キットの東方神起: [NEWS] JYJ Announces Global Album “The Beginning”, Kanye West helps on the production

"The hard work we put in to be the best in what we do have so far been rewarding. There are of course times where that is not the case. However with the strength from our love of music, the constant support of fans, family and friends, we are able to overcome any hardships. We believe that the hardships we experience help us to persevere and ultimately mold our characters to be more mature. As we mature as individuals, our music will also mature, and as our music matures, we hope that it can bring hope and strength to others."

That is the philosophy of JYJ, comprised of three members from South Korea: Kim Jaejung, Park Yuchun and Kim Junsu. JYJ is releasing its new global debut album The Beginning (Warner Music Worldwide) on October 12. The title of the album is synonymous with their journey to date and marks a first for the group to release an English language album.

JYJ was originally from the boy band TVXQ, and Tohoshinki which was formed in 2003 in Korea. JYJ is arguably the biggest boy band Internationally, evidenced by the trio making it into the Guinness Book Records in 2008 and 2009 for having the World's Largest Official Fan Club at over 800,000 members in Seoul alone and being The Most Photographed Celebrities in the World shot an estimated 500 million times in magazines, albums jackets, and commercials from the time of their debut in 2003 to May 19, 2009 with their former group.

JYJ has teamed up with A-list US producers Kanye West and Rodney Jerkins for The Beginning JYJ's musical style consists of many genres such as pop, R&B and dance; they are also known for singing a cappella.

The first single to be released in the US will be "Ayyy Girl", with vocals and production from Kanye West. Besides the catchy first single by Kanye West, The Beginning also sees original compositions by top music producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. The two tracks are “Empty” and “Be My Girl”. “I'm really glad to work with JYJ on their debut album. It's all about the East meeting the West these days and the world is becoming a melting pot of various cultures. To have Kanye and myself champion the cause of unifying the world through the international language of music and introducing top artistes from one end of the globe to this end in America makes this a very special project to us” adds Rodney Jerkins.

How did JYJ hook up with West and Jerkins? “Our Korean producer has connections with them in the US and thought it would be a great idea tor JYJ to collaborate with them. So a few calls were made and we were thrilled to find out that the feeling of wanting to work together was a mutual one!”

About working with such luminaries as West and Jerkins, JYJ says, “It was a great new experience that we are really privileged to have. We felt the pressure of working with such superstars initially, but our anxieties were allayed when Kanye/Rodney showed us great support. We were able to have a really good time working with them and exchanging ideas about music with one another.”

According to JYJ band member Kim Jaejung, “Being a singer was a dream of mine since I was in middle school.” For Kim Junsu, it was even earlier. “I wanted to be a singer since I was in elementary school.” The whole band agrees on their motivation to create music as a career: “We all want to always be real and true to who we are and what we do, and to always do our best. We choose honor over money and fame.”

“We constantly listen to many genres of music in order to help in being better singers, composers, musicians, and we are inspired by many artists; from rock to R&B; to acapella to piano pieces.” Some of their musical influences/heroes include Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men, Stevie Wonder, and of course Michael Jackson.”

JYJ has just recently started writing songs in English, which is not their first language. According to Kim Jaejung, “There is pressure as we are not native English speakers, but we are not daunted by it. We hope our music can cut across the language barrier and still deliver our message.” Adds Park Yuchun, “I think it is liberating to be able to express our music in English, if it is acceptable to our fans. I hope this will help bring our music to more people around the world and bring us closer to those who like our music.”

“Being able to perform in a more widely known language is really wondeourul as we are now able to reach out and connect with more fans with my music,” says Kim Junsu. “There is also a deeper connection with existing English speaking fans that are familiar with our Korean and Japanese music.”

To those who have not yet heard JYJ? “Prepare to be surprised,” advises JYJ. “Just relax and leave any pre-conceived ideas about Korean artistes/Asian pop aside and listen to us with an open heart.”

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Media Contacts:
Melissa Lam
Publicist - Asia/Europe
Email: mel@tinsel-pr.com

Lesley Zimmerman
Publicist - US
Email: Lesley@lesleyzmediapr.com

CJes Entertainment
Publicist - Korea
Email: JYJ@Cjes.co.kr

For tour enquiries, please email tour@jyj-thebeginning.com.

1. Intro ( Composed by S.Tiger)
2. Ayyy Girl_Feat. Kanye West / M. Yusef (Composed by Kanye West, K. Hamler, P. Phenom, M. Yusef, Jae Chong / Lyrics by K. Hamler, P. Phenom, M. Yusef)
3. Empty (Composed by Rodney Jerkins / Lyrics by Kyoko Hamler, L. Daniels, T. Parker)
4. Be My Girl (Composed by Rodney Jerkins / Lyrics by Kyoko Hamler, L. Daniels, T. Parker)
5. Still in Love (Composed by Hero Jae-joong / Lyrics by Kyoko Hamler)
6. I Love You_Feat. Flowsik (Composed by Micky Yu-cheon / Lyrics by Kyoko Hamler)
7. I Can Soar (Composed by Xiah Jun-su / Lyrics by Kyoko Hamler)
8. Be The One (Composed by Jae Chong / Lyrics by Jae Chong, Terry Shorter, Kyoko Hamler)
9. Ayy Girl_ S. Tiger Remix
10. Empty_DJ EON Remix
11. Be My Girl_DJ EON Remix

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JYJ Announces "The Beginning"

New album from the ex-members of Asia's top selling male vocal act "TVXQ" collaborates with international music superstars on global debut

29 September 2010, International: JYJ, which includes 3 main members from arguably the biggest selling male vocal group in Asia "TVXQ" has teamed up with A-list US producers Kanye West and Rodney Jerkins for their global album debut "The Beginning". The title of the album is synonymous with their journey to date and marks a first for the group to release an English language album.

JYJ has an enormous fan base worldwide and the trio made it to the Guinness Book Records in 2008 and 2009 for having the World’s Largest Official Fan Club at over 800,000 members in Seoul alone and being The Most Photographed Celebrities in the World shot an estimated 500 million times in magazines, albums jackets, and commercials from the time of their debut in 2003 to May 19 2009 with their former group.

The first single off the album "Ayyy Girl" is produced by Kanye West who lends his vocals to the song. It also features the maestro of spoken word, Malik "The Poet" Yusef. It's a song that depicts the quest of seeking that perfect girl but when you find her, things are never quite as perfect as you envision it to be.

Besides the catchy first single by Kanye West, The Beginning also sees original compositions by top music producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. The two tracks are "Empty" and "Be My Girl".

"I'm really glad to work with JYJ on their debut album. It’s all about the East meeting the West these days and the world is becoming a melting pot of various cultures. To have Kanye and myself champion the cause of unifying the world through the international language of music and introducing top artistes from one end of the globe to this end in America makes this a very special project to us" adds Rodney Jerkins.

Other than the creative collaborations with the US top producers onboard, JYJ who has been dabbling in songwriting since their teenage days, have also contributed a song each to the album. The tracks are "Still in Love" Jaejung, "I Can Soar" Junsu and "I Love You" Yuchun.

"We have faced many challenges in these recent months but are glad to complete an album which the boys are extremely proud of. The Beginning is a product of their blood, sweat and tears, and they hope fans will see the efforts that went into making this excellent album. As a partaker in their journey, I am so proud of them at this moment for what they have achieved." Says Mr. Baek Chang Ju, the trio's manager and CEO of C-JeS Entertainment.

The album comprises of 7 tracks and 3 remixes. Jae Chong, one of Asia's leading music producers has also contributed a track on it and played a big role in organizing and producing the overall project with the 3 members.

The Beginning is produced by Show Shop Entertainment and distributed by Warner Music worldwide. The album will be released on CD & digital formats from 12th OCT. There will also be a special limited edition 'Luxury Package' which will be numbered and limited to only 99,999 sets.

The first single "Ayyy Girl" will be made available via i-Tunes for download on the 19th of Oct.

New Album Showcase Tour 2010

JYJ will be embarking on an 8 city new album showcase tour from the 15th of Oct to the end of November in Asia and the US. More information on the confirmed tour stops can be found via the tour schedue tab.

About JYJ
JYJ comprises of three members from South Korea namely Kim JaeJung, Park Yuchun and Kim Junsu. They were originally from the boy band Dongbangshinki also known as "TVXQ" and "Tohoshinki" which is formed in 2003 in Korea. who are active in Korea and Japan from 2003 onwards. Known for their good looks, dancing skills and vocal capabilities, the boys took the world of Asian pop music market by storm. They were also the first group to successfully spearhead carry the 2nd Korean Music wave into the Japanese music market by becoming industry and became the first non Japanese act foreigner to have achieve nine No. 1 singles songs on Japan's Oricon Charts. In 2009, the trio left the band and went on to form JYJ. In 2009, the trio sued their management company for release from their 13 year slavery contract. The suit became Korea's largest news making headlines and legal battle ongoing till now was further intensified by the involvement of their Japanese record label. In June 2010 this year, JYJ held their first concert under their new identity rebranded at the Tokyo Dome, singing to more than 200,000 fans from 43 countries around the world. To date, the concert DVD became the second fastest selling DVD in Japan this year shifting 140,000 copies in its first week of release.

Media Enquiries:
Lesley Zimmerman
Publicist - US
Email: Lesley@lesleymediapr.com

Melissa Lam
Publicist - Asia/Europe
Email: mel@tinsel-pr.com

Cjes Entertainment
Publicist - Korea
Email: JYJ@Cjes.co.kr

To download the EPK, click here.

City	Venue	Date
Bangkok	Impact Challenger	15th October
Malaysia	TBC	17th October
Hong Kong	Asia World	24th October
Taipei	Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center	30th October
Shanghai	Grand Stage	7th November
New York	Hammerstein	12th November
Seattle	WAMU THEATER	13th November
San Francisco	Bill Graham Auditorium	14th November
L.A	Shrine Auditorium	19th November