Tarantallegra
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Tarantallegra is the first Korean solo studio album by JYJ member Kim Junsu or XIA. It was released digitally and physically on May 14, 2012. The album marks Kim's debut as a solo artist under the stage name Xia and become one of the highest selling solo albums on Gaon chart, the top album selling chart in South Korea.[1]
Background
On April 16, Xia's current label, C-JeS Entertainment, officially announced the release of "Tarantallegra", Xia's first solo studio album since his debut in 2004.[2] Through a press release, C-Jes stated that the album is scheduled to drop on May 15 and the music video of the title song will be unveiled a day before the album release.[3]
Official teaser images and teaser videos were revealed through YouTube and Facebook, weeks before the release of "Tarantallegra". The first video teaser is titled "Unequaled", representing Xia's unique creativity and identity, penetrating into the overall concept of the album. Preview of title track "Tarantallegra" is used as the background music in the final teaser video.
Composition
The album contains 12 tracks in total and Xia directly took part in producing, composing, and writing lyrics for most of the songs.[4] The album is filled by songs with various genres, such as R&B, dance and ballad. Title track "Tarantallegra" was composed and arranged by Xia, while its lyrics were written by Junho, Xia's twin brother. With the strong beat and diverse sounds, the song is described as a magic spell that causes uncontrollable dancing. In an interview, Xia stated that he chose "Tarantallegra" as the title track to break away from the image and the expectation people have on him. He also wanted to try music which requires a well-rounded performance, not only singing. "Tarantallegra" featured rapper Flowsik of Asian-American music group Aziatix. Three other tracks in the album featured South Korea's renowned rappers Bizzy, Double K, and Gaeko of Dynamic Duo. Fellow JYJ member Kim Jaejoong also participates in the album by composing and writing the R&B track "No Gain".[5]
During the making of the album, Xia was substantially influenced by musicals, German musical Elisabeth in particular. At that time, he played the role "Death" in the South Korean production of the musical. He tried to correspond the image of "Death" with the album and set up the music, the concept, style and choreography from there.
Release and Promotion
On May 10, ahead of the album's release, Xia released "사랑이 싫다구요 (I Don't Like Love)", a single which is used as the soundtrack for Korean drama "Rooftop Prince". The song was made by Jun Hye Sung, who composed the hit ballad "That Woman" from Korean drama "Secret Garden".[6]
On May 14, C-JeS published the music video for "Tarantallegra" via its YouTube official channel. In the music video, Xia shows his transformation to an unconventional androgynous image that was inspired by his role as the fantasy and mystical being "Death". The choreography for the song is done by Jeri Slaughter, a well-known American choreographer whom Xia has previously worked with.[7] As Xia can't do any broadcast promotions on television due to a ban by South Korea's broadcasting networks, he decided to promote his album through an Asia tour, titled "XIA 1st Asia Tour Concert". He sets his goal at designing a world-class, high quality solo concert to make up for the limitations in TV promotions. Xia will launch his first solo concert in Seoul on May 19 and 20, and will then continue to tour six cities in Asia, starting with Thailand on May 27. The Asia tour's finale will take place in Hong Kong.[3]
On June 11, Xia released the dance version music video for "Tarantallegra". Unlike the original music video, the new version video focuses on the visuals and the choreography. It also contains previously unseen footage.[8]
Reception
Despite being unable to hold any stages on music broadcasting shows, Xia is finding success from the release of his solo album. On May 4, shortly after pre-orders for "Tarantallegra" began on both online and offline stores, the online music market site, Synnara, experienced a server crash due to the sudden, overwhelming response. Xia's agency, C-JeS Entertainment revealed that the album has reached 100,000 copies in pre-orders. It also topped Japan's iTunes' pop albums chart without any promotion. The album is revealed to have had a greater reaction from fans than anticipated, leading to sell-outs.[9][10][11] According to Gaon, 122,000 copies of the album has been sold as of the end of May.
Repackaged version
On July 16, along with an announcement of a worldwide tour, Xia revealed that he's currently working on a repackaged album which will be aimed for the world market. The repackaged version will include an English single and its music video will be produced in the U.S. C-JeS Entertainment stated that renowned staff members in America will be taking part in the new album and music video. Xia will then embark on a world tour covering North America, South America and Europe with plans to make stops in two or three cities per continent.[12][13] Instead of a repackaged album, however, Xia released a single album entitled Uncommitted.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arranger | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sunset" | - | Xia | Xia | 1:15 |
| 2. | "Tarantallegra" (feat. Flowsik of Aziatix) | JUNO | Xia | Xia | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Set Me Free" (feat. Bizzy) | Xia, Fraktal | Xia, Fraktal | Fraktal | 3:37 |
| 4. | "No Gain" | Kim Jaejoong | Kim Jaejoong | Kwon Bin-ki | 3:49 |
| 5. | "사랑이 싫다구요" (I Don't Like Love) | Jung Hye-sung | Jung Hye-sung | Jung Hye-sung | 3:43 |
| 6. | "돌고 돌아도" (Around and Around) | JUNO | Xia, Kim Sae-jin | Xia, Kim Sae-jin | 3:40 |
| 7. | "Intoxication" | Xia | Xia | Xia | 3:56 |
| 8. | "Breath" (feat. Double K) | Xia | Xia | Xia | 3:23 |
| 9. | "알면서도" (Even Though I Already Know) | Kim Sae-jin | Kim Sae-jin, PJ | PJ | 3:36 |
| 10. | "Lullaby" (feat. Gaeko of Dynamic Duo) | Xia, Fraktal | Xia | Fraktal | 4:48 |
| 11. | "Fever" | Xia, JUNO | Xeno, Jedi | Xeno | 3:49 |
| 12. | "이슬을 머금은 나무" (The Tree Covered In Dew) | Xia | Xia | Sung Jung-jin | 5:01 |
Charts
Singles chart
| Song | Peak chart position | |
|---|---|---|
| KOR | ||
| Gaon Chart[14] | K-Pop Billboard[15] | |
| "사랑이 싫다구요 (I Don't Like Love)" | 18 | 15 |
| "Tarantallegra" | 22 | 39 |
Album chart
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| South Korea Hanteo Weekly Album Chart | 1 |
| South Korea Gaon Weekly Album Chart[16] | 1 |
| South Korea Gaon Monthly Album Chart[16] | 2 |
| Japan Oricon Weekly Album Chart[17] | 9 |
| Japan Oricon Monthly Album Chart[18] | 18 |
| Japan Oricon Weekly Western Album Chart[19] | 1 |
| United States Billboard World Albums[20] | 10 |
Other charted songs
| Song | |
|---|---|
| Gaon Chart[14] | |
| "Set Me Free" (Feat. Bizzy) | 69 |
| "No Gain" | 54 |
| "돌고 돌아도" | 50 |
| "Intoxication" | 83 |
| "Breath" (Feat. Double K) | 78 |
| "알면서도" | 61 |
| "Lullaby" (Feat. 개코 Of Dynamic Duo) | 45 |
| "Fever" | 81 |
| "이슬을 머금은 나무" | 67 |
Sales
| Chart | Sales |
|---|---|
| South Korea Gaon Physical Sales[16] | 130,000+ |
| Japan Oricon Physical Sales | 19,000+ |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Tarantallegra" | Ray Yeom |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Distributing Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 14 May 2012 | Digital download, CD | C-JeS Entertainment/A&G Modes |
| Worldwide | 15 May 2012 | Digital download |
References
- ^ "JYJ's Junsu Breaks Sales Record + Releases Dance Version MV". Soompi. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ "JYJ's Junsu to Release His First Solo Album!". Billboard Korea. April 16, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
- ^ a b "JYJ's Kim Junsu announces solo album release date". 10asia. May 09, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "JYJ 김준수, 솔로 출격". Daum. April 16, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
- ^ "Xia (준수)Tarantallegra". C-JeS store. May 04, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "JYJ 김준수, 박유천 지원사격 '옥세자 OST 참여'". Nate. May 03, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "美유명 안무가 "JYJ 김준수, 노래·춤·연기 완벽"". Starnews. April 24, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
- ^ Ho, Stewart (11 June 2012). "Kim Junsu's 'Tarantallegra' Dance Version MV Released". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ "Kim Junsu's First Solo Album Shuts Down Servers". enewsworld. May 04, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "JYJ′s Kim Junsu's Solo Album Pre-Orders Reaches 100,000". enewsworld. May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ "JYJ′s Kim Junsu's Solo Album No.1 on Japan's iTunes and Tower Records". enewsworld. May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ "JYJ's Kim Junsu to Tour Americas, Europe and Release Repackaged Album". enewsworld. July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- ^ "XIA Junsu To Embark On World Tour". KBS Global. July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- ^ a b "Gaon Korea Music Chart". Gaon. 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
- ^ "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Music Chart". Billboard. 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
- ^ a b c "Gaon Weekly Album Chart". Gaon. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
- ^ "Oricon Weekly Album Chart-2nd week of May" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
- ^ "Oricon Monthly Album Chart-May" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ "Oricon Weekly Western Album Chart-2nd week of May" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
- ^ "Billboard World Albums Chart". Billboard. 2012-06-02. Retrieved 2012-05-25.