This account came from one JYJ’s staff. She asked us not to reveal her name since it’s actually not appropriate for a staff to reveal such account but she really wanted to share this story.
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On the 15th of November when I was checking out of The New Yorker Hotel, I met one of the elderly cleaners who was helping out at the concierge desk. He asked me if I was part of the crew and also if JYJ were really huge stars in Asia to which I answered a positive yes to both questions. He then told me that the star staying in room 2330 is really nice and even though he is a celebrity, he never once acted like one and spent a lot of time talking to this cleaner about everything.
Fan service is smiling for the cameras, being ever friendly in a switched on star mode… but when a cleaner in a hotel, someone who is often bypassed by most tourists who come and go, tell you the story of a star who has taken the time to know about him and asks about his well being behind closed doors on a daily basis, lies truly a kind person with a good heart … and that person is Micky.
That kinda made me swell with Noona pride over this kid I barely knew but who always had an ever ready smile for everyone.
In these really trying times, do say a prayer for them. For the Lord to watch over them and most of all give them the ability to continue to shine in the marketplace despite being slayed by their circumstances.
I too am trying to keep the faith, especially for Yoochun whom I’m personally most fond of.
Although I’ve already known them from before, the experience of my private interview with JYJ is very amazing.
When I have to explain to people who live in the US, “Tohoshinki” is a Korean group who has created a social phenomenon in Japan since several years ago. Ah, by the way, you pronounce it as “Tohoshinki”. Their releases would, as you would expect, grab the number 1 spot on Oricon chart. When they have a tour, the 50,000 seats in Dome would be sold out in no time. They sang the theme song for Fuji TV’s popular anime “One Piece”, appeared and performed live on “Tokudane!”, the variety show that I was in charge of. (T/N: Tokudane! is a TV program that they appeared on in Japanese)
However.
We were unaware of what happened to them who have been working so hard. Fans were caught in a hard situation because they’ve been involved in a regrettable circumstance that lead to a halt on their activities at the moment. I’m just saying this again, but none of them was at fault. Rather, I’d say that they are thriving their best. At that time, I was in charge of the Entertainment corner at Tokudane!, and the staff and I were trying to bring them in. However, because of some reasons which I can’t reveal in details, it is impossible to have them continue with their activities in Japan right now.
Then, the 3 members of Tohoshinki – Junsu, Jejung, Yuchun – took the first initial of their name to form “JYJ”. On the occassion that JYJ debut in the US, I had a chance to have a 30-minute private interview with JYJ for FCI Morning EYE (T/N: a news program).
It has been a very long time since we met at Tokudane! studio, but their fresh personalities still haven’t changed at all. As we started off a little with some tea, I was surrounded with their unchangeable aura.
However, there was a trouble.
The staff told them to answer the interview in Korean.
Of course, the staff didn’t have any bad intention, because they could naturally express themselves in Korean, and the staff could also understand what they said. We had no choice but agreed to it. After we have settled the condition and the interview setting has been set, the 3 of them suddenly started to continuously complain to the staff.
After having us wait for 10 minutes, they said that the interview would be conducted and answered in Japanese. I whispered to ask Yuchun, and it turned out that, they have persuaded the staff for our sake.
He told me, “Although we are in the US, it has been a long time since they were able to communicate with Japanese fans. We’ve been doing our best to study Japanese, so even if our Japanese is bad, we’d like to answer in Japanese.”
They haven’t changed.
They are still the polite and straightforward people that I met in Tokudane! studio back then. When we started to film, Junsu said, “It has been a long time since we spoke Japanese so we’re getting very nervous”, and those were the first words of our interview.
At this moment, our FCI staff members are very busy, because we don’t want this to be just a 3-minute interview corner. We want to properly turn this into a special edition, so we’re doing our best to update our homepage.
Everyone, please don’t forget to watch their interesting interview!
Source:Hasegawa Yutaka’s Blog Translation: linhkawaii @ OneTVXQ.com Credits: OneTVXQ.com { One World. One Red Ocean. One TVXQ! } Feel free to repost, but please leave the full credits intact. Thanks!
JYJ packed Hammerstein Ballroom to it’s limit and had to turn away thousands of crying fans during their first showcase tour in America. Complete with detailed stage effects and fierce choreography, JYJ put on one of their most memorable shows in NYC!
Yoochun’s gyrating dance with not just one but two of his back-up dancers had the hall screaming! (in fury or happiness, nobody knows…)
Incorporating two slower songs, “Be My Girl,” and “Found You” into the other-wise dance and beat-heavy set list, gave their show perfect balance.
Set List:
“Empty”
“Be The One”
“Be My Girl”
“Found You”
“Ayyy Girl”
“Empty Remix”
During the MC portion, one of the MCs asked about Yoochun’s tattoo and he was coerced into revealing it. Sadly, all we could catch was a sliver of skin but his expression speaks volumes.
All throughout the set, their love for what they do showed through and even Yoochun, who was sick, did his hip thrusts properly. (Junsu’s hip thrusts are something to be feared when you’re right in front of him. He’s truly the one in charge of charisma in JYJ.)
Even when faced with difficult circumstances, JYJ remained true professionals. The trio finished their first showcase in America by giving all of their fans a night to remember!
Stay tuned for the exclusive live performance of “Ayyy Girl” in full and view the rest of the photos in the slideshow below!
Hey! Sorry for taking so long for all of those that wanted to read my account, I’m still having a JYJ withdraw… Life’s so hard now. Anyhow, here is the full account (instead of just the crazy awesome elevator encounter) of my very wonderful trip seeing JYJ in New York. And I apologize for the bad quality of my videos ahead of time! Enjoy!
My account includes the wait before the showcase, everything during the showcase, and the lovely morning afterwards. The elevator encounter is also included with more detail now that I’m able to type on a computer! Don’t get too jealous! Jk!
Thanks to our roommate Jessica for sharing this picture
For the whole entire week I had trouble sleeping because of the excitement. I woke up an hour before my alarm clock went off and couldn’t even try to go back to sleep. It definitely didn’t help that Jaejoong was tweeting at such early hours in the morning. So excited I would be seeing him in person that day!!!
Our plane landed about 30 minutes early, but it was already 11:30 when we finally we arrived at the New Yorker. At first I was still wondering if we were in the right place, but when I saw all the fangirls in the lobby, I had no doubts left. We went straight up to our rooms, the elevator actually made a stop on the way, as ironic as it was later on, I had joked to my friend that it would be so awesome if JYJ walks in.
After we dropped off our stuff at the hotel we went to the venue, as lost tourists we took the long way around. New Yorker and Hammerstine are literally around the corner from each other. By the time we got there, there was already a really long line. We stood in line while I contacted the friends that I would be meeting. I meet with a group of girls and we tried to get some support things done for this concert. We stood by the line, but not in it, and a lot of people walked by, stopped and asked us “What is this about?” So I gave them a quick promotional spill about JYJ! They were really amazed at the long line. I do remember someone thinking it was for Justin Bieber. I know this is America, sorry but NO, this is for JYJ!We had passed out fliers about the white ocean project. While doing this, I couldn’t believe how many fans there were. There were a lot of fanboys! I was excited since I never really met any. Someone else that walked pass by said “I never thought of New York as a melting pot until now”. He was so right; there were many fans of many different ethnicities and some older fans, they were all very kind in helping me make things happen. Everyone’s enthusiasm was great!
(The good parts -experiences worth being jealous over and fancams- are hidden underneath! Keep reading!)
After doing my part, I went back to the group to see what else I can do. There was only one girl standing there, and I didn’t want to stay and guard the bags like I did for a while earlier that day already. So I randomly told her “I’m going to the New Yorker” and walked off. I had text Chompoo earlier this day and asked if it would be wise to go back to the hotel to see if I can catch the boys, or should I just stay at the venue. She told me to do what I thought was best. So I made the walk down to the New Yorker and saw the fans have completely taken over the lobby. I knew if I stayed around I might have looked suspicious. So being impulsive as I was, I got on one of the 11 elevators there. One guy got in and pushed a button, I hurriedly pressed the 29th floor to look like I knew I where I was going. We really live on the 25th floor, but I doubted that JYJ would be staying there, and I was (in an odd way) trying to test out my luck and see if I could bump into them. Then a lady got on with her two kids and her mom. They were trying to look for the 4th floor, yet the elevator only had 20-40. We were confused so I tried to help them, even though in reality I was just as lost as they were… But I did want to help them! I thought if I help them look around for this 4th floor in the hotel, I will have a purpose there instead of just randomly searching the floors. So the guy got off at his floor, and we continued up the 29th. The ladies asked me if I was going to get off. I quickly told them “I don’t really need to get off, I’ll help you guys find the 4th floor.” Then we discussed what to do for a few seconds before the elevator stopped again on its way down. And I stood there wondering who it was. My memory is completely defective, but I do remember how shocked I was. KIM freaking JAEJOONG walked onto the elevator!!! His glowing self graced us with his presence! I swear I thought I was hallucinating from thinking about him too much. It took me a little bit before I realized both the manager and Yoochun were in the elevator too. The manager reached over to close the door of the elevator by getting between Yoochun and I, but after he was done, he went to stand next to me, leaving Yoochun a little bit in front with me with nothing between us! I still couldn’t believe it, I was in the same elevator as Jaejoong and Yoochun!!! They got onto MY elevator!!! What are the chances of that?? I tried to not freak out too much and act normal. It didn’t work out so well when I turned to the lady and told her “I hope… everything… work out.” I was totally stuttering, and making a mess out of the words coming from my mouth since I was still shocked. Because of the way I was standing, I was basically facing Jaejoong, and I just stared at him as my mind went haywire. The lady seemed to understand anyways and told me she would just go down to the lobby and ask them again. As unreal as I still think it was, right then, Jaejoong turned around to talk to the manager! Giving me a clear view of his beautiful flawless face!! OMG I couldn’t believe my eyes. So perfect!!! I saw his beautifully tempting pink lips move and heard his soft soothing voice. I swear I was so in love at that moment, still thought I was dreaming though. Sadly, the ride came to an end when the door opened again and Yoochun got off first followed by Jaejoong and the manager.
I was still too shocked to move from my spot so the elevator took me down to the lobby with the lady and her family. I felt like I was still dream walking. I looked over to the girls in the lobby and felt kind of sad for them. They waited here all day to see them but caught no sight of them, yet I got to freaking ride on an elevator with Jaejoong and Yoochun because of my impulsive actions! I hurried out of the hotel because I felt like I was on the verge of breaking down and needed to talk to someone. I got out my phone and noted it was 2:43. I will forever remember this moment. I told my friends of the encounter when I got back to the venue. I was shaking and got to the point I couldn’t even stand. I felt as if I could cry. They asked me if I got an autograph or took pictures, I told them I was way too stunned to do anything. After all, this was my very first time seeing celebrities! And it happened to be the ones I love with all of my heart!!! Oh gosh I will forever remember this moment for the rest of my life. Many people also asked me what they smelled like, or whether Jaejoong smelled like vanilla like we read in the fics. But… I really don’t know. I was seriously millimeters away from Yoochun and less than 2 foot away from Jaejoong… but I don’t know. I have this suspicion that I probably wasn’t even breathing when they were in that tiny space with me! If I did breathe (OMG, that means I was literally breathing in Yoochun), I didn’t smell anything strong.
We finally got everything done and got back in line waiting for the concert to start. The wait was long, but we were surrounded by fellow fans, so there were nonstop chattering. During that short period of time, I was able to talk to so many other fans. We exchanged stories and talked about our boys. We kept waiting for the management team to split the lines for ticket holders and fans that were there for free tickets, and they finally did around 6. Then it was almost 7 when they told the people with box tickets to show them the tickets, because we would be the first ones go to in. The brought us out of the line and made us form a new line and let us waited until 7:30 before they finally let us go in. They told us we can go anywhere, the box seats or floor, we asked them many times to confirm this fact.
Since we were pretty much one of the first few people in, we went for the floor. I started running towards the stage with my friend when someone shouted “Walk, don’t run!”, as if we were at all pool or something! Haha! It was great! The room slowly began to fill as people pushed and pulled trying to get closer to the stage. Soon the floor was crowded to the point that you couldn’t move at all. I found myself by a couple of Chinese girls, some from baidutvxq. I was so excited to talk to fellow Chinese cassies! By 8:15 the balcony were not filled yet, and I started to worry if that we were all the fans there. But it didn’t seem right since I knew that there lines extended to blocks on out way even hours before we were let in. Then the announcer came on and said something like “Ladies and Gentleman, are you ready for your favorite band, JYJ?” We all screamed our lungs out. Then he finished with “The showcase will start in 15 minutes.” Haha! More waiting! But we all knew it would be worth it in the end. They showed videos of the fans in the crowd, we could already see a red sea. There were fans holding up flags of their countries, such as Canada. There was also a fanboy dancing! It was great! By the time the concert started, the entire stadium was packed.
Empty stage before the show
The MCs came on stage and asked us if we were ready. And of course, all of us were more than ready! Soon the show started with our boys coming on stage. I still feel like this is all a dream. I took videos of them, and had to watch through my camera sometimes since I’m so short. When it’s on camera, it felt like I was just watching a video… But when I shifted my eyes to the real thing, I still felt it was unbelievable that they were really dancing and singing right in front of me! They were PERFECT! There’s absolutely no other way to describe it! Absolutely perfect! I was told before that they were even more amazing in real life. I didn’t believe it, because they were perfect on the vids I’ve seen and I didn’t think it was possible for them to be any more perfect than they were! But I was proved wrong! They were so amazing! Their voices, their dances, their everything! I loved how they came in front of us. Yoochun especially came very close to us. At first I focused on his gorgeous face, but then his shirt was revealing his chest and that was very very distracting! I saw his tattoo!! I could make out “Always keep the faith” really clearly, and the wing as well! …But I wasn’t able to make out the words above the wing. I’m not sure if it was just me that saw, but I felt like it had more than what was shown to us on Yoochun’s cyworld picture! Yoochun’s such a tease! He points at us and everything when he gets close to us, making us go completely crazy!! Haha! They were all really amazing, and so great at working the crowd! The excitement lasted for the entire show! And of course, the crowd kept pushing forward. And the funny thing is, sometimes they would do something that would excite the fans so much that we would lean to get a better look at them, but that made the entire floor of people move one direction! It was really a red ocean of fans swaying with them! Haha!
After singing Empty, Be The One, and Be My Girl ever so perfectly, the showed some videos that were previously shared with fans for fans. Then there was the talk section. I felt my heart stop again as the three of them got on stage again. It was the translator on the left, then Junsu, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and then the two MCs on their right. The MCs asked them to introduce themselves. It started with Junsu. OMG it was so freaking adorable. He said in his cute English, “Hello.” The crowed gushed at how cute he was. He continued with “I’m Junsu Kim”, we screamed again. I remember thinking how weird it was, because we were all so use to Kim Junsu! Haha! Then he ended with “thank you.” After him was Jaejoong, he simply said “Hey, I’m Jaejung”. So simple yet so freaking hot!!! Absolutely wonderful!! Yoochun was next. It was too long so I didn’t remember. I really love how they tried to speak as much English as they could. Junsu likes driving, Jaejoong likes training. What did Yoochun like? He said… “New York has a lot of taxes!” haha!! TAXES! Of course we all knew he meant taxis… but when the MC asked “So Yoochun likes taxes?” He said “Yes, taxes.” The MC joked “It’s obvious that he doesn’t get out much” and we laughed. I think he knew something was off because he said “Is that right?” and then realized he meant taxis. The MC asked “who would like to be in a taxi with Yoochun?” and our screams rocked the stadium. They also talked about tattoos, about how it was almost a hobby for Yoochun, and he was asked to show us. He points to Jaejoong and asks “Jaejoong or me?” haha! Soulmate!! But yea, he teasingly showed us a little big of the tattoo on his back. Said that if we want to see more, we’ll have to wait for next time! Baby, for you I’ll wait gladly! Oh yes, twitter was not forgotten at all! One of the MC took a picture with JYJ and said he would upload it onto his twitter so us fans can photoshop his face out and put ourselves in the photo!
Sorry, the first part of this section was too long to upload
JYJ were asked how much they read the tweets, Yoochun says he tries to read them, Jaejoong says about 50%, Junsu said he wasn’t going to lie, but he really tries. So everyone, be careful what you write to them! They do read it!
One question was about what they liked about New York, I remember Jaejoong saying he loved the stage they are on at the moment. It made our hearts feel all warm and fuzzy. So sweet of him! Oh yes, MC also asked them if they were dating. Yoochun immediately said “I’m single!” Jaejoong was really hesitant, Yunho’s name escaped my mouth but I don’t know if he heard. Jaejoong looked down, hand covering face, and said it so hesitantly “I’m single”. With the way he acted, it was hard to believe! But hey, if it was true and I knew when I was in the elevator with him, I don’t know how I would have controlled myself especially when watching his pretty pink lips move… Junsu said really fast “I’m single!” The translator points to him in disbelieve and shook his head. It was so cute!
Both Jaejoong and Junsu were glad to have Yoochun there with them for the production of this album, since he helped them with English. MC asked us “who wants Yoochun to teach you English?” We all screamed that we do! MC told Yoochun he had a second occupation if he wanted it! I forgot what the question was, but Junsu was answering something and I saw Jaejoong smiling shyly and turned around facing away from us. The MC revealed Junsu was talking about Jaejoon’s flawless skin! Haha! Jaejoong’s reaction was all too cute! There was definitely soulmate tonight too! They talked about Yoochun’s drama, and Yoochun said something from the drama. I don’t know what it was… I don’t know Korean… If I would know Korean, I would have been able to understand what Jaejoong told the manager in the elevator instead of just staring at his lips and flawless face! Anyways, when Yoochun was done, he got up and hugged Jaejoong! I was so satisfied with that soulmate moment! Cheers to soulmate for making my day! During this session, I remember Junsu looking at the crowd, and then he looked down. I swear our eyes locked twice, and I completely froze! One time he had a little smile on his face! SO CUTE!! I probably would have dropped dead if it wasn’t for how crowded the place was.
They continued with singing Found You! The song is so beautiful even though I don’t understand any of it!
Yoochun was so awesome doing Kanye’s rap, even though he only rapped like that first and last words of each line! It was great anyhow!
Empty Remix made everyone jump! I tried not to, since I was wearing high heels (since I’m so short I needed to see), but it was kind of hard when Kim Jaejoong was right in front of you dancing and jumping!! Okay, it was impossible! Haha! This was the first time during the entire showcase he came over to our side, it was so amazing!!! The show ended with the three of them saying a couple of words. I can’t remember it all, but I think Jaejoong said I love you! The MCs asked us if we want to see JYJ here again, we all responded yes. They said something like “Consider it done, the official crossover is complete, and they are currently working on their second album.” We were so happy to hear that! Really can’t wait for the next showcase. My friends and I are seriously already planning out how we will spend our time for when they return again! They ended the showcase with the Ayyy Girl MV! It’s one thing seeing it on youtube and a totally different experience seeing it on a huge screen! Personally, I liked their showcase version a lot better! Seeing them live is wonderful! After it all, we all had a hard time leaving…
Love this banner! Always keep the faith!
The rest of the night was kind of fuzzy, but I got about 1 hour of sleep. It was only after I saw Jaejoong’s tweet about have a good night, I thought it was save to go to sleep as well. I wanted to pull an all nighter, but not every girl gets to say “I slept in the same hotel as JYJ”! So I did sleep for an hour just to be able to say that. About 7 in the morning, I went down to the elevator. There were about 5 fans there at the time. I joined the girls I meet from last night, and we all waited for JYJ to make their appearance again this morning. I want to take this time to point out how amazing these girls are, and I really can’t wait to meet you all again next time!! We knew JYJ had an event today before they leave for Las Vegas, and wanted to send them off at least from the hotel. Their managers were kind of distracting; they kept coming up and down the elevators and in and out of the lobby. We though they were creating a detour or something so that JYJ can leave secretly. I even got a text from a friend at 11 saying “they probably left since the show here is supposed to start”. We agreed that our boys could definitely show up late, and so we waited longer. The managers came down with all the luggage, they were probably luggage of the staff and dancers all together.
At around 12:00, we knew it was coming. We had a feeling that JYJ will be making a grand appearance to let us see them one more time. So we lined up, made two really nice lines so JYJ could walk through from the elevator to the door. However, suddenly I heard “They are here!” and all the girls ran forward. I followed behind and saw the three shiny figures walking towards the door! Oh gosh Junsu’s bright red head, so easy to spot! Then next thing I knew, BAM, Yoochun was right in front of me, I moved aside and watched him pass. Junsu was after him and then Jaejoong. I walked with them a little to the door, but all the girls rushed after them. They even got the revolving door stuck! I was going to follow them before the guard shouted “Girls, back off!” So I did to give them some space. A lady that was a greeter saw me and told me to go through these other set of doors I didn’t even know existed. I followed her advice and found my way out of the hotel. I saw Yoochun and them were already to the car and so I was a little disappointed that I missed them but I still walked towards their car anyways. Then I realized I was freaking walking next to Kim Jaejoong!!! Oh my love Kim Jaejoong himself was right beside me!!! I was so shocked but at least my feet still worked! I was able to walk him to the car! I don’t even know how I was able to think logically at that time, but I wondered whether I should touch him or not since many of my friends bragged about touching them. But I didn’t want to freak him out and went against it. I also thought about taking out my camera, but didn’t think I would be fast enough and just decided to enjoy the moment. By the time they where all in the car all the fangirls rushed to it, so I was pushed towards the front of the car. At least I was able to see through the big window to the boys! Yoochun seemed a little unhappy about getting stuck in the car, and I could totally understand why he would feel that way. Then there was Junsu in the middle. I know I probably looked really awkward and stood out because I was the only fan not screaming, trying to reach for them or taking pictures of them. I pretty much just stood there and just watched. I didn’t know what to do. Then Junsu who was facing the front turned a little bit and our eyes locked, I don’t know who started it, but the next thing I know we were waving at each other! Somehow I got the feeling that he recognized me from the night before! Haha! He is so sweet! Of course he looked at a couple of fans around me, but he did look back at me! I’m so happy!! Best yet, Jaejoong saw Junsu waving and moved his head closer to Junsu’s and he locked eyes with me too, and he waved back at me! I was sort of in a dilemma on trying to figure out who to look at! Haha! I waved happily at both of them. It was a sweet moment before their car drove off. A couple of my friends ran after their car, and caught Jaejoong smiling whenever the car stopped when the stoplight was red. I was so glad to know that he was happy. I felt like this was a pretty wonderful send off for them from the hotel.
It was really hard letting go… So hard to leave New York that night… We somehow found ourselves outside the New Yorker again. It was so empty. No fangirls lounging around waiting for the boys. No nothing. We really didn’t want to let go of all the wonderful time we had here. While we were there, a couple more girls showed up, it was as if we all felt the same way! There will be a next time though! All of us are planning for it already! Can’t wait to meet these girls again next time! And definitely can’t wait to see our boys again! This was my very first concert, and the very first time I’ve seen the boys. I am extremely satisfied with how the even turned out! Next time, it will be even better!
credit: sharingyoochun.net
YAY!! My first fanaccount done! I wanna thank everyone that helped me make this trip so memorable! Girls that were there that wanna keep in touch, please leave me your contact info!
Jk!
