Kim Jaejoong, the emotional and talented vocalist of JYJ and the actor who has appeared both on TV and on the big screen, is taking on a new challenge as a solo singer.
Trying out a new genre that he hasn’t sung before, Kim Jaejoong collaborated with Kim Bada to create a song that carries the traditional rock genre with a unique color that accentuates his powerful vocal talent.
Putting all the emotions and untold stories of the past ten years as a singer and actor into the lyrics of his first solo mini album, Kim Jaejoong is full of anticipation for the new challenge he faces.
There’s a negative view on idols pursuing a musical career in the rock genre. This is one of the reasons why Moon Hee Joon had so many anti-fans when he began pursuing a solo career after H.O.T disbanded.
“I took those negative views into consideration. Because rock is a completely different genre from the styles that I’ve sung till now, I tried really hard to get rid of the habits I’d formed over the years, and I learned how to sing and express my emotions in the traditional form of rock.”
Though he was nervous about taking on a new genre, he was determined to overcome any difficulties and succeed. Instead of an excessive transformation, he worked hard to absorb the traditional form of rock and thanks to the help of his fellow musicians, he was able to successfully create an album.
“When I first chose rock as my preferred genre and set out to make an album, I didn’t think I’d be working with such great seniors who directed me and wrote songs for me. I received such great help and I was able to learn so much about the genre I’ve always liked.”
Kim Jaejoong’s collaboration with Sinawi’s vocal Kim Bada has become a new learning experience and discovery for him. From the genre’s specific vocalization to changing his singing style, Kim Jaejoong had to go through an intensive training procedure to get to where he is now.
“It was really hard to change my singing style. If you listen to my mini album and compare the voice from the first track and the last, doesn’t it sound like two different people? ‘One Kiss’ has a lot of high notes, so I felt like I was in another world (laughter). It felt like I was back to being a rookie, but I didn’t throw away my original style to fit the rock genre, I just worked hard to find a way of changing my style slightly to go with the genre.”
Kim Jaejoong participated in the song- and lyric-writing process of his entire album. Kim Jaejoong wrote down all the emotions and hidden stories of his life as a singer and actor in the lyrics of his songs and showcased his extraordinary talent yet again.
“I tend to write lyrics pretty quickly. It might have taken me a while if I was writing something where I had to create a story, like in a novel, but since most lyrics aren’t that embellished, I write them pretty quickly. It took me around 15 to 20 minutes to write the lyrics for ‘I’ll Protect You’ from the ‘Protect the Boss’ OST and ‘Even When I’m Alive, It Feels Like a Dream’ from the Dr. Jin OST. But it took me three days to write the lyrics of ‘One Kiss’. I think that’s the longest time it’s taken me to write lyrics.”
The music video of ‘MINE’, the title song of Kim Jaejoong’s mini album, as left a deep impression on many for its use of top-quality production equipment and intense visuals. Kim Jaejoong starts the music video with a mysterious and innocent image, moves on to being chained down and in pain, and finally transforms into a surreal character, perfecting a bone-chilling image in each scene and mixing in a grotesque edge to his music video with outfits from the famous designer Song Hae Myong.
“I asked the director to get the theme of the music video from the lyrics of the song, and he came back to me the next day with a variety of concepts that we implemented in the music video. It felt as though he had done a lot of research on me beforehand. We stayed up for two nights to film the music video, and it came out to be very artistic and I’m personally extremely satisfied with the end product.”
What reaction did the members of JYJ, who are famous for their strong friendship, have to Kim Jaejoong’s solo album? When asked this question, Kim Jaejoong gave a content smile.
“In Yoochun’s case, he listened to ‘One Kiss’ for the first time in China and said, ‘I feel like having a drink right now. This song is really good. If I said that I liked it better than Junsu’s ‘Tarantallegra’, he’d start sulking at me, right?’ Yoochun has always preferred emotional songs over dance tracks, and I think that’s why he felt like having a drink when he heard that song.”
“Junsu really liked my title song ‘MINE’. In the past, when we were active in Japan, I once released a single called ‘Maze’. Ever since then, Junsu’s been telling me, ‘If you ever release a solo album, you have to do a rock song. You have to do a song with a strong, rhythmic beat.’”
Though he is a member of JYJ, Kim Junsu has kept his title of ‘Xia(h)’, the name he used when he was a member of TVXQ, whenever he partakes in any solo activities. But Kim Jaejoong is cautious about using the name ‘Hero’.
“Junsu must really like ‘Xia’. (laughter) Junsu believes that when he’s a musical actor, the name ‘Kim Junsu’ fits him best, and when he’s a singer, the name ‘Xia’ fits him best. And I think I agree with him on that. For me, because the title ‘Hero’ is a name I used when the five of us used to be together, I’ve decided to refrain from using it as much as possible now.”
Kim Jaejoong chose ‘fans’ as the biggest reason for the release of his solo album. He knows that since creating JYJ and starting his individual activities, he’s been more focused on his acting than his singing career.
“I’m sure that there are people who like JYJ as a group, and people who like the vocals of each member. I didn’t want to make those people wait too long, so I wanted to bring my music to them quickly.”
Through his upcoming activities for his album, Kim Jaejoong plans to visit his international fans as well. Though there aren’t many tracks on his album, this is his first solo album and he is in discussions with his agency for the possibilities of a solo world tour in the future.
As JYJ have won their lawsuit against the Japanese agency AVEX, many are predicting Kim Jaejoong to pursue solo activities in Japan, but he has a different idea.
“Personally, I’d like for all three members of JYJ to be together when he resume our activities in Japan. I think it’s our duty to go together as a trio and perform for the fans who have been silently waiting for us in Japan for the past four years. As for the possibilities of a world tour, I’d like to go on one if my songs are able to live up to the high-quality that a world tour performance demands.”
Kim Jaejoong, who has started off the year as a singer, plans to continue his acting career as well, on TV and on the big screen. With JYJ activities scheduled as well, 2013 is set to be a very special year for his fans.
Source: [StarN]
Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net
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