This is an article taken from a Japanese magazine.
Considering the events that'd ensued since fall last year, it did not come as much of a surprise when news of the suspension of Tohoshinki's group activities was released on April 3rd 2010. I think most people still felt the same way somewhere deep down. Their presence, the messages they sent through to Bigeast, all the way up until the very last single they released before the suspension - 'Toki wo tomete'. After April 3rd, I felt that the song was almost a mockery to Tohoshinki's current situation, and so I never listened to it. There was an emptiness in my heart, it was a hole that I didn't know to fill.
I knew I couldn't avoid it forever, and so I pushed the 'Play' button. From the moment I heard was Jaejoong's voice, I felt as though all the discomfort and grief melted away in an instant. His voice was so beautiful, so delicate, like it was holding our hand and guiding us into the world of music.
The same went for Junsu, his voice cheered me on and left a deep impression on all of its listeners. Following that was the overlap of Yoochun and Yunho's voices.
At the climax, Jaejoong gave the five boys' voices a slight lift, Changmin raised it to the heavens, up into the starry sky. The beautiful harmony they created had the capacity to induce tears and I could feel their emotions seeping slowly into my heart.
The fear I'd felt evaporated from the moment I heard their voices, their songs left within me a gentle, serene form of love. When I listened to 'Best Selection 2010' on the day of its release (February 17th), be it 'Share the World', 'Purple Line', 'Begin', 'SHINE', 'HUG' or 'Love in the Ice' etc., I felt myself being drawn in. Even through a time of darkness, I felt an force urging me to go on. It's been 6 years since their Korean debut and 5 since their Japanese. Throughout their careers, they've really shone for us, and even now, the same ray of light can be found in their works.
What's worth applauding is that those of us who have witnessed Tohoshinki's success have all gone on to shine in our own ways. We haven't stopped because their activities got suspended, we've continued to do everything possible to the best of our ability, to tolerate one another and to pray for the day when their voices will be united. At the same time, we must also respect others in our support of them, because this is the message they've tried to bring across to us. These are the sentiments of Tohoshinki, that's what I think.
Yunho's solo 'Checkmate' was released together with 'Toki wo tomete'. Upon hearing this fast-paced, upbeat song, I'm sure most people will think back to last year's Dome concerts in July. The elegance they demonstrated on stage exposed their true talent and charisma to an audience of 50,000.
From 'Checkmate', we could see that even individually, each of the members possessed the charm of 5. In the days to come, they'll no doubt strive to further themselves in their solo activities, they'll continue to showcase their many talents, to spread their wings and fly higher, but in our hearts, their essence will remain unchanged. No matter where they are or what they're doing, they'll always be the same Tohoshinki who brought brilliance and hope to us, and because of this, we must continue to keep our faith and to live our lives to the fullest along with the 5 of them.
Source: MusiQ? Special - Out of Music
Credits: Hohobbs + TVXQBaidu
Trans by: dorfehh@DBSKnights
Shared by: DBSKnights + DBSGuardians Angels
