JYJ, “The Unfairness Is Upsetting, but a Blessing in Disguise”

“The thing we want most right now? To be president…haha” JYJ stated.

After releasing their album, “In Heaven”, the members of the trio JYJ sat down for an interview with a handful of reporters at Edaily. Although they laughed it off and stated that it was a joke, there were some hidden meanings behind their words.

The reason being the complications that arose when their controversy was sparked back in 2009 after Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu decided to shed their titles as Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) members and leave SM Entertainment. Not only did they face legal issues, they also were unable to easily stand on stage as artists. Even if they were to get up on the stage, they had no songs to perform, as all their previous work was under DBSK’s name. However, the three singers adjusted to the circumstances that were thrust upon them and “held on.” In fact, the JYJ members self-produced 80% of the songs that are currently in their new album. 

“We have put out many albums in the past, but this one has a really different feel to it. Everything that we went through over the past two years and our desperate efforts to hang on are included in it. The fans will most likely be the first ones to feel it.”

The process for releasing “In Heaven” was not smooth. JYJ revealed, “In truth, this album was close to not being released at all.” They explained that the album was supposed to be released last summer and the jacket photo for the CD had even been taken when the distributor suddenly rejected it twice, causing it to die out. There was interference as well. KBS banned their follow-up song, Pierrot, from being broadcast because of the apparent slur against SM Entertainment’s founder, Lee Soo Man in the acronym “P.S.M.” that was included in the lyrics. 

“We’re not displeased at the fact that it did not reach the censorship standards. It is a common occurrence for other artists as well. However, their decision this time is doubtful. P.S.M. is an acronym that stands for Performer, Success, and Museum. If they thought the contents of the lyrics would not be appropriate in their standards, shouldn’t they have asked us what it means? We’re not sure why they’re always interpreting our songs in any way they want. It’s fascinating that they interpreted the acronym to “President Soo Man”. 

The response from their fans is great. JYJ is the first idol group to fill most of their album with self-produced songs. They have also been receiving favorable reviews due to the high degree of completion. The assessment is that they have evolved from an idol group to performing artists.

“We didn’t self-produce the songs to become singer-songwriters. It’s a bit embarrassing to tell you ourselves, but there were many unavoidable songs that were made. We had to perform, but didn’t have any songs to sing. Junsu wrote many songs while we were still a part of Dong Bang Shin Ki, but we could not use any of those either. This album contains many songs we wrote just so that we could have something to perform. The situation was a blessing in disguise. Although we are experiencing difficult times at the moment, we cannot compare the sense of accomplishment we get when we see the results from our hard work from what we felt in the past. Also, the faith we have in each other is laid out as a base of everything between us. We have more confidence in our next album.”

Due to their experience of being at the top of the industry at one point in the past, the bitter life experiences have made JYJ more mature. JYJ expressed, “In the past, we were doing so well that we got angry whenever a minor bad thing occurred. However, now we are thankful and happy whenever a good and very minor event occurs among all the negative situations that are around us.” However, the bitterness and feeling that something is missing cannot be helped.

“We want to become the president. Haha That’s a joke. We want to perform well as singers in our country. We’re upset that we aren’t able to stand on stage often here. In the past, we cared about making first place and receiving awards, but now we don’t even put those things into consideration. We just want to be active in a fair environment and be treated equally like the other artists. It’s frustrating. Until then, we will stick together and wiggle our way through. To our fans, we’ll be thankful if you remain patient for a little bit longer.”