TVXQ at 20
In 2003, one of the greatest Kpop groups of all time debuted. Then almost all their members left.
Hello everyone, I’m Sean @sepatorprod, i’m an audio engineer and today I’m going to take you through the wild career of SM Entertainment Kpop stalwarts TVXQ (Tohoshinki, Dongbanshinkki). I will explain why they’re so good including their best songs, their scandals, and how they are so successful 20 years on.
Beginning
http://kpopkfans.blogspot.com/2014/05/sm-artists-training-time-and-year-they.html
The members trained for a couple years before debuting under Sm entertainment as a 5 member group (jaejoong, yoochun, junsu, yunho and changmin) in 2003 with Hug.
Hug
A safe bet of a debut. Recalling the sounds of H.O.T and G.O.D, I was pleasantly surprised by how different it sounded to their labelmates Shinhwa, this tracks RnB beat and gospel choir backing vocals make it feel very late 90s 2000s kpop. They followed this with Tri-angle
TRI-Angle
The vocals are so powerful even with the early 2000s production. The strings are cool but sound synthy and artificial, maybe less compression or reverb would’ve helped give them a more realistic feel. Elements of this track, such as the somewhat abrupt style change in the bridge and the rock guitar elements fused with hip hop rnb beats, are still a part of the SM sound, can be heard especially in EXO and NCT songs
Rising Sun
Really feels like TRI angle V2.0. Rock guitar, strings and a rnb type beat. This one sounds slightly more industrial in the mix which is cool. For context we need to keep in mind that nu-metal was the biggest genre in the world, with bands like Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and one hit wonders like Crazy Town’s Butterfly being some of the biggest songs at the time. This track feels like if an NSync track was made by Linkin Park.
O
Once again an awesome vocal performance, and this kind of melody and beat would be echoed in Shinee’s Ring Ding Dong. This track is compressed to death, its release was in 2006 so I’m not overly surprised. A shift to a more Rnb/Hip Hop instrumentation and performance, with a lot more rapping. Not really my thing, I think Tri-angle had a better sound with the rock influence
Balloons
Fun, catchy up beat pop song. I feel a Jpop influence on this one, think SMAP or KAT-TUN or Arashi, with it’s disco beat and strings.
TVXQ were popular basically from the get go, Tri-angle, Rising Sun and O were all the best selling albums in their month of release, selling 100s of thousands of copies. which isn’t that surprising considering SM Entertainment were possibly the biggest entertainment company at the time and had seen great success with HOT, Shinhwa and SES, which means there’s buzz around what they do next and even fans loyal to the brand rather than their specific artists. This isn’t to take away from the songs, they are very well made and the performances are excellent. Although standing on the shoulders of SM giants certainly helped TVXQ achieve success, there was one song that made them the kings of kpop.
Mirotic
What a moment in Kpop. Driving beat, dynamic, perfect vocal performance. Harmonies that have been imitated time and time again. The hook is an earworm. The synth is abrasive, present but not overwhelming. I will say the vocal is a touch overproduced, too effected considering how amazing the vocals are I would’ve given them more space to breath and let the performance shine. Released in 2008, we see the guitars disappear and replaced by fairly dancy rnb synths, think Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake or even EDM songs by eric Prydz, Benny Benassi.
No such thing as bad publicity: Mirotic’s lyric I got you under my skin, the hook of the song, was deemed too sexual by the the Korean Commission of Youth Protection As a result, the album was labelled with stickers indicating that it was restricted to people over 19 years old. Also, performances of the song would only be broadcast after 10 pm.
This song already had the backing of TVXQ fans and fans loyal to SM Entertainment, now it was getting the attention of the general public by being in the news. Spotify wasn’t available internationally yet. Discovering music in 2008 meant hours of trawling through music blogs, myspace, music magazines and music shows on TV, or by taking a bet on a CD with a cool album cover. Mirotic’s controversy definitely introduced TVXQ to many future fans in my opinion, ensuring their long term success.
The lyrics “I got you under my skin” were changed to “I got you under my sky.”
Mirotic would sell millions of copies and is TVXQs biggest song on spotify.
This would be the beginning of a crisis for TVXQ as 5, as three members, Jaejoong, Yuchun and Junsu left due to contract issues. This is a huge blow, Jaejoong was the face of TVXQ, being front and center of several of the covers, and Junsu being one of the strongest vocalists in TVXQ. Two members, Yunho and the maknae Changmin, remained. Once again, the publicity generated from this controversy would’ve created buzz for their next release.
Still I am surprised they continued as TVXQ, I thought they would at least change the name or pursue solo activities. That being said from SM Entertainment’s perspective it makes perfect sense to keep TVXQ alive. They put lots of resources in to this group that have been successful and are now absolutely huge with Mirotic, keep the train rolling.
TVXQ – Keep Your Head Down
This was the song TVXQ had to come out with. A strong, big track with huge vocal runs, a statement to show the world Max and Yunho are just fine as two.
Heavily distorted guitars with orchestral instruments recalls Tri-angle. This song is fairly minimal like Mirotic, but a lot slower paced. I really like the space this gives for the vocal to shine. I don’t like the grandiose, cheesy horns and the weird, electronic kick, it sounds wonky and grating
This track to me sounds the most like what SM tried to do with EXO’s sound a couple years later.
Before U Go
TVXQ slowed things down on this one, recalling Usher, Justin Timberlake and Trey Songs, Boyz 2 men. Full RnB, those 90s gospel harmonies are rich. I love the tasteful compression on the beat although I would argue this track overall is a touch too compressed. The vocal is top 5 best performances ever in Kpop. Stunning, extended vocal runs, an incredible high note at the back end. Lots of space in the mix only hindered by the compression. Personal favourite of mine definitely give it a listen.
2012 TVXQ release catch me. A european edm influence on this one, trance notes with a dubstep bridge that really dates it but I kind of love how distorted and the strange beat switch in this moment, where the kick sounds like it’s following the rap vocal. It’s nice and loud, the performance once again is incredible, soaring and grandiose. This track is 100 miles a minute, I would’ve preferred more dynamics but still a very solid tune.
In July 2012, PSY’s Gangnam Style was released, and it went global. Now millions of Western people were aware of Kpop, and with the internet having advanced since 2003, finding out about Kpop was easier and faster. Tumblr and other blogs, spotify playlists, kpop news sites in english, fan translations and videos on youtube meant there was a sea of information available for fans getting in to Kpop. A few months after Gangnam Style, Catch Me was released in September. To me, Catch Me is the first track by TVXQ that a lot of Western people noticed. I remember seeing Catch Me’s music video on an asian pop show that would air on tv on weekend mornings, in Australia! Safe to say it was no.1 on the gaon charts in Korea and won on live music show inkigayo. https://kpop.daisuki.com.br/en/awards/TVXQ.html
January 2014 TVXQ turn Ten and release the album Tense, with lead single Something. Caught me by surprise this one, it’s a jazzy cabaret influence showtune, like amy winehouse, which could not be further from the sound of Catch Me. SM is savvy and know to highlight Changmin and yunho’s vocal, I love how natural everything sounds with swing and easing on the compression to deliver dynamics.
I also love the warmth of the mix, some of those horns in the chorus are playing pretty high but it never feels too sharp, ditto the vocals those high notes aren’t harsh at all. This song was huge but also a little swallowed by the mass of kpop that was coming through post Gangnam style.
At this point many smaller music entertainment companies were established riding the hype, such as Jellyfish, Starship, Stardom among others, and with them many many groups, on top of the big three companies JYP, YG and SM constantly releasing music from their roster. 2003 there were around 30 kpop debuts total. In 2014 there were over 40 groups and over 20 individuals debuting in kpop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_in_South_Korean_music
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_in_South_Korean_music
From Tense onwards TVXQ went a little quiet, partly due to military enlistment, but also due to generational shifts and a changing of the guard, as SM groups such as EXO and Shinee became hugely successful.
They’re 2018 comeback, the chance of love is mid. The mix doesn’t highlight the vocal, rather the funk influenced bass and guitar are highlighted. Both these instruments sound pretty, but the mix overall is high mid heavy, it doesn’t have that warmth like in Something.
2018 onwards, TVXQ begin to fade away. EXO move in to legend status and NCT rise up as the hot new thing. Zooming out Kpop remains global with a dedicated fan base since Gangnam style, and a little group called BTS become sensations along with YG group Blackpink. Their stories are for another video. TVXQ make occasional korean variety appearances and maintain a presence in Japan.
One pandemic and a half later and here we are. 2024. I don’t think the pandemic affected TVXQs relevance as much as time, Mirotic is now over 15 years old and the members are quickly approaching 40. Among the younger generation of Kpop fans they are not discussed too often. But Here’s why I think time is TVXQs most powerful weapon.
The stress of the pandemic grew demand for a big but often subtle part of our culture; nostalgia. As people found comfort in older shows, music and movies on a mass scale, studios capitalised by releasing reboots, sequels, and in the kpop world, anniversary comebacks. Kara would make a comeback for their 15th anniversary, Infinite and U kiss also both had anniversary releases. And on December 26th 2003, Hug turned 20.
https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230707000586
TVXQ released 20&2 december 26th 2023 20 years since their debut performance of Hug. It charted at number 3 on gaon charts and as of writing lead single Rebel sits on just over 900 thousand plays. Its a dark, dance track with a beat reminiscent of kanye wests black skinhead that I loved, but it’s marred by a carol of the bells interpolation that although performed well, didn’t please my ears.
Although falling short compared to all their no.1 releases, I think no.3 for a 20 year old kpop group cements them as legends of the genre. I love how modern Rebel sounds, rather than riding the nostalgia hype or even doing a mirotic 2.0 TVXQ made something dark, dancey, and unique in their discography.
Their Influence.
SMs artists shaped the “SM Sound”, which generally speaking is a blending of many genres with an rnb underpinning to glue the track together, not always effectively. At least in TVXQs 5 member era 2003-2008, they had little influence on other Kpop groups at other entertainment companies. But from Mirotic onwards and the rise of the hallyu wave, which is when kpop saw great success in other countries in asia and eventually western countries, we see TVXQs influence in other boy bands. TVXQ Visually had a strong, muscly dominant look for mirotic, wearing dark suits with nothing underneath to show their muscular physiques.
This look influenced 2pm’s Heartbeat concept and groups such as Infinite, B2st, MBLAQ, the latter even debuted with the same number of members. Musically these and many other groups had similar arrangements of rnb harmonies, strings and rock elements. *maybe play a short section of mblaq or show their mvs*. To be clear I think these groups brought this sound into their own and weren’t ripping off TVXQ, just influenced by them.
But these groups couldn’t match TVXQs vocals, which are some of the strongest ever recorded in Kpop.TVXQs body of work still holds up because their vocals are that strong, and SM were smart enough to produce songs that played to this strength, with soaring choruses and long, high notes after the bridge.Putting aside the resources and influence of SM Entertainment, TVXQs vocals combined with attractive visuals and energetic performances make them the undisputed Kings of Kpop.
Thanks so much for watching. I’m Sean @sepatorprod. Buy me a coffee link in description, like, subscribe. Til Next Time.
Other Sources
https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/Mirotic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_albums_in_South_Korea_(1998%E2%80%932008)
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