#2 Anticipated Group in US: JYJ- KpopStarz Vote

For the readers wondering who are JYJ for them to place second place on KpopStarz poll. It's understandable that they are not as familiar as Girls' Generation or the Wonder Girls. It might be due to the relatively small number of Kpop artists are introduced in the US however more since they haven't been much activity of the group for a year and a half.

About JYJ

The name of the group is taken from the first initial of each member's names. The group first made their debut as JYJ in 2010. The group released their first album 'The Beginning' in October 2010. The album's pre-order surpassed 520,000 copies and ranked fifth place on Billboard's online poll of 'The Best 10 Albums of the year.'

The group's Talent

The three members are originally part of TVXQ, five member group, debuted through SM Entertainment on December 2003. The group upon their debut swept all various rookie awards, receiving a total of more than 50 awards and was noted as 'Asia's Stars' and 'Kings of the Hallyu Wave' for their immense success. The group ceased the criticism of idol group as not matching their skills with visual. All 5 members were widely recognized of their good looks and talent. Their debut showcase was a cappella rendition.

Maybe that's why the activities they started as JYJ in less than a year is sweeping the world through their world tour.

*Asia Tour

'JYJ World Tour 2011' that began in Thailand, through Taiwan landed in China was greeted warmly with over 10,000 fans at Beijing at the Shaotuji Gymnasium.

They drew a total of 43,000 people over 4 performances.  Successful in catching two hares being an Asian star and successful debut of Jaejoong's as director. The popularity of JYJ made headlines in the media of each country.

*North American Tour

The tour began in Vancouver, Canada last May visited 4 cities including New Jersey, LA, and San Jose.

Also there was a surprise visit by Susan Rosenbluth, the vice president of AEG Live, who has been in charge of concerts for Celin Dion and Bon Jovi.

*The World Tour Busan concert in June 11-12 was sold out in 30 minutes.

*Japan Tour

JYJ was noted for holding a concert in Ibaraki Prefecture, a region hit hard economically by the earthquake that drew over 84,000 fans on October 15-16.

*Solo Europe Tour

JYJ held a concert in Spain at Poble Espanyol plaza on October 29 marking it as first Europe concert for the group as well as the first Spain single concert by Korean singers. 80% of the 5,000 seats were sold out within three days. Receiving a personal thank you from the Spanish ambassador of Korea for their concert.

Berlin, Germany tickets were sold out on the day tickets were made available in October. It's difficult to receive such high interest for a single concert.

The second stop of their European tour concert at Tempodrom Concert Hall in Berlin drew more than 3,000 fans.  Isabelel from Germany shared "I have come to like Korea a lot because of JYJ's music and currently studying Korean. I am so touched that I was able to hear the three of them live."

Work with world renowned artists

The group teamed up with US producers Kanye West and Rodney Jerkins for their global debut album. Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins original composition of 'Empty' and 'Be My Girl' was a big topic. Just as one American fan shared about JYJ's American showcase "I came to know about JYJ through Billboard who introduced them as an artist Kanye West was collaborating with and I came to like their music and performance." Working with these well-known artists is helpful in gaining recognition.

'JYJ World Tour 2011' is produced in partnership with AEG Live, one of the largest concert promoters in the world.

Plans of 2012

JYJ's Kim Jaejoong visit to Turkey last February included an invitation to the Presidential Palace along with South Korea President Lee Myung-bak shows his recognition value in Turkey.

JYJ is will hold their concert in Chile and Peru as the final stops of their first world tour.  Both concert in Peru and Chile  had sold out of within two days tickets went on sale. It has been reported by El Comercio, Peru's oldest newspaper that, 'It was neither Justin Bieber nor Miley Cyrus to break record tickets sales in Peru but a Korean band.' JYJ concert in Chile will be at the Tatro Caupolican in Santiago on March 9 as their first performance of South America tour. Continuing on the concert in Peru on March 11 in Lima's Explanada Sur del Estadio Monumental. They have plans to continue their world tour that will target the European market during the second half of the year.

The group shared their thoughts upon preparing for the concerts, "We are thankful and happy just to think about preparing a performance for a new city for fans we haven't met yet. As people come to have high expectations of hallyu wave we will do our best to deliver best performance as the best team."