Kim Jun-su (; born December 15, 1986) or simply Junsu, also known by the stage name Xia (stylized as XIA; ; ko, 시아) is a South Korean singer, model, dancer and stage actor. He is a member of the Korean pop group and later duo JYJ, and was one of the original members of

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!), an initialism for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (), is a South Korean male pop duo consisting of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. They are known as in Japanese releases, and are sometimes referred to as DBSK, an abbreviation of ...

. Kim made his debut in 2003 as a member of

, a

produced and formed by South Korean record label and talent agency

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company h ...

, having previously been a trainee for six years. He had released four Korean albums, four Japanese albums, thirty Japanese singles and several Korean singles during his first six years in the music industry as TVXQ. In 2009, Kim and fellow TVXQ members Kim Jaejoong and Park Yoochun filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment, arguing that their exclusive contracts were unilaterally disadvantageous towards the artists and should be invalidated. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the three and granted an injunction suspending their contracts. The trio reunited and subsequently formed JYJ (formerly known as JUNSU/JAEJOONG/YOOCHUN in Japan). As JYJ, Kim has released one English album, two Korean albums, one Japanese EP, and one Korean EP. Kim began his solo career in 2010 with the release of Japanese EP ''

Xiah Kim Jun-su (; born December 15, 1986) or simply Junsu, also known by the stage name Xia (stylized as XIA; ; ko, 시아) is a South Korean singer, model, dancer and stage actor. He is a member of the Korean pop group and later duo JYJ, and was ...

'', which peaked at number-two on Japan's

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike i ...

singles chart. The same year, he took the role of Wolfgang in his debut musical '' Mozart!'', receiving critical acclaim and commercial success. After the release of ''Xiah'', Kim's solo music career was sent into hiatus because of a discord between him and his Japanese label Avex Trax that led to the sudden suspension of all his activities in Japan. In May 2012, he released his first full-length Korean solo studio album ''

Tarantallegra ''Tarantallegra'' is the first Korean studio album by JYJ member Kim Junsu, released on May 14, 2012. It was the first album he released as a solo artist under the stage name XIA, and became one of the highest selling solo albums in 2012 on the ...

'', while being represented by new management agency C-JeS Entertainment. Following the release, he embarked on his first headlining world tour. He returned with his second Korean solo studio album, ''

Incredible Incredible may refer to: Music Albums * ''Incredible'' (Clique Girlz album) or the title song, 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap album), 1968 * ''Incredible'' (Ilse DeLange album), 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Mary Mary album) or ...

'', in July 2013. Despite limitations in media coverage and promotional activities caused by a ban in the Entertainment Departments of South Korea's three main terrestrial broadcasters resulting from

's interference, Kim's first and second studio album reached top two on the Gaon albums chart in South Korea, as well as reaching number-ten and number-five on the Billboard World Albums chart for ''Tarantallegra'' and ''Incredible'', respectively. He is also known for being able to sell out tickets for his concerts and musicals within minutes, dubbed "the ticket power" by South Korean media.

Biography

Pre-debut

Kim was born and raised in

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous Administrative divisions of South Korea, province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the s ...

, South Korea. He has an older fraternal twin brother named Kim Junho, who is also a singer mainly active in Japan and China where he is more well known by his stage names JUNO and ZUNO. At age eleven, Kim was signed by

after his participation in the agency's the ''6th Annual Starlight Casting System''. He attended Neunggok Elementary School, Nunggok Middle School, Hwasu High School and then transferred to Hanam High School. He graduated high school along with fellow member Park Yoochun in 2007. Kim Junsu then took up Musical Theater in

Myongji University Myongji University () is a private, Christian university founded in 1948 in South Korea. It provides higher education in the fields of engineering, sciences and humanities. It has two campuses: the Social Science Campus is located in Seoul and t ...

and graduated in 2011. In 2002, SM Entertainment placed Junsu in a project R&B group with two other trainees, his childhood friend

Eunhyuk Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and S ...

and

Sungmin Sung-min, also spelled Seong-min, is a Korean unisex given name (predominantly masculine). Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 27 hanja with the reading " sung" and 27 hanja with the reading ...

. They appeared on a show called "2002 Survival Audition – Heejun vs. Kangta, Battle of the Century", along with three future members of rock band TRAX (Jay Kim, No Minwoo, Kang Jungwoo). They were judged and mentored by Moon Hee Jun and Kangta, two members of H.O.T, SM Entertainment's former group. Kangta praised Kim highly in the show, saying that he had potential as a lead vocalist. The group disbanded in 2003 (both Eunhyuk and Sungmin went on to debut as

Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their promine ...

's members two years later), when Kim was selected to be

's member.

2003–2009: Early career

Kim was the first member to join

and officially debuted with the group on December 26, 2003. He chose Xiah to be his stage name, explaining that the name was short for "Asia" (taking out the "a" in "Asia"). "Xiah" would be an implication of his desire to become not only a star in Korea, but also a star recognized all throughout Asia. In 2006, Kim featured in former label-mate Zhang Liyin's debut song, "

Timeless Timeless (or atemporal) or timelessness (or atemporality) may refer to: * Agelessness, the condition of being unaffected by the passage of time * Akal (Sikh term), timelessness in Sikhism * Eternity, timeless existence or infinite duration * Im ...

". It is a remake of

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...

and Justin Guarini's duet, originally recorded in 2003. He also made an appearance in the second part of "Timeless"' music video. In 2007, he was chosen to be part of Samsung's Anycall project group, Anyband. The band comprises former label-mate female singer BoA, Tablo of South Korean hip-hop group Epik High and jazz pianist Jin Bora. Anyband has only released one single of the same name. On July 31, 2009, Kim and other two

members—''

Jaejoong Kim Jae-joong (; born January 26, 1986), also known mononymously as Jaejoong in South Korea and in Japan, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor and director. He is a member of the Korean pop group JYJ and was one of the original members ...

'' and '' Yoochun''—submitted an application to the Seoul Central District Court to determine the validity of their contract with

. Through their lawyers, the members stated that the 13-year contract was excessively long, schedules were held out without the confirmation or permission of the members, contract terms had been extended and changed without their knowledge or consent and that the group's earnings were not fairly distributed to the members. The Seoul Central District Court granted the three members a temporary contract injunction in October 2009 and ruled that SM cannot interfere with their individual activities but also that they can only act as members of

through

. In November 2012, the three years and four months lawsuit concluded as SM Entertainment and JYJ reached a mutual agreement to terminate all contracts between the two parties and not to interfere with each other's activities in the future. At a voluntary arbitration at the Seoul Central District Court, SM Entertainment finally agreed that its contract ended July 31, 2009, and that it would no longer interfere with JYJ's endeavors in Korea. Throughout his career as

's member, Kim had written and composed several songs that appeared on the group's Korean and Japanese releases. His first composition was a ballad titled "Nae Gyeote Sumsuil Su Ittdamyeon (White Lie)" (네 곁에 숨쉴 수 있다면), included in

's third Korean studio album, '' "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap.'' At

's second Asian tour, he performed a solo self-composed dance track called "My Page". He also composed his solo slow-ballad " Rainy Night" of

's nineteenth Japanese single, If.../Rainy Night, an installment of the group's non-album release "TRICK" project. For

's Korean

comeback Comeback, The Comeback or Come Back may refer to: General * Comeback (publicity), a return to prominence by a well-known person * Comeback (retort), a witty response to an insult or criticism * Comeback (sports), an event where an athlete or team ...

in 2008, he wrote "Noeur... Baraboda (Picture of You)" (노을 ... 바라보다), which was featured in

's fourth Korean album. During

's third Asian tour, he performed another self-composed song "Xiahtic", which was then rearranged and performed in Japanese for his solo performance at the ''Tohoshinki 4th Live Tour 2009: The Secret Code'' in Tokyo Dome. The rearranged version of "Xiahtic" was also included in

's twenty-ninth Japanese single. He has also appeared on two televised shows with

, ''

Banjun Theater ''Match! Reverse Drama'' () is a South Korean mini-drama series that first aired on August 8, 2004, as a part of SBS's '' Good Sunday'' programme. Each ''Reverse Drama'' is usually unrelated to previous dramas, unless it is split into parts, and ...

'' and ''Vacation''.

2010–2011: Solo career and JYJ

At the beginning of 2010, Kim starred in the South Korean production of Austrian musical Mozart!,K-Pop Stars Taking Korean Musicals on Asian Tour
''

Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations ...

''. June 17, 2011. playing the lead role Wolfgang. His stage actor debut was met with great response, as the tickets for each one of his shows were completely sold out and he was able to sweep up all Best Newcomer awards in various awards ceremonies."Xiah Junsu picks up award at 16th Korea Musical Awards"
'' allkpop''. August 18, 2010."제4회 더 뮤지컬 어워즈 ‘시상식은 또 하나의 공연!"
''Nate News''. June 8, 2010 In April, the three-member group JYJ (initially known as Junsu/Jaejoong/Yoochun) was created, following an announcement made by Avex Trax, the trio's Japanese label at that time. After Avex revealed that

would go on an indefinite hiatus, it's decided that Kim would make his solo singing debut in Japan. A teaser showing his self-composed song "Intoxication" was made public and announced as the lead track of his upcoming single. The self-produced double A-side single (''Refer''

) was released on May 26 and debuted at number two on Japan's Oricon chart. Two songs in the single, and "君がいれば～Beautiful Love～" were used as the theme song for BeeTV's and ''''. In September, JYJ released The..., their first Japanese EP, which debuted at number one on the

chart. However, Avex had announced the suspension of the group's activities in Japan, including Kim's, the same month that year. JYJ proceeded to release '' The Beginning'', a global album which was sung in English. Kim promoted the new album with JYJ via a worldwide showcase tour with dates in South Korea, Southeast Asia and the United States. In October, Kim was set to collaborate with Hungarian composer

Sylvester Levay Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian language, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, ''Silvester Levai'') is a Hungarian people, Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Life and career Levay ...

for a concert titled ''"Kim Junsu Musical Concert, Levay with Friends"''. It was held in Seoul at the

Olympic Gymnastics Arena The Olympic Gymnastics Arena (), also known as the KSPO Dome since 2018, is an indoor arena located within the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. It has a capacity of 15,000 and can be extended upto 20,000. It was constructed between 31 Augu ...

from the 7th until the 10th for a total of 4 days. Well-known German musical actor

Uwe Kröger Uwe Kröger (; born 4 December 1964 in Hamm, West Germany) is a musical star in the German-speaking countries of the world. Besides starring on stage, Kröger has taken part in galas and concerts, as well as making television and film appearance ...

who worked with Levay in several musicals visited South Korea to participate in the concert as a special guest.Jin, Jang Kyun
"Meet Xiah Junsu and Kim Junsu at his musical concert"
''10 Asia''. September 28, 2010. During the show, Kim introduced "Miss You So", a song that was written especially for him by Levay, to the fans. He also performed "Intoxication" before Korean audience for the first time outside Japan. January 2011 saw the release of JYJ's Korean EP, Their Rooms "Our Story". Kim contributed in writing and composing two songs in the album, an up-tempo track titled "Mission" and a ballad titled "Fallen Leaves". The next month, he starred in his second musical, ''"Tears of Heaven"''. Kim played Jun-Hyung, a Korean soldier who fell in love with a Vietnamese singer during the Vietnam war. Starting from April, Kim toured Asia and North America for JYJ's first Worldwide Tour. The tour was later extended to Europe and South America, adding another four stops in Spain, Germany, Chile and Peru. In May, Kim was appointed the honorary ambassador for the ''5th The Musical Awards'', along with musical actress Jo Jung Eun. He's also nominated for "Best Actor" and later won the "Popular Star Award" at the same award ceremony."‘천국의눈물’ 김준수+윤공주 남녀인기상 휩쓸어(더뮤지컬어워즈)"
''Newsen''. June 7, 2011 In August, Kim released a song for Korean drama '' Scent of A Woman's'' OST, "You Are So Beautiful". The song managed to top real-time music charts shortly after it was released. He also made a cameo appearance in the drama as a popular singer that the main character idolizes and looks up to. In September, JYJ released their first Korean full-length album, '' In Heaven''. Kim and actress Song Ji-hyo featured in the six minutes long music video for the album's lead track, "In Heaven". A 10-minutes version was released later on, revealing the complete story line. In November, Kim won the "Popular Star Award" at the ''17th Korea Musical Awards'' alongside ''"Tears of Heaven"'' co-star Yoon Gong Joo.Hong, Luci
""Sherlock Holmes" wins big at 17th Korea Musical Awards"
''10 Asia''. November 15, 2011. In December, he and South Korean actor Jang Geun-Suk received a K-POP Superstar Award at the "2011 Asia Jewelry Awards" held in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

."World Star Award winners of ‘Jewelry Awards’ – Jang Geunseok and JYJ Kim Junsu"
''Nate News''. December 6, 2011

2012–2014: Tarantallegra and Incredible

Kim released his first Korean full-length solo album, ''

'', in May 2012. It was his first solo music release in two years, after the suspension of his solo activities in 2010. For the album, he directly took part in the production, composing and writing the lyrics for most of the songs. Rapper Flowsik of Asian-American music group

Aziatix Aziatix was a Korean–American hip hop and R&B trio consisting of members Flowsik, Eddie Shin, and Nicky Lee. The group, which was based in Seoul, South Korea, debuted in 2011 and won Best New Asian Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards la ...

featured in the album's title track, "Tarantallegra". After unleashing two concept teasers, Kim released a video teaser for "Tarantallegra", where he showed a drastic transformation into a completely new image. The music video was published in full on May 13, a day before the official album release. To promote the album, he held concerts within Asia, as well as North America, South America and Europe. The Asian tour began on May 19 and 20 at Seoul's Jamsil Indoor Stadium and continued on to Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. Ahead of the North American, South American, and European tour, C-JeS Entertainment revealed that Kim had finished recording an English song and planned for a new single release. The single, titled Uncommitted is written by Bruce 'Automatic' Vanderveer, and includes a new version of song "Tarantallegra". Kim also confirmed his remaining tour dates with stops in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, Brasil, Chile and Germany. The first show was held at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom and the final show held at Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen. While touring Kim, along with Sunny Hill's Seung-ah, made an appearance in South Korean girl group,

Fiestar Fiestar ( ko, 피에스타) was a South Korean girl group formed by Kakao M. Before the group's debut, they released a duet with label mate IU titled “Sea of Moonlight” for LOEN Entertainment's collective label album. The track ended up b ...

's music video for their debut single, "Vista". In October 2012, Kim won his first "Best Actor" award at the ''18th

Korea Musical Awards Korea Musical Awards () is an awards ceremony held yearly. Originally sponsored by Sports Chosun ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more t ...

'' for his performance as the transcendental existence Der Tod or The Death, a lead role in the Elisabeth, his third musical. He had also received third consecutive "Popular Star Award" at the annual ''The Musical Awards'' in June."김준수, 뮤지컬★ 자리매김..'인기스타상' 수상"
'' Nate''. June 4, 2012 On Christmas Eve, Kim released a digital single, Thank U For, before holding an all-live concert entitled ''"2012 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra"'' on the 29th. The concert featured ballads from his album as well as OST songs and a few pieces from his previous musicals, accompanied by an orchestra during the whole show. By the end of 2012, Kim has sold almost 200,000 copies of ''

'' and Uncommitted combined, becoming one of the year's highest selling solo artists on South Korea's record chart Gaon. On February 25, 2013, Kim (as JYJ) was invited to perform at South Korea's current president

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

's inauguration ceremony held at the National Assembly Building's Center Plaza, in front of more than 70,000 people. Two months later, Kim took the stage for JYJ's three days concert, ''"The Return of JYJ"'', held at the Tokyo Dome. The sold-out concert marks the first time JYJ had been able to perform in Japan after the contract with their former Japanese management agency

Avex is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other b ...

ended in 2010. 2014 Asian Games opening ceremony 5

''Incredible'', Kim's second Korean studio album, was released in July 2013. Its lead track, "Incredible", was made by Bruce 'Automatic' Vanderveer, who he collaborated with on his first English single. Prior to the album release, Kim unveiled a digital single which will serve as ''pre-release'' track, called "11AM". On the 15th, he held a solo showcase at UNIQLO AX Hall in

to commemorate the official release of ''Incredible''. His second headlining concert tour began the following week with its first stop in Bangkok, Thailand. Junsu later held a solo tour in Japan, called the "2014 XIA The Best Ballad Spring Tour Concert in Japan," starting in Tokyo on May 13–15 and then heading to Osaka on May 22–24. The poster for the concert was released early April.

2015–2017: Solo albums and musicals

On March, 3rd 2015 Kim's third studio album

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

was released. The album debuted at number 1 on the Gaon and Oricon charts. The title song Flower features Tablo from Epik High, with Dok2 and Naul ( Brown Eyed Soul) also featuring on the album. On the same day of the album release Kim launched 2015 Xia Third Asia Tour Concert – Flower with the first stop being Osaka. In April 2015 Kim was confirmed to act in the Korean version of the musical Death Note. Kim played the role of L. Kim announced that he would be returning with a mini album and released the title song '' Yesterday'' on October 19, 2015. Rapper Giriboy features on track "Oeo" while Cheetah is a feature on "Midnight Show". Kim featured on rapper Psy's seventh album Psyder, with the song "Dream". Kim placed 1st place in the ballot of the Domestic Popularity Award carried out by the ‘25th High1 Seoul Music Awards’ from November 27, 2015, to January 12, 2016. XIA won a total of 46.7% of votes in the ballot for the Popularity Award domestically chosen 100% by voting results beforehand, and recorded 1st place. In May 2016, his fourth solo album, '' Xignature'' was released, featuring The Quiett, Automatic, Crucial Star and Paloalto. Later he played the lead role in two musicals, ''Dracula'' and ''Dorian Gray''. At the beginning of 2017, Kim again took up the role of L in the ''Death Note'' musical, before he enlisted in the army as a conscripted policeman.

2018–present: Discharge from military, musicals and other works

Kim was discharged from military service on November 5, 2018, and started promotions with a fansigning event at COEX Live Plaza. He held a 3-day concert 'Way Back Xia' at Jamsil Indoor Stadium. After his discharge, Kim returned to the stage to his role of Death in the musical ''Elizabeth''. Kim is slated to star in the musical '' Xcalibur'' as

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

from June 15 to August 4, 2019, at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts,

. On November 10, 2020, Kim released a mini album titled ''Pit a Pat'' under his stage name XIA. On November 9, 2021, C-JeS Entertainment's contract with Kim expired and he decided not to renew. Later, it was reported that Kim founded Palm Tree Island Agency, a single agency. On March 16, 2022, Kim released his third mini album titled ''Dimension'', the first after his departure from C-JeS Entertainment. He has also announced a face-to-face offline concert to commemorate the release of his new album. In June 2022, Kim organized the ''KIMJUNSU 2022 CONCERT 'DIMENSION in BANGKOK'' held at Thunder Dome Bangkok, Thailand on June 25. In November 2022, it was announced that Kim will hold Junsu Kim's year-end concert '2022 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra Vol.8' will be held at COEX Hall D for three days from December 23 to 25.

Personal life

Junsu began his 21 months mandatory military service on February 9, 2017. He was discharged on November 5, 2018.

Discography

* ''

'' (2012) * ''

'' (2013) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Xignature'' (2016)

Concerts and tours

* XIA 1st World Tour Concert – Tarantallegra * XIA 2nd Asia Tour Concert – Incredible * 2012 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra vol.1 * 2013 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra vol.2 * 2014 XIA The Best Ballad Spring Tour Concert in Japan * 2014 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra vol.3 * 2015 XIA 3rd Asia Tour Concert – Flower * 2015 XIA 4th Asia Tour Concert – Yesterday * 2015 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra vol.4 * 2016 XIA The Best Ballad Spring Tour Concert in Japan vol.2 * 2016 XIA 5th Asia Tour Concert – Xignature * 2016 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra vol.5 * 2018 Way Back Xia *2019 Way Back Xia Tour in Japan *2019 Way Back Xia Encore *2019 XIA Ballad & Musical Concert with Orchestra vol.6 *2020 XIA Pit A Pat Online concert *2020 XIA Ballad & Musical Online concert with orchestra

Filmography

Television shows

Musicals

Awards

Notes

References

External links

C-JeS Homepage – Kim Junsu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Junsu 1987 births Living people JYJ members South Korean male idols South Korean pop singers South Korean male singers South Korean rhythm and blues singers English-language singers from South Korea South Korean male musical theatre actors South Korean male television actors Japanese-language singers of South Korea TVXQ members K-pop singers South Korean humanitarians SM Entertainment artists People from Gyeonggi Province Myongji University alumni South Korean twins Twin musicians Fraternal twin male actors