[TRANS] 121004 ‘Comeback’ TVXQ, “Nine Years As Singers.. Our Sense Of Responsibility Has Only Grown” Interview #1
The two-member group TVXQ has returned to their fans’ side for the first time in one year and eight months with a new Korean album. TVXQ’s U-Know Yunho (26) and Choikang Changmin (24) released their sixth studio album ‘Catch Me’ at the end of September. For the first time since releasing their fifth album ‘Why (Keep Your Head Down)’ in January, 2011, TVXQ are greeting their domestic fans with new songs in their latest album.
During their hiatus from the domestic scene, TVXQ successfully completed a tour in Japan and have reached a new level of maturity as musicians and human beings. They met with a total of 550,000 fans during their Japanese tour in the first half of the year. The event proved once more that TVXQ’s popularity is still soaring in Japan.
It has been eight years, getting close to nine, since the group released their debut single ‘HUG’ in January, 2004. They have been popular since their debut, and that popularity soon spread overseas. This would lead most to fall to mannerisms. But even now, TVXQ are still hungry for new challenges. This is the critical reason why they have not fallen to complacency.
Their new album has incorporated a sense of softness to their signature intense style of music to better approach the general public. They have stepped up to another new challenge.
The song that best represents this is the group’s title song ‘Catch Me’, which was composed and written by SM Entertainment’s star producer Yoo Young Jin. ‘Catch Me’ is a song that has a powerful electronic sound, but also has a melody that is relatively easy to sing along to.
The new album takes on a variety of genres, with a track list featuring a remake of ChaniMini’s bright and bubbly ‘Dream’, a medium-tempo ballad ‘How Are You’, and a rock number ‘Getaway’. It can be said that the new album reflects TVXQ’s musical capability and their endless aspirations for trying something new.
I sat with TVXQ, who had matured in many levels but still had a child-like innocence about them. TVXQ’s first performance for their sixth album will be during KBS 2TV’s ‘Music Bank’ on the 5th.
-How do you feel about your comeback?
(U-Know Yunho) I think our hiatus from Korea was longer than expected. It didn’t feel that long for us because we were performing overseas. But when we returned, we felt bad when we realized that our domestic fans had been waiting for us for a long time. We were planning to come back earlier, but it took us this long because we wanted to show that we had improved and grown. Our last song ‘Why’ emphasized our strong intensity, so we wanted our new song to better appeal to the public. We tried to balance out our unique style of music with a chorus that was easy to follow. We’ve always taken on new challenges, and this was yet another chance to show off something new. It’s only the beginning, and my heart is already pounding with anticipation. I still feel a bit of pressure because we haven’t performed yet.
(Choikang Changmin) It feels like it’s been such a long time since we had our last Korean comeback when I hear people say that it’s been a year and eight, nine months. But for us, it doesn’t feel that long because between our last two domestic albums, I think we’ve sung ‘Why’ over a hundred times during our Japanese concerts.
If you could give us an introduction of your latest album?
(U-Know Yunho) There are a lot of genres incorporated into the album. If we compare it to our last album, there are more songs that are similar to the bright tracks of our first album. There are songs such as ‘Dream’, which has a distinctive 90′s melody, ‘How Are You’, and a rock number ‘Getaway’. I think ‘Catch Me’ is a song that is easy on the ears, but hasn’t lost our distinctive style of music. We want to perform music that isn’t always a set in a specific style, even if we fail. This is why there are so many different genres in our new album. I want to hear, ‘TVXQ are like chameleons.’
-What was the most memorable moment of the last year and eight months?
(U-Know Yunho) We broke our own record for the most audience members at a Korean singer’s solo Japanese tour. We met with 550,000 fans during our latest Japanese tour. The most we had ever met with was 300,000 people. I was so moved during the two performances at Tokyo Dome that I cried my heart out for the first time since I made my debut. When our fans held a special event for us, I felt so grateful to be able to stand on stage in front of them.
(Choikang Changmin) Of course, our Japanese tour has been the most memorable moment. I’m usually the kind of person who wears himself out. I used to always think, ‘Why can’t I do this,’ when I made a mistake on stage. But I didn’t feel that at all this time around, and I made the effort to enjoy it from the beginning to the end. Even when I made a mistake, I would think ‘I’ll do better next time,’ and move on. One of the reasons why I changed is because of the Japanese movie (‘Fly with the Gold’) that I filmed during the Japanese tour. It was so hard to do both things at the same time, but I found that I could do it once I started. I was stressed out at first because I had to act in a foreign language, but I later found myself enjoying it. This process helped me change into a person who makes the effort to enjoy his work.
-It’s already been close to nine years since you made your debut.
(U-Know Yunho) We’ve been doing nothing but staring straight ahead, but when I look around now, I find that we’re sometimes the most experienced celebrities when we go to broadcasting companies. There are now people who want to become singers after hearing our music. Our sincerity and sense of responsibility has only grown with the passing of time.
(Choikang Changmin) I heard that Girls’ Generation recently celebrated their fifth anniversary. Hearing that, it made me realize how long it’s been since we made our own debut. (laughter)
-Then do your juniors find you difficult to approach?
(U-Know Yunho) In the case of Girls’ Generation, I think they think of as friendly older brothers who they can be at ease around. Haha. But I think they find us difficult to approach at the same time. I think that’s the best relationship to have (with our juniors).
(continued in part 2)
[TRANS] 121004 ‘Comeback’ TVXQ “Our Ideal Women, In Terms Of Looks, Are Han Yeseul And Jeon Ji Hyun” Interview #2
<continued from part #1>
-Do you have any words of advice for your junior idol groups?
(U-Know Yunho) First, I would like to tell them to foster good relationships with other people. I would like to tell them of the importance of greeting people (T/N: bowing when you meet someone). Because they’ll probably be singers for a long time. I also want to tell them to relax and take things in stride. It may seem as though we’ve always been doing well, but we didn’t become successful overseas overnight in countries such as Japan; we took it one step at a time and worked our way up. Through that process, we learned so much. We may have become conceited if we had been successful from the beginning, but that process gave us the opportunity to whip ourselves into shape as musicians.
(Choikang Changmin) I want to tell them to enjoy it. Our juniors are all people who have realized their dream of becoming singers, which they’ve held in their hearts from when they were young. Of course, it may feel like singing is a job at times, but how boring would it be to think of singing as nothing but a job? So I want to tell them to enjoy it.
-Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ craze is phenomenal. As one of K-pop’s representatives, how do you feel about the Psy syndrome?
(U-Know Yunho) Though we are envious, we’re also really happy for him. When we first made our overseas debut, Youtube wasn’t used as much as it is now. Now, it’s changed so that K-pop is able to spread all over the world. I believe that we have to help spread the K-pop craze.
-What do you think is TVXQ’s weakness?
(U-Know Yunho) Because we’ve taken on so many intense songs, I think that’s what has shaped our image. This could be a forte, but it could also be a weakness. I think about what we should do to change and evolve from this.
-Are you the fourth in line in SM after Yoo Young Jin, Kangta and BoA?
(U-Know Yunho) Since we’ve been with the company for a while, I think they ranked us for fun because they want to give us the treatment they believe we deserve. Haha. Of course, we’re not low in the ranks. Even when we get on a plane, they sit Kangta with (Kim) Min Jong, and BoA with us.
-You recently became a family with celebrities such as Jang Dong Gun, Kang Hodong and Shin Dong Yeop through SM’s subsidiary SM C&C.
(Choikang Changmin) I used to watch Kang Ho Dong and Jang Dong Gun on TV when I was in elementary school, so I still can’t believe that we’re now in the same company. (laughter)
(U-Know Yunho) I believe that the growth of the company will help give more support to the company’s celebrities. It’s great when the company does well.
-Who is your ideal woman?
(Choikang Changmin) I’d like for her to be someone who I can be comfortable around. I want to have fun with her like a friend, even when we start dating. Oh, and in terms of appearance, my ideal woman for now is Han Yeseul. It’s changed from Han Gain, Kim Tae Hee and Lee Nayoung. (laughter)
(U-Know Yunho) I’d like her to be sunny and considerate. It’s because I’d like to lean on her when things get rough. It doesn’t matter if she’s a celebrity or not, but I’d like for her to be understanding of the work I do. In terms of appearance, it will always be Jeon Ji Hyun for me.
-What are TVXQ’s future plans?
(Choikang Changmin) I think we’re going to focus on performing in music programs. We’re also planning to appear in more variety shows than we did during our ‘Why’ comeback. I’d really like to appear on ‘Radio Star’.
-What is a goal you would like to achieve in the future?
(U-Know Yunho) I want for us to be a long-running team. We’re kicking off a world tour this year, and I’d like for us to visit as many places as possible. I’d like for TVXQ to be a team that people eagerly wait for because we hold many fun and enjoyable concerts. It doesn’t matter if the concerts are at a small-scale. I really want TVXQ to hold a solo concert at the Madison Square Garden in New York where we held a SM Town concert. It was amazing to hold a SM Town concert in the same place that Michael Jackson once stood in.
(Choikang Changmin) I went to the Shinhwa concert, and it was great to see them performing together for their fourteenth year. I would like for us to be together for a long time like them. I’d like to showcase a new side of TVXQ that people haven’t seen that often, whether it be through acting or variety shows. I really hate the belief that an idol’s lifespan is short. I want to break that stereotype. Oh, and I would like to perform in countries of passion such as Spain and those in South American for our world tour.
-Any last messages you have for yourself?
(U-Know Yunho) I’d like to tell myself not to be sucked into the life of U-Know Yunho as a celebrity. Of course, I have to live as U-Know Yunho when I get on stage, but I’d like to be the country-boy Jung Yunho when I’m not on stage. As Jung Yunho, I want to experience what most people my age go through. So I always make the effort to figure things out by myself, without the help of our manager, when I’m not on stage.
(Choikang Changmin) The fact that I fearlessly took on SM’s offer when I was in the 7th grade was a lucky break for me as it led me to become a singer. There are times when it gets rough, and there are probably going to be rough times ahead, but I want to tell myself not to feel pressured and to enjoy it.
Source: [star news]
Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net
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