They were called “Singers who would satisfy R&B fans of Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars,” by Billboard. Attracting 850,000 people to their Japanese tour last year, they broke new records as Korean singers in Japan. Stars with more fans than Elvis Presley. The people who ‘break records’ and ‘make history’ every step they take are none other than TVXQ (U-Know Yunho, Max Changmin).
Celebrating their 10th anniversary, TVXQ recently released their 7th album . And they are unbeatable. Their title track dominated various digital music charts on sites like Olleh, Bugs and Genie. Other tracks like , , and also ranked high on the charts. They even scored a grand slam, dominated the four major music shows of Mnet’s <m! countdown=”">, KBS’ , MBC’s and SBS’ .
U-Know Yunho said, “10 years actually don’t feel like such a long period of time,” and “We wanted to show people everything we had, and focusing on that made it feel like time was flying by. We want to keep this flow going, and keep meeting our fans for a long, long time.”
●Communication and Sincerity
Their 7th album is much more emotional and energetic than their previous albums. Their title track is a modern swing jazz piece that is reminiscent of an extravagant Las Vegas Big Band show. is a kaleidoscope-like funk-rock song while is a sweet R&B piece. Listening to the entire album pulls us into TVXQ’s musical world with their full and sophisticated sound. With 10 years of experience under their belt, both TVXQ and their album have become softer and more approachable.
U-Know Yunho said, “<Something> has a classical but extravagant big band feel to it, so it’s easy to listen to but powerful at the same time. We’ve taken a rhythm that the public will enjoy and mixed in TVXQ’s unique color. We did our best to fill our album with a variety of genres and emotions. In the past, we’ve focused on electronic sounds that emphasized visuals and complicated performances. They had a very masculine and strong feel to them. We tried to fill our 7th album <Tense> with as many genres as we could.”
Not only did TVXQ focus on communication through their albums, but they also increased their communication with their fans. Appearing on various radio programs and variety shows, the members of TVXQ have opened up about themselves more than ever. They are not just ‘shining stars on stage’. They have become ‘warm and approachable stars’ who sit next to us and talk to us.
Max Changmin smiled and said, “I think we’ve shed many skins that were wrapped around us for the past 10 years. It’s become much easier to show more of our true selves to our fans. We used to be quite hard on ourselves, holding back on our emotions and toning down our language during interviews and televised appearances. It’s not like that anymore. We express ourselves, saying what we like, what we don’t like and what we find pretty. We’ve shed the image that was branded upon us, and we’re greeting our fans as our true selves.”
●Hoping to become the longest-running group as their true selves
10 years since their debut, TVXQ’s worth continues to shine brighter every year. This is why we are more excited for what’s to come in the next 10 years, rather than for the past 10 years of achievements and success.
U-Know Yunho said, “There’s something we’ve said since our debut. We want to continue to evolve through various genres and transformations. That’s what our next 10 years will look like. We will continue to take on new challenges and transformations as we greet our fans. Of course, we will preserve the unique charm that TVXQ have always had. We will work hard to increase the value of TVXQ’s name and brand.”
Listening to U-Know Yunho’s response, Max Changmin added, We’ve done a lot of large-scale concerts till now, but I’d like for us to change the way we run our concerts as well, holding performances for families, for guys, or even for couples. We will only be able to succeed if we have passion and knowledge about music. The feeling of responsibility has only grown in the past 10 years. We will continue to work even harder to become a better role model for our juniors.”
Source: [hankooki]
Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net
