Biography
2009: Lawsuit against SM EntertainmentIn mid-2009
The three TVXQ members who were to become JYJ filed a lawsuit against their South Korean record label, SM Entertainment, arguing that the 13-year length and structure of their exclusive contracts as well as the terms of profit distribution were unilaterally disadvantageous towards the artists and should be invalidated. The Seoul Central District Court in October 2009 ruled in favor of JYJ affirming their right to independently engage in entertainment activities and granted JYJ's injunction suspending the JYJ-SM contract; its ruling emphatically pointed out it was a "subjugating contract" with terms that are grossly incompatible with Korean labor and contract law. The three members of JYJ continued their activities in Japan for over half a year after the filing of the injunction until their Japanese agency, Avex, announced a group hiatus in early 2010.
On 17 February 2011, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed SM Entertainment's injunction against the three members.
The three TVXQ members who were to become JYJ filed a lawsuit against their South Korean record label, SM Entertainment, arguing that the 13-year length and structure of their exclusive contracts as well as the terms of profit distribution were unilaterally disadvantageous towards the artists and should be invalidated. The Seoul Central District Court in October 2009 ruled in favor of JYJ affirming their right to independently engage in entertainment activities and granted JYJ's injunction suspending the JYJ-SM contract; its ruling emphatically pointed out it was a "subjugating contract" with terms that are grossly incompatible with Korean labor and contract law. The three members of JYJ continued their activities in Japan for over half a year after the filing of the injunction until their Japanese agency, Avex, announced a group hiatus in early 2010.
On 17 February 2011, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed SM Entertainment's injunction against the three members.
2010: Debut as JYJ, Japan tour and The Beginning
The three-member group was announced in April 2010 by Rhythm Zone, a sub-label of Avex. The group performed two rounds of lives: the four-day Thanksgiving Live in Dome concerts at Osaka Dome and Tokyo Dome in June, and performances at the nationwide a-nation tour throughout August. The group's debut release, The..., was released in September 2010, and debuted at number one on Oricon albums charts with 140,000 copies sold in the first week. The DVD for their Thanksgiving Live in Dome concerts sold 116,000 copies the first week after being released. Both the album and DVD debuted at № 1 on Oricon's DVD and album chart in the same week.
In September 2010, Avex Entertainment announced plans to suspend all of JYJ's Japanese activities. Avex claimed this stemmed from issues the label had with the president of the group's Korean management, C-JeS Entertainment. JYJ stated it was a conflict over new terms demanded by Avex in contract renegotiation.
The group released their English-language global debut album under Warner Music Asia, The Beginning, on October 12, with the Kanye West-produced single "Ayyy Girl" as lead track.[9] Two weeks before the release of the album, 500,000 copies of The Beginning had been pre-ordered and pre-sales for the 99,999 copies of the special edition of the album reached 400,000 requests. JYJ promoted the new album via a worldwide showcase tour throughout October and November with dates in South Korea, Southeast Asia and the United States.[12] On November 27 and 28, they launched JYJ Worldwide Concert in Seoul, a two-day concert that was held at Seoul's Jamsil Olympic Stadium with a total seating of 100,000 (50,000 for each show).[13] It was directed by well-known concert producer Jeri Slaughter.
In spite of a ban in the Entertainment Departments of South Korea's three main terrestrial broadcasters, JYJ had their first public broadcast performance on December 31, 2010, at the 2010 KBS Drama Awards. They sang 찾았다 “Found You” – a ballad track from the drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal which starred member Yoochun.
The three-member group was announced in April 2010 by Rhythm Zone, a sub-label of Avex. The group performed two rounds of lives: the four-day Thanksgiving Live in Dome concerts at Osaka Dome and Tokyo Dome in June, and performances at the nationwide a-nation tour throughout August. The group's debut release, The..., was released in September 2010, and debuted at number one on Oricon albums charts with 140,000 copies sold in the first week. The DVD for their Thanksgiving Live in Dome concerts sold 116,000 copies the first week after being released. Both the album and DVD debuted at № 1 on Oricon's DVD and album chart in the same week.
In September 2010, Avex Entertainment announced plans to suspend all of JYJ's Japanese activities. Avex claimed this stemmed from issues the label had with the president of the group's Korean management, C-JeS Entertainment. JYJ stated it was a conflict over new terms demanded by Avex in contract renegotiation.
The group released their English-language global debut album under Warner Music Asia, The Beginning, on October 12, with the Kanye West-produced single "Ayyy Girl" as lead track.[9] Two weeks before the release of the album, 500,000 copies of The Beginning had been pre-ordered and pre-sales for the 99,999 copies of the special edition of the album reached 400,000 requests. JYJ promoted the new album via a worldwide showcase tour throughout October and November with dates in South Korea, Southeast Asia and the United States.[12] On November 27 and 28, they launched JYJ Worldwide Concert in Seoul, a two-day concert that was held at Seoul's Jamsil Olympic Stadium with a total seating of 100,000 (50,000 for each show).[13] It was directed by well-known concert producer Jeri Slaughter.
In spite of a ban in the Entertainment Departments of South Korea's three main terrestrial broadcasters, JYJ had their first public broadcast performance on December 31, 2010, at the 2010 KBS Drama Awards. They sang 찾았다 “Found You” – a ballad track from the drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal which starred member Yoochun.
2011: In Heaven, first Worldwide Tour
JYJ released their Korean EP, Their Rooms "Our Story" on January 25, 2011 in the format of a "music essay." Despite the majority of sales being counted in the books rather than CD category, the album sold well enough to chart on Hanteo.
In the spring of 2011, JYJ launched their first Worldwide Tour as a group with concerts held in Thailand, Taiwan, China, Canada, and the United States. In addition, JYJ held two rounds of a special charity concert in Tokyo to benefit those affected by the Tōhoku Earthquake. They also held two special encore concert performances in South Korea: one in Busan and the other in Gwangju.
In September, JYJ released their first Korean studio album entitled In Heaven. There were over 300,000 pre-orders on the first day of advance sales alone. The album sold 165,000 copies within 3 days of being released and reached 220,000 copies sales in October according to Gaon Chart.
JYJ held their "Unforgettable Live Concert in Japan" on October 15 and October 16 with over 84,000 in attendance. They were praised for the choice to hold these concerts in Ibaraki Prefecture, a region hit hard economically by the earthquake.
JYJ extended their World Tour by adding performance dates in Barcelona, Spain on October 29 and in Berlin, Germany on November 6. Rafa Mendez directed the choreography and stage set-up of their European concerts. Also, JYJ was invited to appear at the Salon Del Manga convention earlier on the day before the start their Barcelona concert.
JYJ released Come On Over, a DVD documentary about the 3 members’ private lives, at the end of 2011. The footage was filmed from late December 2010 to February 2011, following each individual member's lives for a number of days. Some scenes included: a birthday party, a snowboarding venture, the rehearsal for a musical, and behind-the-scenes look of one of JYJ's fanmeets for their endorsements.
JYJ released their Korean EP, Their Rooms "Our Story" on January 25, 2011 in the format of a "music essay." Despite the majority of sales being counted in the books rather than CD category, the album sold well enough to chart on Hanteo.
In the spring of 2011, JYJ launched their first Worldwide Tour as a group with concerts held in Thailand, Taiwan, China, Canada, and the United States. In addition, JYJ held two rounds of a special charity concert in Tokyo to benefit those affected by the Tōhoku Earthquake. They also held two special encore concert performances in South Korea: one in Busan and the other in Gwangju.
In September, JYJ released their first Korean studio album entitled In Heaven. There were over 300,000 pre-orders on the first day of advance sales alone. The album sold 165,000 copies within 3 days of being released and reached 220,000 copies sales in October according to Gaon Chart.
JYJ held their "Unforgettable Live Concert in Japan" on October 15 and October 16 with over 84,000 in attendance. They were praised for the choice to hold these concerts in Ibaraki Prefecture, a region hit hard economically by the earthquake.
JYJ extended their World Tour by adding performance dates in Barcelona, Spain on October 29 and in Berlin, Germany on November 6. Rafa Mendez directed the choreography and stage set-up of their European concerts. Also, JYJ was invited to appear at the Salon Del Manga convention earlier on the day before the start their Barcelona concert.
JYJ released Come On Over, a DVD documentary about the 3 members’ private lives, at the end of 2011. The footage was filmed from late December 2010 to February 2011, following each individual member's lives for a number of days. Some scenes included: a birthday party, a snowboarding venture, the rehearsal for a musical, and behind-the-scenes look of one of JYJ's fanmeets for their endorsements.
2012: Documentary film and fan events
In January 2012, C-JeS announced two more concert dates, with Santiago, Chile being March 9 and Lima, Peru March 11. Their South American leg would be the final stop for JYJ's first Worldwide Tour.
On February 23, JYJ released a 90-minute film titled The Day. It is a documentary film featuring their daily lives and dreams and will be shown at Lotte Cinema‘s 17 major chain theaters across the country.
Starting on June 28, JYJ held the first ever large-scale international fan fair for K-Pop in South Korea. This event was something the group put together specifically for the fans, and was opened for 4 days—starting from June 28 to July 1—at SETEC (Seoul Trade Exhibition & Conventions) at Hak Yeo Ul station. This membership week included photographic and video-based exhibitions of the band, as well as two sets of fan meetings that invited over 15,000 Korean fans and 7,000 Japanese fans, a total of over 22,000 people. Because of such great economic effects for the South Korea, from the success of a huge amount of incoming foreigners for just one event, JYJ's representative C-JeS Entertainment announced that this Membership Week event will be held annually.
In August 2012, JYJ released Mahalo, a premiere collection photobook with over 200 pages taken in December 2011 on their trip in Hawaii.
In January 2012, C-JeS announced two more concert dates, with Santiago, Chile being March 9 and Lima, Peru March 11. Their South American leg would be the final stop for JYJ's first Worldwide Tour.
On February 23, JYJ released a 90-minute film titled The Day. It is a documentary film featuring their daily lives and dreams and will be shown at Lotte Cinema‘s 17 major chain theaters across the country.
Starting on June 28, JYJ held the first ever large-scale international fan fair for K-Pop in South Korea. This event was something the group put together specifically for the fans, and was opened for 4 days—starting from June 28 to July 1—at SETEC (Seoul Trade Exhibition & Conventions) at Hak Yeo Ul station. This membership week included photographic and video-based exhibitions of the band, as well as two sets of fan meetings that invited over 15,000 Korean fans and 7,000 Japanese fans, a total of over 22,000 people. Because of such great economic effects for the South Korea, from the success of a huge amount of incoming foreigners for just one event, JYJ's representative C-JeS Entertainment announced that this Membership Week event will be held annually.
In August 2012, JYJ released Mahalo, a premiere collection photobook with over 200 pages taken in December 2011 on their trip in Hawaii.
2013: Return
On 25 February JYJ performed at Park Geun-hye's presidential inauguration, in front of an audience of 70,000 people. At the same time C-JeS Entertainment announced that the band would be able to perform at the Tokyo Dome in Japan after a four year hiatus due to their lawsuit with Avex Group. The band will hold a 3-day concert series between April 2nd and 4th. As all 150,000 tickets were sold out, the footage will be released to 118 theatres accross Japan. JYJ successfully wrapped up concerts. It is called "The Return of the JYJ" at Tokyo. The concert series started on Tuesday and went through Thursday. Fans expressed excitement. Okamoto Satoshi, CEO of Kyoto Yokohama said that the results showed how popular the Korean group is in the Japanese pop culture scene.
On 25 February JYJ performed at Park Geun-hye's presidential inauguration, in front of an audience of 70,000 people. At the same time C-JeS Entertainment announced that the band would be able to perform at the Tokyo Dome in Japan after a four year hiatus due to their lawsuit with Avex Group. The band will hold a 3-day concert series between April 2nd and 4th. As all 150,000 tickets were sold out, the footage will be released to 118 theatres accross Japan. JYJ successfully wrapped up concerts. It is called "The Return of the JYJ" at Tokyo. The concert series started on Tuesday and went through Thursday. Fans expressed excitement. Okamoto Satoshi, CEO of Kyoto Yokohama said that the results showed how popular the Korean group is in the Japanese pop culture scene.
Lawsuit against SM Entertainment
On 28 November 2012, during a voluntary arbitration at the Seoul Central District Court, SM Entertainment and JYJ have reached a mutual agreement to terminate all contracts between the two parties and not to interfere with each other's activities in the future. Thus concluding the three years and four months exclusive contract lawsuit.
On 28 November 2012, during a voluntary arbitration at the Seoul Central District Court, SM Entertainment and JYJ have reached a mutual agreement to terminate all contracts between the two parties and not to interfere with each other's activities in the future. Thus concluding the three years and four months exclusive contract lawsuit.