Introduction to DBSK/TVXQ

2008 and beyond

TVXQ started off the year with their 16th single "Purple Line", by the Korean composer of TVXQ's hits "Rising Sun" and ""O"-Jung.Ban.Hap.", being released on January 16, 2008 in Japan and January 23, 2008 in South Korea. "Purple Line" topped the Oricon Weekly Chart during the week of its release, becoming the group's first #1 on the weekly charts
in J.

TVXQ promoted the single in Korea, where a Korean version of the song was released. The following week, the group released its third Japanese album, entitled. Which contained songs from their past singles such as "Lovin' You", their summer hit "Summer Dream", "SHINE," "Forever Love", "Together", and "Purple Line". As an exclusive extra, TVXQ added "Kiss Shita Mama, Sayonara" ("Kissしたまま、さよなら") which was composed and written by the members Micky Yuchun and Hero Jaejoong, and their own version of "LAST ANGEL". T debuted in Oricon charts as #2.

Rhythm Zone, a side label of Avex, created a new marketing strategy for TVXQ by releasing five additional singles in February and March 2008 in consecutive weeks after the release of the album T. Each single contained a member's solo and a song that was part of "TRICK" included in the T album.


On March 28th, TVXQ was appointed the "Goodwill Ambassador for Asia" by Universal Studios Japan to promote the attractions of USJ. The group released its 22nd single, "Beautiful You / Sennen Koi Uta (千年恋うた‎‎)" on April 23, 2008. The single debuted at number one on the Oricon daily and weekly chart, becoming TVXQ's third single to reach that position on the daily charts and second single to reach that position in the weekly chart. The group thus became the second non-Japanese Asian artist to do so, the first being Taiwanese artist Ouyang Feifei (歐陽菲菲), 24 years and 5 months ago.

On May 17, 2008, TVXQ performed "Rising Sun," "Tonight," and "Purple Line" at the 6th Korean Music Festival in Los Angeles, California. They also took part in ensemble encore performances of "Balloons" and SMTown's "Let's Go on a Trip." In addition, the group performed as the closing act at the 14th Annual Dream Concert at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul on June 7, 2008. On June 12th, TVXQ ended their 2nd Asia Tour in Beijing with a performance for over 200,000 fans; the tour had begun on February 23, 2007 in Seoul, and spanned 13 performances covering Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Beijing. On top of that, their two separate live tours in Japan during 2007 and 2008 drew crowds of 55,000 and 150,000, respectively, for a total of 390,000 audience members attending the concerts.

On July 22, 2008, TVXQ became the first non-Japanese Asian artist to have three number ones on the weekly Oricon singles chart, when their single " Why Did I Fall In Love With You? (どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう？)[/url] attained number one with weekly sales of 68,000 copies.

The group is currently working on the upcoming 4th Korean album entitled "MIROTIC" (from the korean word 'Miro' meaning maze and the english 'tic' to make a new word) which is scheduled to be released on September 26th, 2008. They're also making their comeback through SBS's "Inkigayo" on September 28th, 2008.

2007: Japanese activities and concerts

After sweeping major awards in South Korea, TVXQ flew to Japan for almost a year to do intensive promotions and gain a stronger foothold in the Japanese music industry, the second largest in the world. The year also marked the beginning of their second and largest Asia concert tour, the "2nd Asia Tour Concert 'O'" and later the 2nd Japanese live
tour with the release of Five in the Black album. They also released consecutive monthly singles, which according to Oricon Style, helped raise their recognition in Japan with every release by 3% in 2006, increasing to 5% with every release in 2007. 14.1% of Japanese fans were female while 4.6% were male with age demographics between 10
to 40 years old.

The single "Choosey Lover" was released on March 7th, followed by "Lovin' You" debuting as #2 on the Oricon charts in June, their first single to reach such a position in Japan. Closely following its success, the bubblegum pop tunes of "Summer Dream" became TVXQ's most successful Japanese single in 2007, debuting as #1 and with sales of 112,771 copies in a week. Their double A-side single "SHINE / Ride On" debuted at #2 on the Oricon daily charts in October. Japanese singer Koda Kumi collaborated with TVXQ for her upbeat 38th single "Last Angel", which was released November 7th and ranked #3 on debut; the song was featured in the movie Resident Evil: Extinction. The collaboration with Koda Kumi aided TVXQ in raising recognition between teenage males (58.0%) and men in their 30s (62.0%) towards them, which could grow to be a new fan base for the group. In the same month, their 14th Japanese single "FOREVER LOVE" also debuted at #3. In December, the title song single "Together" for the "Cinnamon" animation movie debuted at #2.

In early April, the members began hosting a weekly radio program called "TVXQ Bigeastation" on Japan FM Network channel, which is currently being aired on seven local FM stations. The group represented Korea on MTV's Video Music Awards Japan and won the 'Best Buzz Asia in Korea' award on May 26th, 2007. They were also invited to many prominent Japanese talk and music shows such as Hey!Hey!Hey! and Utaban during their stay.

In South Korea, they released their first digital single entitled "여행기 (Yeo Haeng Gi)", along with "A Thousand Years Love Song", "하루달 (Harudal)", "All in Vain", "한여름의 크리스마스 (One Summer Night's Christmas)" and "Evergreen" ; these were the only songs that were released in Korean during 2007. Evergreen was particularly special to fans because it was a song where the music was composed by group member Micky Yuchun
and the lyrics written by group member Max Changmin. Despite the prolonged absence from South Korea, TVXQ was able to maintain their popularity in their homeland. Their guest performances in concerts, such as 2007 DREAM Concert and Mnet 20's Choice Awards, appearances of Korean variety shows, and personal access to Korean fans through celebrity websites such as Iple and UFOtown, ensured that TVXQ still provided entertainment for the Cassiopeians. During a virtual presidential election by MTV Korea, the group was voted as the "President of the Republic of Korean Music" among thirty
other candidates by netizens. Because of this win, MTV and Boombox declared December 23 as “TVXQ Day”. They were also appointed as the Korea's e-government ambassadors by the South Korean government to help boost the new system to the citizens. In Thailand, TVXQ had the highest foreign artists sales of 114,027 for 2007, while their single " SHINE" was #1 of the “Top 10 of No.1 on Year Chart 2007” charts by Channel V Thailand .

Return to Korea


The group returned to Korea in late August in order to prepare for their third album titled "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap. ("O"-正.反.合.), released on September 29, 2006. The album's name translates to 'O'-Thesis.Antithesis.Synthesis to reflect the title song's theme of degradation and corruption in society and the power of the people to avert this change. After topping several music charts in Korea, "O" - Jung.Ban.Hap. was re-released on November 11, 2006 to coincide with the group's image change for the promotion of their
second title song "Balloons." This release contained new versions of "Balloons" and "Get Me Some", along with a new track entitled "White Lie" written and composed by Xiah Junsu. "Balloons," in contrast to their lead single "O"-Jung. Ban.Hap. and it's heavy techno beats, is a lighter pop song about the innocence of childhood. It is a remake of an old hit by Five Fingers (Korean), re-written with a "modern feel" to appeal to younger generations while relating adults familiar with the original, in an attempt to broaden their fanbase further. In the first month of its release, "O"- Jung. Ban.Hap. surpassed the 100,000 mark in South Korea and became the highest ranking Korean album in sales overall for 2006, with over 385,000 copies sold in South Korea as of December 2007.

Aside music, the group acted together in their feature 4-episode theatrical drama VACATION, later released with the 3rd album DVD. With the success of their 3rd album and rise in popularity, they were invited to several popular Korean variety shows such as X-Man, Heroine 6, and Ya Shim Man Man among others. Hero Jaejoong and Micky Yuchun also acted in a skit comedy on MBC's Goldfish. Their All About TVXQ DVD became the best-selling DVD for 2006 in South Korea, with sales of 47,186 copies surpassing movies and shows. With the success of the DVD, the co-producers SBSi and SM Entertainment decided to release All About TVXQ season 2 in a 5 DVD box set for 2007.

Year 2006 was marked with many scandals for the group in Korea, including Hero Jaejoong's adoptive parents issue, the anti-fan incident with the leader U-know Yunho, and TVXQ's winnings in all the major music award shows in Korea. The group's sweeping of every Artist of The Year (Daesang) award caused many critics to question the legitimacy of the award shows, blaming netizen online votes of being unfair. At 2006 MKMF Music Festival, TVXQ won four awards including Best Group and Artist of the Year.

At the 16th Music Seoul Festival, they won three awards including Daesang, equivalent to Artist of the Year followed by another Daesang at the 21st Golden Disk Awards 2006, in addition to a Bonsang. Lastly, they also picked up awards at the SBS Gayo Awards 2006 in which they were awarded the prominent title of Daesang and Bonsang.

2006: Third Korean album and overseas expansion

Going overseas

Before returning to their homeland South Korea with their third album in fall, TVXQ endeavored to spread their influence further in other East Asian countries. They held their first Asian tour, including shows in Malaysia, Thailand, China and Japan. TVXQ members were the first Korean performers to ever stage a concert in Malaysia for their "Rising Sun 1st Asia Tour" in Bukit Jalil (Putra Indoor Stadium). The tour, in promotion for their 2nd Korean album Rising Sun released in 2005, continued to Bangkok in Thailand at the Impact Arena. The tour had also had its first concerts in South Korea.

Soon afterwards, the group was kept busy in preparation for the first tour in Japan in promotion of its first Japanese album, Heart, Mind and Soul. The members focused on increasing their fluency in Japanese for their activities. TVXQ performed at a-nation,
an annual Japanese live summer concert organized by Avex Trax that
features J-pop artists under the record label, and released five
Japanese singles that year.

The group was the first Asian group to win two Thailand Music Awards for both Best Music Video ("Rising Sun") and Favorite Asian Artist. They also won the Popular Vote Asia Artist award at the Virgin Hits Awards 2006 in Thailand. Their seventh Japanese single "Sky" hit #6 on the Oricon Weekly Chart with their eighth single, "Miss You/'O' Sei.Han.Gō", reaching #3 in Japan. In addition, 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.

2005: Second Korean album Rising Sun


During 2005, TVXQ expanded its career into Japan. The group marked its official debut in Japan with the release of the single Stay with Me Tonight on April 27, 2005. (Earlier in the year, the English version of their single "Hug" and their first Korean album Tri-Angle had been released in Japan without much attention).

TVXQ continued to release two additional singles entitled "Somebody to Love" and "My Destiny". While in Korea, the group released its second Korean album Rising Sun, which ranked #1 on the monthly charts and #4 for the yearly sales, and continues to chart in the top 100. Due to demand, the album was officially released in other foreign countries in 2007. Weeks before the album's release in Korea, Hero faced a leg injury which prevented him from dancing in the Rising Sun music video or on stage performances and from taking part in some of the album's promotional activities. For group dance sequences on stage he was instead replaced by another dancer.

TVXQ later released a joint single album with label-mate Super Junior, Show Me Your Love which also debuted as #1 on the monthly charts. In addition, the group began acting careers in Banjun Theater drama episodes. Micky Yuchun and U-Know Yunho appeared in guest acting roles for the Nonstop 6 (Rainbow Romance) series. At the end of the year, TVXQ received the Best Music Video award for the song "Rising Sun" and the People's Choice Award at the 2005 Mnet KM Music Video Festival.

On June 14, 2005, TVXQ and BoA were appointed as PR spokespeople for the city of Los Angeles in the United States.

History

2003: Debut

Before debut, there were several tentative names for the group. Each member was to come up with ideas for the name of the group. The three names suggested were Oh Jang Yook Bu (오장육부, meaning the five visceras), Jun Muhk Go, acronym for 전설을 먹고 사는 고래 meaning A Whale That Eats Legends, and Dong Bang Bul Pae (동방불패), the Korean title of Ashes of Time. The group decided on Dong Bang Bul Pae, and Lee Soo Man even asked the film's director for permission to use the name. In the end, however, the name was rejected because its Hanja was not aesthetically pleasing, and the group name was changed instead to Dong Bang Shin Ki.

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 a'cappella rendition of "O Holy Night" alongside BoA. The group eventually released two 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. By October, the first album Tri-Angle was released. Their official fan club derives its name from the Cassiopeia constellation near the Big Dipper.

The constellation consists of 5 main stars, and TVXQ has 5 members. When traced on a computer keyboard, "TVfXQ" resembles Cassiopeia. SM Entertainment once considered adding a Chinese member to the group and rotate members to help boost popularity in other countries, as hinted in The 3rd StoryBook - TVfXQ!. The purpose would have been to branch each member into different solo activities, or possibly combine other trainees into the group. However, the idea was abandoned due to opposition from fans who threatened to boycott SM Entertainment products.

Musical style

Although TVXQ was initially marketed as an a cappella group, most of the group's music is mainstream K-pop and J-pop. Their debut single "Hug" was a bubblegum pop song, but their follow up single "The Way U Are" was a dance/R&B number, complete with stylized outfits and choreographed dance moves. Their third major single release, "믿어요" (I believe), in contrast, was a ballad. TVXQ concluded the year with a Christmas album that also had an a cappella version of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". With their releases in 2004, the group showed a versatility in style.

With consecutive releases, they have not moved from this formula, as their second and third albums have had a similar mixture without moving outside of the mainstream. The second album's singles, for example, included a dance song (their first release) and a ballad (their follow up). The third album's releases have been dance, ballad and pop tracks.

The group also recorded a cappella tracks for official albums released in both Korea and Japan, in which they rearrange original songs as acappella versions. In the 13th single released in Japan, TVXQ arranged their debut single 'Hug' as an a cappella track and performed it in their 2nd Live Tour in Japan.

In Japan, the group's image and music has shifted towards a different market from the one in South Korea. Owing to their more mature fan base in Japan, TVXQ has gravitated towards a cappella and melodic pop songs rather than the heavy and fast pop tunes, coupled with intensive dance choreography, that are commonly seen in their usual hits in South Korea.

The Group

TVXQ (often stylized TVXQ!), an acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (東方神起), is a quintet South Korean boy band formed under SM Entertainment in 2003, and later introduced to Japan under Avex Trax in 2005. Since their debut, TVXQ has become one of the most popular singing groups in East Asia, gaining great popularity in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and other East Asian countries.

TVXQ is referred to as Dong Bang Shin Ki (동방신기) in South Korea; fans often abbreviate the name to DBSK. The Japanese equivalent of the group's name is Tohoshinki, which is promotionally only used in Japan. TVXQ, the acronym based on the Chinese counterpart of their name, is the abbreviation officially used on all products and advertisements outside of Japan. TVfXQ is also used, but not often. Their name roughly translates as "Rising gods of
the East." (동방의 신이 일어나다).