From TVXQ to JYJ and now the musical stage…
Kim Junsu is an idol star ‘raised’ by a giant entertainment agency, from SM Entertainment to C-JeS Entertainment. However, Kim Junsu is no longer called ‘Xiah Junsu’ when people talk about his musical stage career. They just call him ‘XIA’, which is derived from ‘Xiah Junsu’. Fans have taken that nickname and applied it to his various roles, giving him new names like ‘XiaTod (Elisabeth)’ and ‘Xiacula (Dracula)’.
During the press call of the musical ‘Dracula’ that was held on the 26th, Kim Junsu looked confident and at ease, as expected from a man who has been in the musical industry for six years. Kim Junsu performed songs from the first half of the show like ‘She’, ‘A Perfect Life’ and ‘Loving You Keeps Me Alive’, showcasing his explosive vocals.
Kim Junsu’s voice is very unique and quite different from other musical actors. His vocal tone is closer to rock than classical opera. His unique ‘husky voice’ sounds like traditional trot music at times.
Since his days as an idol star, Kim Junsu has been known for his husky voice. His voice has gotten even huskier and rougher since he first stood on stage in the 2010 run of the musical ‘Mozart!’. He has morphed his husky voice to better suit the musical stage.
Kim Junsu’s vibrations and husky voice are still a little rough around the edges, especially when heard for three hours straight on the musical stage. It’s true that compared to his high notes, his low notes still require a bit of work.
During the press call, Kim Junsu confidence didn’t falter when asked, “How do you rate your voice as a musical actor?” He talked about his casting for ‘Mozart!’ and spoke confidently about his voice.
“In the beginning, I tried to make my voice more operatic, and I struggled because of it. But that was when one of my seniors came and talked to me. They said that there are many musical actors in the world, but the audience was coming because they wanted to see Kim Junsu and his acting and singing skills. If they didn’t like what they saw, people would slowly stop coming to see me. But I was able to express my own unique twist to the performance, it could make me stronger, so I shouldn’t try to copy other people. There were four people cast in the role of Mozart. They wouldn’t have cast 4 people if my vocal tone was the same as the other musical actors.”
He also spoke of the struggle of retaining his unique color as he went back and forth between a singer and a musical actor.
“It was hard to switch from pop music to the musical stage. But I’m now able to draw a distinction between the two. I try to retain my unique color while still sounding appealing. Though it was a difficult process, I believed in myself and have never looked back since the beginning.”
Kim Choon Soo, the CEO of OD Musical Company and co-producer of ‘Dracula’ added his own thoughts.
“Musicals rely heavily on emotional delivery. I believe that Kim Junsu’s voice is perfect for the role of Dracula. Although multiple actors are cast for one role, they each bring a different take on their characters. The charm of double-casting is letting the audience see for themselves what each actor brings to the stage.”
Kim Junsu’s confidence must be working for the audience.
Since 2010, he has won the Korea Musical Awards’ Best Male Newcomer Award (2010), the Korea Musical Awards’ Best Musical Actor Award (2012), the Golden Ticket Awards’ Best Musical Actor Award (2012, 2014), as well as the Korea Musical Awards’ Popularity Award four times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), the Musical Awards’ Popularity Award twice (2011, 2012) and the Golden Ticket Awards’ Popularity Award four times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015).
He has also showcased immense ticket power, selling out every performance he stars in. Kim Junsu broke a record in 2015 by selling out 57 performances (approximately 93,000 seats) for ‘Death Note’ at the Seongnam Arts Center. ‘Dracula’ will be playing for two weeks from the 23rd of January till the 9th of February, and Kim Junsu’s performance were sold out in only 10 minutes during pre-sales.
Source: [heraldcorp]
Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net
