“Junsu“, “Junsu”, “Junsu”, chanted the crowd, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Xia, also known as Junsu, sat silently upon his throne at the top of the stage observing the crowd. It was about halfway through the concert on the first stop of his 1st Solo World Tour. The crowd continued to chant and scream for more. Xia who had just performed about 10 songs, many from his new album Tarantallegra, was calmly taking it all. The crowd had fallen in love.
At the start of the show, Xia who had been lifted unto the stage on a moving platform was dressed in a blue suit with long black boots. He started off strong, with the first track on his new album, called “Breath.” “Breath” is a song with an urban pop theme and strong beats, to which Xia and his dancing crew seemed to move with in unison, effortlessly.
Following “Breathe,” Junsu mellowed the crowd a bit with “No Gain,” “Lullaby,” and “Intoxication,” all songs from his new album Tarantallegra. Most of the lyrics and music of the album were composed and arranged by Junsu. Junsu showed some of his brilliant creativity with a prop not seen often on a concert stage. A three-paneled mirror was placed on the stage during his performance of Intoxication, multiplying the amount of Junsu’s on stage by 4. The mirror may have helped a bit, but the crowd was already intoxicated with Junsu’s singing and dancing, before the mirror made it’s way unto stage.
A little over an hour saw Junsu display his wide musical range and talents. Singing and dancing to urban pop themed songs, grooving to R&B inspired tracks, and wooing the crowd with ballads that hug heavy with emotion. Junsu also gave the audience a little taste of the musical “Elisabeth,” which was the inspiration for his new solo album.
“You had me at hello!” Okay, the crowd didn’t actually respond that way when Xia introduced himself by first saying “hi”. But with the screams that filled the air it sure felt that way. The concert took on an air of intimacy and personal interaction between Xia and the crowd. “Pogoshipoyo” screamed a fan near the stage. Xia looked directly at her and said, “I miss you, too.” If responding directly to the affectionate screams of fans wasn’t enough to make the concert seem like a gathering of friends, Xia decided to grant three wishes to the crowd.
One of the wishes came from a girl called Brittany, and she asked him to sing to her. “What song do you want me to sing to you?” Xia asked. “Any song of your choice” Brittany responded, teasing him. At this Xia proceeded to serenade his audience with a cappella rendition of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All”. No instruments, just vocals. The crowd fell silent in awe. After one verse, Xia shared with the audience that he sang that song a lot in middle school.
Undisputed throughout the night was the vigor and strength of Junsu’s vocals. Before the concert, fan after fan when asked what stands out the most for you about Junsu, answered strong vocals or awesome vocals. And during the concert Xia did not disappoint his devoted fans who came from as far as Japan and Texas. He sang throughout the concert with such heart pounding vocals, just like one of his Texas fans had proclaimed before the start of the concert.
The range of Xia’s appeal is remarkable. The age range of the audience featured young teenagers all the way through grandmothers. Even further remarkable was looking around to see the more seasoned fans singing along with him, especially to the ballads. Many of these seasoned ladies were from China and Japan. And they have known Xia since his early days with Tong Vfang Xien Qi or Tohoshinki, depending on if you are Chinese or Japanese, respectively. Although they were saddened when their split happened, they have remained fans of Xia because of his outstanding talents as an artist, dancer and songwriter.
As Junsu’s first solo concert outside Asia moved closer to it’s conclusion, he gave the audience a special look at the music video for his new single Uncommitted. Then he took the stage to give the crowd a very memorable moment. Xia, for the first time performed Uncommitted to a live audience. The crowd hung unto every word and musical note.
A day earlier, after the Xia press conference at the DoubleTree Suites, one of the individuals who reportedly was involved in the production for Uncommitted and goes by the name Niddy, expressed his admiration of Xia. He articulated that one thing that stood out in working with Xia was his work ethic and dedication to excellence. He added further how much he appreciated the Korean culture, especially with regard to their interaction and devotion to each other.
“See you, soon”. Xia said to his beloved fans, with a little ting of sadness in his voice. All too soon it seemed two hours had come and gone. Xia had left a little piece of his heart on stage tonight. He will continue his 1st Solo World Tour with stops in Los Angeles California on 09-02-12 at the Hollywood Palladium. And then Mexico on the 6th of September, Brazil on the 8th of September, and finally Chile on the 10th of September.
written by: JohnO@kpopstarz.com / www.goodmomusic.com
Credit: kpopstarz
Shared by: JYJ3
Wow!!! any Junsu fan/ JYJ fan after reading this beautifully written column, would really be moved to tears… ‘so proud of you Junsu!!!
You definitely have the BEST VOCALS! but what sets you apart from others is your work ethic and dedication to excellence!
Congratulations Junsu!
and kudos! to the column’s writer
I am in tears. So elegantly put…
junsu i want you in australia T.T, come to australia
This writer did justice to junsu in this piece; just wonderfully written! Hope to see Junsu soon
I applaud the writer for writing such a beautiful review about Junsu!!!!!!!!!!!!
So proud of him!
Reblogged this on dreamalexia.
ha.. the reason i feel for this guy is his vocals, the reason i stick to this guy is his vocal and the reason i will forever be rooting for this guy is his vocal.
and the best is getting finer and better every.single.time.
*fell ..but feel is not that far off xD
***cited ***
” Undisputed throughout the night was the vigor and strength of Junsu’s vocals ”
The concert took on an air of intimacy and personal interaction between Xia and the crowd.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dear New York fans, appreciate so much for the liberal thinking and warm welcome for Junsu.
Unlike other giant Korea shows, this tour has no hi-tech visual board, firework , multiple flashy lighting, thousands of dancers, groups after groups of top idols, but the INTENSIVE interaction with Kim Junsu is much more precious than those puzzle-shows.
I am sure, unplug version of Junsu, is still the champion from S. Korea.
@aurora
Beautifully stated. I want to add my appreciation too — the NY fans outdid themselves in giving Junsu the warmest welcome to America. If I were all powerful for a day, I would snatch these three up and plant them in a palatial residence in…. er…. Sherman Oaks CA, their new home base. Then after a decent interval went by, I’d wander on over with a plate of cookies. “Howdy, neighbors!”
@lilibaiyu
Aree so much with your appreciation ! And yes, the deepest concern and support for JYJ three guys are be their neighbor! I’m sure your plate of cookies be the best welcome for JYJ. Sherman Oaks CA,
nice for them reviving their soul
Reblogged this on TV5XQ Nation.
Very good article…
I went there and I don’t want the concert to end… Junsu is amazing… Very professional. He doesn’t care he would look ugly when he had to move his lips especially for high pitch. Choreography is also fantastic.
There were many white, black and hispanic girls, white ladies and young Asian men also. I asked the 2 White ladies how they know him or JYJ. They are from Florida and they first saw them in Berlin concert and like them. They would fly to LA for Saturday concert… Very loyal fans…
I am very proud to be a JYJ fan.
“he doesn’t care he would look ugly when he had to move his lips especially for high pitch.”
I totally understand what you meant by this. i’ve went to their concert once, and i remember thinking that too. he doesnt care about his looks when he sing. its so hard to explain, its like he let his facial and mouth to just flow with the music no matter what form it will take. rather than anything, tho it looks unusual, it actually made the singing even more connected to him, and i always think how charming that is. it looks like the music just overtake his whole body. i love it.
I was there as well. Unlike many dedicated DBSK/JYJ/Junsu fans, I didn’t know about them until this year. I truly wish that I had known them earlier. Still, I am glad that I was there with my family and watched Xia’s powerful voice and passionate performances this time. Unlike their other concerts, this venue was old and humble with not-so-perfect audio and lighting systems. But, I was amazed by variety of fan bases in different ethnic groups who already learned the new song’ “Uncommitted” and sang with him. I wish this talented and hard-working young man become one of the top musicians in the whole world.
Reblogged this on luminarytriad.
It’s always good to see people of different races gathering together! Fans from teens to grandmas and from all over the world. Wish I could’ve been there ;3;
@♪ (@sanri_su)
I agree! The beautiful mix of faces was a special treat in the photos of the crowd. Actually it’s one of my favorite things about the JYJ fans – the wonderful mix of cultures who love them and in meeting people from all over the world already having this wonderful music in common.
Let’s show our love by voting for Junsu
http://global.mnet.com/star/poll/result.m?poll_seq=14
He more than deserves to win this!