Kim Junsu (Korean: 김준수, Japanese: ジュンス; born December 15, 1986; registered … Read Full Bio ↴Kim Junsu (Korean: 김준수, Japanese: ジュンス; born December 15, 1986; registered on January 1, 1987), also known by his stage name Xiah (pronounced "shee-ah"), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and stage actor. Best known as a member of South Korean boy band 동방신기 and currently JYJ, he has branched out to act in musicals.

Early life
Kim Junsu was born and raised in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. His mother was a former Miss Korea contestant and he has an older fraternal twin brother named Kim Junho (or known as Zuno), who is also a singer.

Junsu was signed by Korean talent agency SM Entertainment after his participation in their 6th Annual Starlight Casting System. He joined SM Entertainment at the age of eleven and his first contract began February 12, 2000.

In 2002, he appeared on a show called "2002 Survival Audition - Heejun vs. Kangta, Battle of the Century" with Super Junior's Eunhyuk, Super Junior's Sungmin and 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 SM Entertainment's disbanded group H.O.T. Kangta praised Junsu highly in the show, saying that he had potential as a lead vocalist.

2003-2009: TVXQ
Kim Junsu was the first member to join TVXQ. After six years being a trainee, he debuted as TVXQ during BoA and Britney Spears' showcase on 26 December 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.

As a member of TVXQ, he has released four Korean albums, four Japanese albums, thirty Japanese singles and several Korean singles. He has also appeared on two televised shows with TVXQ, Banjun Theater and Vacation.

In 2006, Junsu collaborated with label-mate Zhang Liyin for her debut song, "Timeless". It is a remake of Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini's duet, originally recorded in 2003. He was featured 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 consisted of label-mate BoA, Tablo of Epik High and jazz pianist Jin Bora. Anyband only released one single of the same name.

Throughout his career as TVXQ's member, Junsu had written and composed several songs that have 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), which was included in TVXQ's third Korean studio album, "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap. At TVXQ's 2nd Asia Tour Concert "O", he performed a solo self-composed song called "My Page". He also composed his solo ballad "Rainy Night"[8] of TVXQ's nineteenth Japanese single, If.../Rainy Night, an installment of the group's non-album release "TRICK" project. For TVXQ's Korean comeback in 2008, he wrote "Noeur... Baraboda (Picture of You)" (노을... 바라보다), which was featured in TVXQ's fourth Korean album. During TVXQ's The 3rd Asia Tour Mirotic, he performed another solo self-composed song "Xiahtic", which was then rearranged and performed in Japanese for the Tohoshinki 4th Live Tour 2009: The Secret Code in Tokyo Dome. The rearranged version of "Xiahtic" was also included in TVXQ's twenty-ninth Japanese single.

2009: Lawsuit against SM Entertainment
On July 31, 2009, Kim Junsu and other two TVXQ members—Kim Jaejoong and Park Yoochun submitted an application to the Seoul Central District Court to determine the validity of their contract with SM Entertainment. 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 have 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 TVXQ through SM Entertainment. Currently, the main lawsuit to validate/invalidate the three members' contract with SM Entertainment is still ongoing.

2010: JYJ and solo projects
In January 2010, Kim Junsu started his stage career as the lead actor in the South Korean run of Austrian musical Mozart!. His debut as a stage actor was met with great response, as the tickets for each one of his shows were completely sold out in a short time. He's also able to sweep up all Best Newcomer awards in various awards ceremonies.

In April, he debuted as JYJ (initially known as JUNSU/JEJUNG/YUCHUN), a three-member group consists of Jaejoong and Yoochun, following an announcement made by Avex Trax, their Japanese label at the time. After it was revealed that TVXQ would go on an indefinite hiatus in Japan, Avex decided that Junsu would make a solo debut. He released a self-produced double A-side single on May 26. A song that he recorded titled "Kanashimi no Yukue" (悲しみのゆくえ The Whereabouts of Sadness) was used as the theme song for Japanese drama 5nen Atono Love Letter (５年後のラブレター A Love Letter 5 Years From Now). A teaser showing his self-composed song called "Intoxication" was also made public. "Intoxication" is the lead track of the single and the song which he'll be promoting. Following the release of Xiah, BeeTV's used the other track in the single, "君がいれば～Beautiful Love～", as its theme song.

In September, JYJ released extended play The..., which debuted at number one on Japan's Oricon album charts. However, Avex had announced the suspension of all the group's activities in Japan, the same month that year.

JYJ proceeded to release The Beginning, a global album which was sung in English. Junsu composed his solo song in the album, titled "I Can Soar". The group promoted the new album via a worldwide showcase tour throughout October and November with dates in South Korea, Southeast Asia and the United States.

In October, he was set to collaborate with Hungarian composer Sylvester Levay for a concert called "Kim Junsu Musical Concert, Levay with Friends". It was held at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul from the 7th until the 10th for a total of 4 days. Well-known German musical actor Uwe Kröger who worked with Levay in several musicals visited South Korea to participate as a special guest. In the concert, Junsu 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. The tickets for the first day of this concert was sold out in 20 minutes.

On January 25, 2011, JYJ released Korean extended play Their Rooms "Our Story". Junsu contributed in writing and composing two songs in the album, an up-tempo track titled "Mission" and a ballad titled "Fallen Leaves".

In February, Junsu starred in "Tears of Heaven", his second musical. He played Jun, a Korean soldier who fell in love with a Vietnamese singer during the Vietnam war. The first 15,000 tickets for the musical were sold out within 5 minutes and the second round of 13,000 tickets were all sold out within 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

Starting from April, Junsu toured Asia and North America for JYJ's first Worldwide Tour.[24] The tour is then extended to Europe and South America, adding another four stops in Spain, Germany, Chile and Peru.

In May, Junsu was appointed as the honorary ambassador for the 5th 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 award ceremony. During that time, he was confirmed to return as Wolfgang Mozart for musical Mozart!'s encore performances in South Korea.

On August 5, he released an OST song for Korean drama Scent of A Woman titled "You Are So Beautiful". The song managed to top several main music real time charts shortly after it was released. He also made an appearance on the fifth episode of the drama as a popular singer that the main character idolizes and looks up to.

JYJ released their first Korean full-length album In Heaven on September 28. Junsu and actress Song Ji-hyo were 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, Junsu won the "Popular Star Award" at the 17th Korea Musical Awards alongside "Tears of Heaven" co-star Yoon Gong Joo. On December 6, he received a K-POP Superstar Award at the “2011 Asia Jewelry Awards”, which was held in Seoul.

2012: Elisabeth and solo album
In February 2012, Junsu starred in the Korean production of famous Viennese musical Elisabeth as the transcendental existence Tod or Death, the young lover of Empress consort of Austria, Elisabeth of Bavaria, with whom he has an intertwined relationship of love and hate that lasts throughout her life. The 34,000 seats of Junsu's 20 shows were sold out in ten minutes, proving his prowess to sell out tickets.

On April 16, through his current management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, Junsu announced he will be releasing his first ever full-length solo album in May, and with its release, he will be holding concerts within Korea, as well as an Asia tour. For this album, Junsu directly took part in the production, composing and writing lyrics for most of the songs. His coming Asia tour begins on the 19th and 20th of May at Seoul's Jamsil Arena. After the Seoul concerts, he will be visiting Thailand, Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia, and China.