TVXQ is the acronym of Tong Vfang Xien Qi, a Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment. It is composed of five members specializing in the areas of dance, acappella, acting, and pop with an R&B vibe. The group has gained popularity in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand and other East Asian countries. Currently, it is one of the top pop groups of the Korean wave (hallyu). Their name translates to "Rising Gods of the East." They are known in Korea as 'Dong Bang Shin Gi' (often abbreviated as DBSG and DBSK) while the Japanese equivalent of the group's name is 'Tohoshinki' (abbreviated as THSK). The group debuted in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China in 2004.
2003
Typical of a premature boy band, the members were separately chosen by SM Entertainment through various auditions. The trainees in the company including members of Super Junior were divided into groups of their peers and received training to find potential talents. The five members of TVXQ were originally the lead vocals of other singing groups.
2004: Debut
TVXQ made their first appearance on December 26, 2003 during a BoA and Britney Spears Showcase. They performed their debut song Hug as well as an acappella rendition of O Holy Night alongside BoA. The group eventually released two physical singles (Hug and The Way U Are), accompanied by photo books, before their first album in 2004. TVXQ reached 1 on Korean music charts in three months after their debut.
An official fan club was created, named after the Cassiopeia constellation near the Big Dipper. TVXQ's fans chose the name "Cassiopeia" for their fan club because the constellation has 5 stars in its galaxy, and TVXQ has 5 members. When traced on a computer keyboard, "TVFXQ" makes the constellation Cassiopeia. SM Entertainment had once considered adding a Chinese member to the group and have member rotation to help boost popularity in other countries, as hinted in The 3rd StoryBook - TVfXQ!, and to also branch each member into different solo activities, or possibly combine other trainees into the group. However the idea was immediately abandoned due to a great deal of fan opposition and outrage who tried to also boycott SM Entertainment products at the time.
2006: Overseas expansion and release of third Korean album
Going overseas
Before returning to South Korea with their third album in Fall 2006, TVXQ endeavored to spread their sphere of influence out of the country. They held their first Asian tour, made guest appearances, and were featured on commercials in several Asian countries in 2006, including Malaysia, Thailand and Japan. TVXQ members were the first Korean performers ever to stage a
concert in Malaysia for their "Rising Sun 1st Asia Tour", in Bukit Jalil (Putra Indoor Stadium) for their 3rd Korean album "Rising Sun", released in 2005. The tour continued to Thailand, Bangkok at the Impact Arena. Soon after, they was kept busy in preparation for the first tour in Japan, "Heart, Mind and Soul", to promote their Japanese album. They released as many as 5 japanese singles in total that year. The members also focused on strengtening their grasp on the Japanese language to increase promotions in the country and communicate better with fans, similar to BoA in her early debut years in Japan.
Their move to stretch outside of South Korea was successful and the fan response was overwhelming. They were the first Asian group to win two Thailand Music Awards for both Best Music Video (Rising Sun) and Favorite Asian Artist. Their seventh Japanese single Sky hit 6 on the Oricon Weekly Chart, with their eighth single Miss You reaching 3 in Japan. They have topped both the Japanese and Korean charts on the Malaysian radio show "988" twice with their singles "Begin" and "The Fighting Spirit Of The East". The show has an audience of about 4.2 million listeners, reaching as far as Singapore.
Return to Korea
The group returned to Korea in late August in order to prepare for their third album titled "O"-æ£.å.å--. ('O' - Jung.Ban.Hap). The album was released on September 29 with two editions; version A containing a poster and a photo book, version B with a poster and a special DVD. In the first month of its release, the third album surpassed the 100,000 mark in South Korea, and to date has sold over 330,000 copies.
"O"- was re-released on November 11, 2006, less than two months after its original release date, to coincide with the polar image change for promotion of another album song Balloons. The new release contained new versions of Balloons and Get Me Some, along with a new track named White Lie, which was written and composed by TVXQ's Xiah. As with the original release, there were two versions of the re-release, one containing a DVD of their Vacation drama, and the other with a DVD of their 3rd Album Showcase and many of their music videos including "O". and Balloons. Balloons, in contrast to the heavy R&B/techno beats of "O" Jung.Ban.Hap, their lead single, is a "cute" pop song about the innocence of childhood. It is a remake of the hit song by Five Fingers, re-written with a "modern feel". The music video features members wearing animal outfits with balloons and young children who are similarly dressed. Following the video's theme, their live performances features them with "child-themed" outfits, such as the Smurfs, the Seven Dwarves, Peter Pan, Super Mario Brothers, and Harry Potter.
SM has released a statement saying that the album had done well in Taiwan, and that the lead single has topped the Asian singles chart and was 5 overall.
Their "All About TVXQ†became the best-selling DVD in 2006 with sales of 47,186 copies. The results have particular significance because the music DVD left behind numerous DVD films to top the chart. SBSi and SM Entertainment, the co-producer of the TVXQ DVD, will release "All About TVXQ" (working title).
The members of TVXQ have appeared on many variety shows in 2006, including X-Man,Heroine 6, and Love Letter. Due to the group's strong and devoted fan base, hosts and other participants were, at times, jokingly careful not to harm them or otherwise show them in a negative light, making it seem as if the band members were given special treatment.
TVXQ were special guests at the 51st Asia Pacific Film Festival, held in Taipei. They presented an award together with Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin and performed 'O'-Jung.Ban.Hap. At the 2006 MKMF Music Festival, the group won four awards, including Best Group and Artist of the Year. At the 16th Music Seoul Festival, which was held on the 1st December, the group won a total of three awards which included "Daesang," equivalent to 'Artist of the Year' award. They also won the Daesang at the 21st Golden Disk Awards 2006, held on December 14th, in addition to a Bonsang. At the SBS Gayo Awards 2006, held on 29th December, the group won another Daesang in addition to a Bonsang, making the group the king of the awards show sweeping four Daesangs in four major Korean music awards. Their wins in major award shows coincided with increasing criticism of such shows. Doubt and discontent regarding the group "sweeping" the Daesangs were expressed by netizens whose votes are used as a measure of popularity. The results of the polls are "determined by mouse clicks of passionate fans," not the public. Veteran artist Jang Hye-Jin raised concerns to establish the "Korean equivalent of the Grammy Awards". The awards also had a long list of absentees such as Lee Hyo-ri, Rain, and PSY, and YG Family. While Lee and Rain cited busy schedule as a reason, their move was seen as a boycott.
2007
TVXQ has been actively promoting themeselves in Japan. On March 7, 2007, the group released their tenth Japanese single, Choosey Lover which charted 4 on the Oricon Singles Chart in Japan on the week of its release. It was the band's tenth straight single to enter the top-10 Oricon chart since the release of their first single, entitled Stay With Me Tonight, in April 2005. On March 14, 2007, TVXQ released their second Japanese album entitled, "Five in the Black", debuting as 6 on the Oricon album charts. From early April, TVXQ members started hosting a weekly radio program "TVXQ Bigeastation" on Japan FM Network channel. The program is currently being aired on seven local FM stations and is reportedly becoming quite popular in the country. "Attesting to the soaring popularity of TVXQ, fans have asked the program to be aired in large cities like Tokyo and Osaka as well." On May 26th 2007, TVXQ represented Korea on the VMAJ (Video Music Awards Japan). They performed "O" Sei.Han.Go / "O" Jung.Ban.Hap live that combined both the Japanese and Korean versions of the song. They won the Best Buzz Asia in Korea award, beating other popular bands in the race such as SS501. They will be releasing their 11th Japanese single, titled Lovin' You, on June 13, 2007. The single is also featured in a japanese drama. Although it is not confirmed yet, neither by DBSK or SM Town, there was some information leaked on April 23, 2007 that there will be a new summer (5th) single released on July 06, 2007, called Heat-Wave. The supposed single will include 2 new songs, 1 remix and 2 instrumentals. The remix track however is in fact confirmed to be released and it will be a hip-hop remix of Phantom, track 9 from the Korean album "O". it will have a completely new beat and 2 extra rap verses. It was also hinted on a radio station in Japan by Kim Jae Joong that there will be a new Korean single. He also told that recently he has been composing a couple of songs, and his best creation is a new up-tempo song that is about questions about love that can't be answered, that is probably referring towards the new song -included on the new single- 10 Questions. But there is no information revealed yet about the title track Heat-Wave.
"2nd Asia Live Tour Concert 'O'"
With the album released in seven Asian countries (South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong), the band has begun its second Asian tour in support of their third album. The tour kicked off on the February 23, 2007 at the Olympic Park in Seoul. 12,000 fans attended the three Seoul concerts, including over 1,500 fans from Japan, China, Thailand, and five other Asian nations. The concert repertoire included 24 songs and dance sequences, including the group's previous hits such as Hug and Rising Sun. The tour will travel through six other cities in Asia in the later half of the year including Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur.
"2nd Live Tour 2007 - Five in the Black" (Japan)
With the release of their second Japanese album, 'Five in the Black', TVXQ will be going on its second Japan Live Tour nationwide. The tour will begin on May 5th, and end late July. The group was originally scheduled to hold 14 performances in 9 cities, but plans were altered after "pleas by fans who were devastated that their original shows had sold-out". There will instead be 16 live performances, including two new shows at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan Hall. Tohoshinki - 2nd Live tour 2007- Five in the Black (to be broadcasted by TBS on July 29th, 2007)
