FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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