Under such circumstances, they still released seven singles and their second album [Five In The Black] in Japan in 2007. The month of May marked the beginning of their tour [2nd Live Tour 2007 – Five In The Black], and 22,000 people attended the two additional performances in Nippon Budōkan. The total attendance for the tour was 77,000, and the overwhelming response greatly surpassed their first tour. Henceforth, the release of their solo track finally appeared on the Oricon Charts for the first time. The rise of TVXQ in Japan was just around the corner.
2008: Making History As The Strongest Asia Star By Topping Oricon Charts
The good news suddenly came in 2008. The 16th solo track [Purple Line], which was released in January, realized the vision of the five members by topping the Oricon Weekly Chart. Through this opportunity, the degree of attention by the media towards TVXQ surged. After [Purple Line], [Beautiful You], [Why Did I Fall In Love With You], [Mirotic] achieved top spots in the charts consecutively, and when they began their tour [3rd Live Tour 2008 – T -] in March, it was hard to obtain a ticket even if you had joined the fanclub.
Opportunities to appear on prime-time variety shows also increased, and with their unpretentious and charming individual personalities, TVXQ’s popularity went up another level They finally appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen towards the end of the year, and achieved their goal of “gaining recognition in Japan based on their strengths alone”.
Along with their huge success in Japan, they returned to Korea after a two-year hiatus to release their long-awaited fourth album [Mirotic]. Due to their long absence in their activities in Korea, the five of them suffered a lot of unease and pressure but eventually sold 460,000 copies of [Mirotic]. In that year, TVXQ swept all the major music awards in Korea, especially in the unforgettable [2008MKMF]. Changmin, who is rarely seen crying, broke down uncontrollably in front of everyone. To be able to achieve success in Asia, including Korea and Japan, was definitely something extraordinary.
2009: In The Twinkling Of An Eye, The Taste And Joy Of Success …Facing The Crisis Of A Disbandment The fast progression of TVXQ did not lose momentum even in 2009 as the release of their fourth Japanese album [The Secret Code] in March achieved one of the best sales record in the history of TVXQ thus far, and was certified Platinum in Japan’s Oricon Weekly Chart. They began the [4th Live Tour 2009~ The Secret Code] in May, and during the tour, they officially announced that they will be holding additional concerts in the Tokyo Dome, achieving yet another of the goals that the five members have set.
After the tour, JeJung and YuChun released a self-composed duet under the name of “JeJung & YuChun (from THSK)”. YunHo and ChangMin were also confirmed as leads in their respective television dramas, and each member became more and more active in their solo activities. The breaking news of their possible disbandment lay in wait.
On 31st July 2009, the three members, JeJung, YuChun and JunSu submitted an injunction request to the Seoul Central District Court regarding South Korean company SM’s exclusive contracts. After this, the relationship between the trio and SM took a turn for the worst. In October, the court judge gave a verdict on the contents of the exclusive contract to be invalid, and that the three members were free to commence their own activities outside of SM’s management until the conclusion of the lawsuit. The activities of the five members in Korea became impossible. However, they continued their activities in Japan, appearing in the scheduled participation of August’s [a-nation ‘09] and [Jingu-Gaien Hanabi]. Attending the year end [Kōhaku Uta Gassen] as a start, they participated many times in the Japanese Music Festival and painfully bade goodbye to the old while welcoming in the new.
2010: TVXQ’s Activities Stopped, But The Hearts Of The Five Have Yet To Be Separated Their 29th solo track [Break Out] was released on 27th January 2010, and achieved first place in both the Oricon Weekly and Monthly Charts. They also broke the sales record set by foreign artistes by selling a total of 256,000 copies. However, the crisis of a possible disbandment remained unchanged. On 3rd April, AVEX released an official statement to cease the activities of the five members as THSK, and Japan was no longer able to see the five members promoting activities together.
During this period, the trio, JeJung, YuChun and JunSu accepted the verdict met out on October 2010 and began their own activities. JunSu performed in a musical [Mozart!] in January while JeJung starred in a Japan drama [Sunao Ni Narenakute], which is currently on broadcast. YuChun starred in a mobile television drama [Beautiful Love~ Kimi Ga Ireba ~], which began broadcast on 4th June, and at the same time, confirmed his role in Korean drama [SungKyunKwan Scandal]. The trio then formed [JYJ], and held performances in June at Osaka and Tokyo Dome. YunHo and ChangMin, who stayed on with SM also actively began their own solo activities.
On 9th May, SM appealed against the verdict on the trio’s request, but there was no progression on both sides. The residing court judge advised that “if the contract contents are changed, there is a possibility for the five members to be active again”, but how future developments will turn out is still worrying. We hope to be able to see once again, the five of them on the same stage, cheerful and in harmony.
