This time it’s the European Tour . In the meantime, group JYJ (Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun, Kim Junsu), who held the opening salvos of their successful World Tour in Thailand, Taiwan, Beijing, LA, New Jersey, and Canada has opened their hot show in Europe – in Spain, and after that, Germany.
Spain is their European Tour’s first stage. Prior to the performance, JYJ held a press conference at Poble Espanyol, Barcelona, Spain on the 28th of October, 2:00PM.
JYJ, who were dressed in black suits, appeared at the press conference with a decent look. Compared to when we met them in Korea, they greeted people with a more cheerful voice and a happier face. “Hello. We’re JYJ.”
“When we were in the U.S, we made friends with some Spanish people. To be able to perform in their country, personally, I think this is something very miraculous. Now that we have arrived in Spain, I realized that there were so few Asians here. Seeing this much people at the press conference after a long time, I feel so good (laugh). I would like us to share a lot of fun performing and talking.” (Yoochun)
“It’s exciting and a little worrying to perform in Spain, a county that I don’t know much about other than the fact that this is a country of good soccer players. But I’m really happy and thankful that we can perform here. We will make the best use of our know-how in performing abroad to create a stage where we can be the one with the audience (T/N: literally, where we can breathe together with the audience.)” (Junsu)
“After finishing our concert in Japan, I couldn’t comeback to Korea. I missed people in Korea a lot. It’s so good to be able to meet you here.” (Jaejoong)
In reply to the question of how do they actually feel about their popularity after arriving in Spain, Kim Junsu, with his eyes becoming round, enhanced his voice, “We were really surprised”.
“Many people recognized me. This is an unfamiliar country that I only know as a famous country of football. I was really surprised that all tickets were sold out. After arriving in Barcelona, I went for a walk on the streets, pretty much people recognized me.” To Junsu who said this, Yoochun played a practical joke, “Are you sure you weren’t delusional?”
Giving no attention to that, Junsu smiled and said, “People from other countries of Europe showed JYJ’s album and even asked for signature. It was so amazing. I was even wearing a hat. I was really surprised yet thankful. I think my wish to successfully finish concerts in Spain and Germany has grown bigger.”
JYJ’s Spain concert wasn’t a concert planned by an Entertainment Company with participation of a large number of idol groups. It has greater meaning because it was the first solo concert of a Korean artist.
“Amid the growth of K-pop’s popularity in Europe, this is the first solo concert of a Korean singer. It’s surely meaningful. I think you can see that it’s a little different with a concert of a large company. I want it to become a K-pop concert that can show flavored performances to the point where JYJ’s songs fit Europe and variable genres can be digested by just one group.” (Junsu)
“I think the popularity of K-pop in Europe is the result of booming interest from people who have a mania for a singer. People who come to JYJ’s Spain concert this time are also fans who have that mania, I believe. I think that, even though it isn’t in Spanish or English, there are still many people who are waiting for a Korean stage, so I don’t feel much pressure.” (Jaejoong)
Among many countries of Europe, Spain and Germany were selected as first stage of the tour. Here is the reason: In the situation where you can’t estimate your impact in European market, there is no way you can plan a tour in many countries. Also, considering the location, it must be somewhere fans in Western and Eastern Europe can gather easily.
“Talk about ambition, we ardently want to show our diverse images in many other places. But we want to make the Spain concert a stepping stone. Even though it’s not large-scale like Asian concerts, I think it suggests a direction for JYJ to go to other places.” (Yoochun)
“In Korea or in Japan, we have started from small things; we have raised our skill from there. So I think it’s pretty obvious that our first concert in Europe is in small scale. Comparing to a large-scale concert, we want to insist more on the meaning of Europe concert. Rather than a larger venue with empty stage, we want to fill small places first, one by one. With a heart that wants to start again from the beginning.” (Jaejoong)
For local fans from a country of passion, Spain, JYJ has prepared a special stage. Directed by a local choreographer, mentor of a renowned dance program, Rafa Mendez, a passionate performance with local dancers, acrobatic choreography, etc. were added to the show’s opening.
Working with JYJ, Rafa Mendez praised, “They’re professional. Ever since the first rehearsal in the practice room, they have shown good manners and I could feel the professionalism from their actions. K-pop is very popular in Spain. After meeting these friends, I got to know why it was that popular. I was amazed by their vigorous dancing skills and their perfect live skills. It’s sure that they can achieve success across Europe.”
JYJ who visited Spain for the first time in their life, “We couldn’t try any Spanish food yet.” JYJ sang the blues when they were asked what they want to do the most in Spain.
“In Junsu’s case, since he has many interests in football, he has always wanted to watch FC Barcelona’s match. But even though he has tried to book a ticket from months ago, it was hard to get one.” (Jaejoong)
“I thought I would be able to watch it but I realized that the match would happen in the same time with JYJ concert. So I’m thinking about booking ticket for the next match. I think that it doesn’t make sense to come to Barcelona and not watch a football match. Haha” (Junsu)
Ah thank you so much for this article! And thank you a MILLION times for keeping this blog updated. I'm in the middle of reading every entry, they are all very interesting and informative - and there are a lot of them!! XD
ReplyDeleteI might be able to finish them all after several days ^o^
Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much! :)