ~Summer Dream / Song for you / Love in the Ice~ single, which peaked at #1 in the daily charts, but fell short to Hey! Say! 7's single and took the #2 spot for the week. Their 13th single Shine / Ride On released on the 19th of September also ranked #2 on the Oricon charts.

TVXQ in Japan
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TVXQ in Japan

TVXQ continued their international concert and fan-meet venture, "2nd Asia Live Tour Concert 'O'", making stops in China and Taiwan. However, due to the rare mid-autumn Typhoon Krosa, their second concert in Taiwan was canceled, resulting in a loss of NT $30 million. The group had performed their first concert on the 5th of October in the outdoor stadium in the midst of the typhoon, persisting through the pouring rain and strong winds, and felt deeply disappointed that the second one had to be canceled. [2]. The next day TVXQ returned to Japan to shoot the PV for their LAST ANGEL single with fellow avex artist Koda Kumi.

In December 2007, Avex announced 7 new releases in a timespan of 3 months. In an official announcement, the company decided to invest more into TVXQ, due to the group's rise in fame. Bigeast (the Japanese fanclub) initially had 5,000 members, which increased to 19,000 members in 2007. This represents one of the biggest membership bases among fanclubs managed by Avex.

TVXQ started off the year with their 16th single, Purple Line, which took the #1 position on the Oricon Weekly Charts; the group became the first non-Japanese group to achieve such a position. The song will also be included in their third Japanese album. On January 22, 2008, the group released its third Japanese album entitled "T". It contained songs of their past singles such as "Lovin' You," their summer hit "Summer Dream," "SHINE," "Forever Love," and "Together." As an exclusive extra, the album contained the TVXQ version of "LAST ANGEL." "T" debuted at #2 in Oricon daily album charts, a great improvement compared to the previous album, "Five in the Black."

Rhythm Zone, which implemented package strategies including a release of CD singles by Koda Kumi for 12 weeks in a row, is planning to create a new package strategy for TVXQ. Koda Kumi had her first #1 hit during that promotion. Following her success, Rhythm Zone came up with the plan to release five more singles in February and March 2008 for TVXQ. Each single will contain a member's solo. All five solos are included in the Mash-Up song "Trick", the intro to their T album, and the main song on the "Trick" singles.


Korean Discography

Albums

Singles

DVD / VHS

Compilation / Other


Japanese Discography

Albums

  • Plus Japan Versions of Rising Sun and 'O'-Jung.Ban.Hab

Remix Albums

Singles

DVD / VHS

Compilation / Other

External Links

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