One day ahead of JYJ Kim Junsu (XIA)’s Thailand concert, which will kick off his Asia tour, the singer held a press conference and said, “I will do my best in the given domain (concert). I would like to hold world tour concerts in the UK and France next.”
At the ‘Kim Junsu Asia Tour Thailand Concert Press Conference’ that was held at 3p.m. on the 19th at the Siam Royal Paragon Hall, Kim Junsu opened up to the reporters about his feelings on his Asia tour, the performances he has planned for his concert, and his future tour and album activities.
Kim Junsu’s honest statements of, “I always try to create music that is better than what I’ve done before”, “What’s most important in trying something new is going in with no fears,” and “I will not sing if there are no fans. If there’s even just one person left, I’d like to take it all the way to the end,” reflected his 10 years of experience and showed his anticipation for his Asia tour, yet another challenge for him to face.
Below is the Q&A session from Kim Junsu’s press conference.
– How do you feel ahead of your Asia tour’s first concert?
“Like last year, I’ll be kicking off my Asia tour in Thailand. Thailand is more passionate than any other country we’ve been to, and people here have been giving us their unchanging love for so long. Starting an Asia tour in Thailand is like a lucky charm for me, so I’m very happy to be back here to perform.”
– Could you please briefly introduce your concert to us?
“This tour will contain songs from both my first and second album. I included a lot of the songs I sang in musicals last year, but because the number of songs I have from albums to sing has increased this year, I wanted to create a performance filled only with my songs. That’s how I created the set list. As I’ll be including my latest album, which features a wide variety of genres, I believe that I’ll be showcasing a variety of different atmospheres in one concert.”
– What kind of performances can we expect?
“I tried to take on genres that I’d never sung before. I tried to create an extremely different feeling using the stage lights and props such as a sofa to reflect the various genres that are included in my songs.”
– Have you ever thought about directing concerts?
“Even now, I think of new ideas and participate in the discussions. I’d really like to try it once, but the problem is whether I’ll be good at it as opposed to whether I want to do it or not. When I am the one who created an album, I think it’s right to get help from people who will be better at directing than I am. But if I ever had the opportunity, I would really like to try it.”
– We heard that all 50,000 seats of your Korean performances have sold out. Do you feel pressured by these ticket sales?
“Not every job or scheduled activity goes the way you want it to. I was worried and felt pressured about all the tickets I had to sell for the four concerts in Seoul and Busan, as well as for the musical I’ll be appearing in, so I was so grateful when I heard the news. I believe the biggest homework that lays ahead of me is to create a musical and solo concert performance that doesn’t disappoint my fans.”
– Was there anything that made you feel ‘I’ve grown so much’ after your last world tour?
“I think the concert itself was quite lacking last year. And I was also very worried because it was my first solo concert tour. When I’m with the other members, I can hold conversations with them when I’m on stage, but in a solo concert, I have no time to rest so I felt very stressed about it. I learned a lot about how to better control the flow of a concert through last year’s world tour. Though we don’t speak the same language, I express myself as honestly as I can and I think my audience usually accepts me for it.”
– At the end of your last world tour, you said, ‘I gained a hint for my future music-related activities.’
“Last year’s first album became a driving force for me. When I was working on my second album, I worked hard to bring new sounds that I had never used before, such as swing and jazz. I contacted many different composers to work with them, and I was able to create an album of many colors because of this. Even I still find such a bright title song like ‘Incredible’ strange, taking into consideration my activities as a member of JYJ and as a solo singer. What’s most important in trying something new is going in with no fears.”
– The other members of JYJ (Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun) have created very active careers in the acting industry. Do you ever think about starring in a drama?
“Regardless of whether you’re good at acting or not, starring in a drama can only happen if various conditions align perfectly. Because the other members are doing so well, it’s true that I feel more cautious about it. Dramas are the only way for us to appear on broadcasted programs. Although I should be thinking about it, I want to do it only when I feel that I can build up my acting skills and be good at it. I get offers to appear in dramas so I’ve talked about it, but for now, I feel the happiest when I sing.”
– It’s been 10 years since you made your debut. When do you start to feel those years?
“Back then, everything felt so new. If I were to pinpoint something that’s changed, back then, releasing an album was such an obvious next step, and the feeling of being grateful for topping charts and appearing on broadcasted programs got fainter. Now, every little thing that once seemed to be a given is so precious to me. Because I see it in a new light, nowadays I think more about doing well in the domain that is given to me rather than trying to succeed and achieve something. As long as I have the potential to continue to release albums, I’d like to create good music and great songs. I just want to keep doing that for a long time.”
– So does that mean you follow a ‘faint but long-lasting’ principle?
“No. I don’t think about that at all. I’m just happy to be able to do things like release albums, hold concerts and go overseas. Regardless of the statistics, I just want to go wherever people want me to be. I will not sing if there are no fans. I don’t know when that time will come but.. if my fans give me the courage to continue, I’d like take it all the way to the end.”
– What would you give yourself if you were to score yourself as a singer?
“I think it’s hard to translate singing into a number. No matter how good you are at singing or playing an instrument, there’s no such thing as 100 out of 100 in music. It’s hard to put a number on innovation. Instead, I always try to create music that is better than what I’ve done before. I believe that my second album is at least a step forward from my first album.”
– Do you have any thoughts about training your juniors?
“I’ve always had that dream from a while ago. The dream of training juniors or helping a new artiste make their debut. It’s true that, that feeling has gotten stronger as I created my own albums, but I want to do it only when I’m able to support them properly.”
– How does it feel to stand on stage as JYJ, and as a solo singer?
“It feels the same to me. Whether I’m performing as a solo or whether the members are appearing in dramas, we always work hard in our respective fields and try to not forget our title as a member of JYJ. The faith that I get from the other members for doing this gives me a lot of confidence. Because I’m still in the mould of JYJ, I can take on new challenges. I say this to them a lot, but if we still have the strength to release albums and perform at the age of 40, I’d like for us to still be together as JYJ. We even talk about going out for meals with each other’s families and enjoying the rest of our lives together.”
– What are your future plans?
“It’s getting close to four years since we became JYJ. There hasn’t been a single thing I’ve done with surety since then. The reason why I was so happy to return to Tokyo Dome was because I had been preparing myself for bad news because of all the things that happened to us after the articles on our concert were released. So I was ecstatic when we were able to stand on stage again. What’s most important to me right now is to complete my tasks as they’re given to me. As long as I keep going, a good day is sure to come my way. It’s slowly but surely getting better every year. Our biggest assignment is for us and our company to not get worn out by it all. Because our fans are giving us the courage to continue, I can’t give up, at least because of how grateful I am to our fans.”
– You were recently approached for an interview with the Grammys. Do you have any plans to perform in the US?
“My focus for this round of activities isn’t on entering the US market. But if a great opportunity ever comes their way, any artiste would want to stand on stage in the US. It’s something I have my eye on.”
– Are there any countries you would really like to visit for your next world tour?
“There are still so many countries that I’d like to visit. I went to South America last year, but I regret not going to Argentina, though I had received offers to perform there. If I look at Europe, I can see that not many K-pop singers have performed in the UK or France yet. I’d like to go to the UK or France.”
– The kiss scene in the ‘Incredible’ music video has become a hot topic. We heard that there’s a kiss scene in your concert as well. Why do you keep putting kiss scenes in your work? Have you ever considered holding a 19+ concert?
“I really want to clear something up here. I was never the person to propose the idea of a kiss scene in either the music video or the concert. In the past, I didn’t like feeling like the ‘younger brother’ to everyone, but that’s want I want these days, so I didn’t want the ‘kiss scene’. But because there’s that sultry kind of feel to the music, the staff wanted to accentuate that part of the song and proposed that we include a kiss scene. Of course, it wasn’t unpleasant. (laughter) I’d like to try a 19+ album, but only when I get to my mid to late thirties. I think if an artiste starts putting restrictions on things like that for themselves, they will also be restricting their value or creativity. Shall I be more erotic?”
– Please tell us how you’re feeling with a day left till your Thailand concert tomorrow (20th).
“It’s true that there are still a lot of restrictions placed on us here and there. But I’m just going to focus on doing my best, so I hope you enjoy it. That’s all I want.”
JYJ CHILE 