Wikipedia

The Beginning (JYJ album)

The Beginning is the debut studio album by South Korean pop group JYJ, formed by three of the five original members of TVXQ. It is the group's first English release, after their 2010 Japanese language extended play The.... It was released on October 14, 2010 through Vitamin Entertainment, a division of Warner Music Korea.

The Beginning
Studio album by
JYJ
ReleasedOctober 14, 2010 (2010-10-14)
Recorded2010
Genre
Length29:16
Label
JYJ chronology
The...
(2010) 		The Beginning
(2010) 		Their Rooms "Our Story"
(2011)
Singles from The Beginning
  1. "Ayyy Girl feat. Kanye West, Malik Yusef"
    Released: October 19, 2010
  2. "Empty"
    Released: 2010

Two weeks before the release of the album in South Korea, 50,000 copies of the regular edition had been pre-ordered and pre-sales for the 99,999 copies of the special edition of The Beginning reached numbers of 400,000 requests.[1][2]

The album was released on November 16, 2010 in the United States as a digital download,[3] and a wider release, planned by the group for early 2011, did not materialize.[4]

Background and development

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Despite the album being sung in English, Jaejoong and Junsu were not fluent in English at the time of recording, and were still attending English lessons at the time of the album's release in America.[5]

Promotion

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The first single from the album was "Ayyy Girl," featuring Kanye West and Malik Yusef.[6] The song had moderate success in South Korea, peaking at No. 19 on Gaon's single charts.[7] The music video for the album's second single, "Empty," was shot in December.[5] The song debuted at No. 18 in Korea during the album's release, due to strong digital sales.[7]

The band toured Asia in October and November 2010 in promotion of the album.[8] This began with two showcases in Seoul on October 12, at the 11,000 seating Hwaseong Tiger Dome at Korea University.[9] The tickets for these events sold out in 15 minutes, and a portion of the profits was donated to World Vision.[1][10] The band planned concerts in the United States in New York Las Vegas and Los Angeles, however were denied P1 visas for these concerts. In response to this, the group performed free showcases on these dates and refunded ticket purchasers. JYJ's management, C-JeS Entertainment, was unsure of the reason for the visa denial.[11] The band's other planned US dates in Seattle, San Francisco and Hawaii were later cancelled.[12] 6,400 people attended the New York showcase, despite the venue being able to hold 3,400 people.[13]

The band was featured in Billboard magazine's release of the week in November, the first time an international act has been featured. This led to the magazine's website receiving its highest daily traffic day recorded, as of 2010.[14]

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The band members' previous record label as the band TVXQ, SM Entertainment, filed an injunction against the sales of the album on October 8.[9][15] However, South Korean digital retailers defied the request, and proceeded with the sales on October 14.[15] The injunction was issued due to the South Korean courts not having reached a verdict on the members' ongoing court case with SM Entertainment.[9] In December 2010 they were successful in their lawsuit against SM Entertainment.

Track listing

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No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Intro"S. TigerBrian Kim, BJD0:47
2."Ayyy Girl" (featuring Kanye West, Malik Yusef)Kyoko Hamler, P. Phenom, Kanye West, YusefWarren Taylor, Hamler, Phenom, West, Hassan Khaffaf, Jeff Bhasker, No I.D, Plain Pat4:31
3."Empty"L. Daniels, Hamler, T. ParkerRodney Jerkins3:35
4."Be My Babe/Be My Girl"Daniels, Hamler, ParkerJerkins3:16
5."Still in Love"HamlerHero Jaejoong4:22
6."I Love You" (featuring Flowsik)Hamler, FlowsikMicky Yuchun4:54
7."I Can Soar"HamlerXiah Junsu4:40
8."Be the One"Jae Chong, HamlerJae Chong3:11
Total length:29:16
US Edition: Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
9."Empty (DJ Eon Remix)"4:00
Total length:33:16
Korea Limited Edition: Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
9."Ayyy Girl (DJ Eon Remix)"4:03
10."Empty (DJ Eon Remix)"4:00
Total length:34:19
Korea Special Edition: Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
9."Ayyy Girl (DJ Eon Remix)"4:03
10."Empty (DJ Eon Remix)"4:00
11."Be My Girl (DJ Eon Remix)"4:00
Total length:41:19

Chart

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Album chart positions

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Chart Peak
position
South Korea Gaon Chart[7] 1
South Korea Gaon Chart monthly 1
Japan Oricon[16] 11

Reported sales

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Chart Amount
Japanese physical sales[16] 62,000
South Korean sales[citation needed] 398,000

*Sales figure is based on South Korean imports of the album, as the album has not been released domestically in Japan currently.

Release history

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Region Date Format Distributing Label
South Korea October 14, 2010 (2010-10-14)[17] CD, digital download Vitamin Entertainment
October 18, 2010 (2010-10-18)[18] "Luxury Package" CD
United States November 16, 2010 (2010-11-16)[3] Digital download Show Sharp
South Korea November 22, 2010 (2010-11-22)[19] Re-released CD Vitamin Entertainment

References

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  1. ^ a b 유, 순호 (October 7, 2010). "JYJ 파워! 하루 70억 수입". MetroSeoul (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  2. ^ "JYJ 첫 앨범 '동방신기' 넘나". Hankooki (in Korean). September 30, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "The Beginning by JYJ". Hanteo. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  4. ^ "JYJ、来年米国でアルバムリリース". Chosun Online (in Japanese). November 23, 2010. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Meet JYJ – Kanye West's New Proteges". Us Magazine. November 16, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  6. ^ "JYJ Announces "The Beginning"". Music Releases. September 30, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Gaon Chart Search: JYJ". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  8. ^ "TOUR SCHEDULE". JYJ Official Website. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c "JYJ vows brand new beginning to fans". Korea Times. October 13, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  10. ^ 동방신기 3인, 월드와이드 쇼케이스 나서. Hankooki (in Korean). October 4, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  11. ^ "JYJ denied P1 visas; will perform for free in US tour". Jonathan M. Hicap. Manila Bulletin. November 7, 2010. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  12. ^ "JYJ's tour in shambles, possible cancellation?". All Kpop. November 11, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  13. ^ "JYJ's New York showcase draws 6,400 fans". Jonathan M. Hicap. Manila Bulletin. November 15, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  14. ^ "JYJ Billboard Release Of The Week Content Helps To Sell Out Billboard Magazine In 24 Hours And Set New Traffic Records On Billboard.com". Mi2n. November 7, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  15. ^ a b "SM Entertainment Asks Court to Stop Release of JYJ Album". Jonathan M. Hicap. Manila Bulletin. October 14, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  16. ^ a b "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. Retrieved November 22, 2010. (subscription only)
  17. ^ "제이와이제이(Jyj) – The Beginning: Nomal Limited ED" (in Korean). Hanteo. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  18. ^ "제이와이제이(Jyj) – The Beginning: Special Limited E." (in Korean). Hanteo. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  19. ^ "제이와이제이(Jyj) – The Beginning: New Limited ED" (in Korean). Hanteo. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
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