The first Korean album that JYJ have released is in fact, a letter from them. JYJ’s first Korean album contains all the honest stories that they have wanted to talk about but have been unable to do so till now. Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun and Kim Junsu wrote down the emotions they felt as they traversed the dark tunnel which seemed to have no end and created lyrics from these words. The times of suffering have made them the hardworking people they are now, and have given birth to an album filled with their compositions. The members of JYJ, who we met at the press conference to commemorate the release of their first Korean special album ‘In Heaven’, opened and looked closely at the that they had created. Kim Junsu said it was ‘a gem-like album’, while Kim Jaejoong described it as ‘a code-like album’. The illustrious results are in their hands but they still do not know where the end of the tunnel is. But, what’s important is that it’s slowly but surely getting better.We reveal the story of JYJ, arranged in keywords to express the stories they wished to tell.
‘In Heaven’: (Jaejoong) It’s an album that contains the memories and the inside story of the past two years. While I’m proud of the fact that so many of our compositions are included in the album, I know it’s an album that elicits a lot of memories. We were unable to appear on broadcasted programs due to unavoidable circumstances, and the only way we could approach our fans and the masses was through concerts. The compositions within the album are songs that were more for our concerts than for creating an album, and that fills me with emotions.
A code-like message: (Jaejoong) There’s a message in most of the songs. There are some lyrics that voice our honest stories in a 100% straight manner, while there are some that beat around the bush as we can’t say what we really want to say. But no matter how much we beat around the bush, I’m sure if you’ve been wish us till now, you’ll think our inside story as you listen to the songs. On the other hand, the regular person will just hear the lyrics for what they are. That’s why this album is a code-like album.
Producer JYJ: (Jaejoong) We work well together. I know the strengths and weaknesses of these friends really well because we’ve spent so much time together. I don’t necessarily need to ask for what purpose the parts in a member’s composition were distributed the way they were to know their intent. (Junsu) When I write a song, I always ask the members for their opinion on it. In that process, we’re able to pick up on things that I wouldn’t have been able to think of by myself. Because we trust each other as musicians, we accommodate to each other’s opinions and move in a direction that will show JYJ’s color.
Fallen Leaves: (Junsu) It’s a song I wrote right after the musical ‘Mozart!’ ended. I wrote the lyrics for the song around two or three o’clock in the morning while we were in Taiwan, and I expressed through music the emotions I had wanted to talk about but hadn’t been able to express in words.The ‘Start over’ in the refrain at the very end was initially intended to be sung just once. But I wanted to express it in the voices of our members, so Yoochun sang it once, Jaejoong sang it once and I sang it once. We sang it a total of three times. The ‘Start over’ in the lyrics of ‘Fallen Leaves’ was the message I most wanted to voice to the public.
JYJ’s Color: (Junsu) I don’t want to choose one specific color for us. We aren’t biased towards a specific genre, and we try to express the exact emotions that we feel at the moment. We want to take on a variety of genres. I don’t know what other genres we’ll take on in the future, and I think our future color will be one in which a variety of musical genres are naturally integrated with JYJ.
KBS’s review is unqualified: (Jaejoong) Because tracks of an album that aren’t the title song often fail to pass the review, I didn’t feel offended when I first received the news. But the problem is ‘why the song failed to pass the review’. They laid down the verdict that the song was unsuitable for airing because of a word that they made an assumption about and made up without asking the creator for the actual meaning. To mark something off in the way they want and to give a notice of this is disrespecting the creator.
P.S.M: (Jaejoong) It means Performer Success Museum. Everyone wants to find success in their lives. But it is only possible to succeed by receiving help or education from institutions or borrowing the strength of others. For example, if we assume that schools or private educational institutes are museums that make you successful, then the people within these institutes lie to the people who are looking for hope. They say, ‘We don’t care about the materialistic things, we just want to help you’. That’s what it means.
Concert: (Jaejoong) When we hold our concerts, we deliberately try to put in as much time to talk as possible. It’s to the extent that one could ask ‘Is this a concert or a fanmeet?’ We don’t have many outlets in which we can communicate with our fans. By choosing to focus our activities on concerts, we keep increasing the number of songs we have and present these to our fans, and we try to have as many conversations as possible with them. It’s like we vent out our emotions in front of our fans. Though we decided on a theme for every concert, we end up ignoring that theme because we talk so much and we start joking around. (laughter)
Solo Concert in Europe: (Yoochun) Though we’re holding a tour in Europe, we won’t change our color and style just because the venue of our concert has changed. We try to integrate JYJ’s color in the culture of these countries. (Junsu) Even when we had our North American tour in Canada and the LA, San Francisco and New Jersey regions, we felt this great sense of pressure like we do now for our Europe tour. But once we actually got to the concert venue, we saw that there were more fans who had waited for us than we had expected. Though we’re worried, we try to think of it in a positive way.We think of the fact that we’ve gotten this far as a miracle, and we hope that another miracle will ensue.
Director Kim Jaejoong: (Jaejoong) I like to meddle in things a lot. If something’s even a little out-of-place, I try to set it straight so I keep butting in. That’s how I started directing. Even with our music, I went from saying ‘I don’t like the lyrics’ to ‘Let me write them’. And when I wrote lyrics that were suitable, that’s how I began writing my own lyrics, and I have a lot of small greeds that I wish to fulfill.
Yunho, Changmin: (Jaejoong) They often appear in our dreams. Once, all three of us dreamt of them on the same night. I think a considerably large amount of time has passed. Though the misunderstandings that came about because of the time and distance we’ve spent apart may take more time to unravel, shall I say that for us, a lot of it has already disappeared? We want to meet with them and talk, just once.
Source: [10Asia]
Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net
re-up by: iXiahCassie
Momma’s Source: iXiahcassie
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Thank you, Jae, June, and Micky.
All three installments of these interviews are so natural, so sweet, and so informative. As time has progressed I believe that we are seeing more and more of JYJ’s true feelings, instincts, and talents come to the surface to be shared with all of us. I believe that Jaejoong sets the tone as the Hyung with his ability to communicate, nurture and emote. He, in turn, is shored up by Yoochun and Junsu with the strengths that they possess. Junsu keeps everyone smiling and is so athletic and creative, as they all are–and Yoochun maintains a steady shoulder to depend on while having the ability to lean on a shoulder if there is a need. Unique men with unique personalities.
All of our members are hard-working idealists, and I believe that they will continue to grow and to teach us as well as accepting teaching from us. This is a loving family and it is such a privilege to know our guys. <333