Super Junior (Korean: 슈퍼주니어), often referred to as SJ or SuJu (슈주), is a boy band from Seoul, South Korea that was formed under SM Entertainment in 2005. With a total of thirteen members, they are the largest boy band in the world. The members are Leeteuk (the leader), Heechul, Han Geng, Yesung, Kang-in, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, Kibum, and later, Kyuhyun. The Chinese member, Han Geng, was chosen among three thousand applicants through auditions held in China by SM Entertainment in 2001.
Super Junior has released and contributed in 19 different kinds of records with varying degrees of success. Over the years, they have been divided into smaller sub groups, simultaneously targeting different music industries and audiences. Largely due to Super Junior's success as entertainers, other Korean entertainment managements began to train their music groups in other areas of entertainment, such as acting and hosting. In addition to their commercial success, Super Junior has earned four music awards from the M.NET/KM Music Festival, another four from the Golden Disk Awards, and is the second singing group to win Favorite Artist Korea at the MTV Asia Awards after jtL in 2003.
Overseas activities
Since Super Junior's debut in South Korea, the group endeavored to share an equal share of influence across Asia. The group has paid many visits to countries outside of their homeland to promote their music, especially to China and Thailand.
Thailand
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Super Junior made their first overseas performance in Thailand on March 9, 2006 at the Pattaya International Music Festival. In effect of their appearance, "Show Me Your Love" moved up to #8 on Thailand's Channel [V] Music Chart. Soon "Miracle" debuted as #1 in the charts on March 21, 2006. "Miracle" was the second song produced by SM Entertainment that topped overseas music charts in Thailand of Channel V after DBSK's "Rising Sun." The song stayed as #1 for four consecutive weeks. A year later, "Full of Happiness" (행복) debuted as #18 on Thailand's International Channel [V] Music Chart on the week of July 29, 2007. The single jumped to #8 the week after, and on the third week the single advanced to #1. Aside the International Channel [V] Music Chart, which it was #1 for six consecutive weeks, it also made it to #1 on the POP Channel International Chart and the MTV International Chart in Thailand. The single strongly stayed as #1 on the charts for almost a month.
Since 2007, Siwon has been the main endorser for Thailand's 12 Plus Powder. Since 2008, Super Junior has been endorsing Yamaha Fino with Thailand popular duo Golf & Mike. Super Junior was also appointed as the goodwill ambassadors for the 2008 Korea and Thailand 50th Anniversary, honoring the good relationship Korea has held with Thailand for the past fifty years.
Mainland China
In April 2006, Chinese member Han Geng visited China for the first time since his debut to promote Super Junior. Since then, he and the rest of Super Junior continuously visited China. On June 12, 2006 Super Junior made their debut performance in China performing "U" and "Miracle." After filming the Hong Kong war film A Battle of Wits in 2006, Siwon heavily promoted the film in China. Along with the rest of the cast of the film, he toured four major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.[54] On August 8, 2007, Han Geng and Siwon traveled to Changsha to participate in a variety show, Happy Base Camp, being the first K-pop idols to appear on Chinese variety shows in TV history, simultaneously establishing a ratings hit for the program.
Super Junior released a Mandarin Chinese version of "U" on June 15, 2007 and various sources have stated that the group would release a Mandarin-language album. Instead of the entire group, a subgroup was created for the market instead. On April 8, 2008, Super Junior-M, a subgroup that is specifically designed for the Chinese music industry, debuted with their first music video, "U". The subgroup's debut album, Me, was released in different regions of Mainland China in April 2008. The Korean version of the album which has three bonus Korean tracks, was released in South Korea that same month. Me was released throughout the rest of Asia in May 2008. The album debuted as #1 in all major album charts in China.
Taiwan
Super Junior's first visit to Taiwan was on June 16, 2007 as guest performers and presenters for the Golden Melody Awards. They presented the Best Vocal Group and Best Performance Album awards.[57]. They also performed the songs "U" and "Miracle" at the awards ceremony.
Their visit to Taiwan helped increase the sales figures of Don't Don which was released in Taiwan on October 19, 2007 under the Avex Trax label. It broke the record for being the highest ranked Korean album on the G-music Combo Billboard Chart, surpassing the albums of TVXQ and Shinhwa. Super Junior's album also ranked above Taiwanese boy band K One, whose album debuted at #6. The album peaked at #1 in Taiwan's Five Music J-pop/K-pop Chart and the G-music J-pop Chart in Taiwan within the first week of release.
Super Junior visited Taiwan a second time on January 5, 2008 for Taiwan's "Music in Harmony" concert as a beginning step to have a closer approach to the Chinese market. They performed in the concert along with Taiwan's Show Luo and Energy. Korea's Baby Vox Re.V and PARAN were also invited to perform. Popularity won Super Junior to have over 500 fans welcoming them at Taiwan's airport. On May 2, 2008, Super Junior-M's first Chinese-language album Me was released in Taiwan, debuting on the charts as #2, with only Sodagreen's new release above theirs.
Japan
From July 8 to July 9, 2008, Super Junior held their first Japan fanmeeting in the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo as a celebration for the grand opening of their official Japanese Homepage that was opened on April 1, 2008. 12,000 tickets to the fanmeeting were all sold out in several days. The group released a compiled Japan single the following day, entitled "U/TWINS", which includes the Japanese version of "U" in the limited release, to complement the event. The single peaked at #4 on Japan's Oricon Daily Chart in its first day of release, and dropped down to only four places in its second. The single broke a new record for being the first Korean single to have made within top 10 on Japan's Oricon Weekly Chart.
On November 5, 2008, Super Junior-T released their first Japanese single, "ROCK&GO" in Japan, with the support and featuring of Japanese comemdy duo, Moeyan. The collaboration was the duo's official debut as singers and Super Junior-T's entrance in the Japanese market. The single debuted at #19 on the Oricon Daily Charts and jumped to #2 three days later.
Notable events
April 19 car accident
On April 19, 2007 at 12:20 am KST, Super Junior and two of the group's managers became victims of a car accident. The driver lost control of the vehicle and the van flipped over on its right side, colliding with the sidewalk.
Kyuhyun, who was sitting behind the driver's seat when the accident occurred, was severely injured with a fractured hip, pneumothorax from broken ribs, and deep scratches and bruises. Leeteuk had severe facial scratches, and had to receive stitches. He had a successful operation removing the glass shards on his back, and received a total of 170 stitches on both his back and face.
Shindong and Eunhyuk, the least injured with only a few cuts, scratches, and bruises, were both discharged on April 23, 2007. Leeteuk and Kyuhyun recovered faster than expected, and Leeteuk was discharged from the hospital on April 30, 2007. Kyuhyun was discharged two months later on July 5, 2007.
Artistry
Musical style
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As a whole, Super Junior has released two studio albums and one official single, including contributions of songs in the soundtracks of H.I.T and Attack on the Pin-Up Boys. They are acclaimed for their vocal harmonization and unison as each member contributes a different voice range in their music. Some members are credited for their vocal belting techniques, notably Yesung. Leeteuk, Heechul, Han Geng, Sungmin, Donghae, and Ryeowook sing within the stretch of a high baritone range to the tenor range, while Kang-in and Siwon sing in a lower baritone range. Shindong's, Kibum's, and Kyuhyun's vocals lie in the bass range. Shindong, Eunhyuk, and Kibum are also the known rappers of the group due to their rhythmic vocals and quick tongue. Heechul and Donghae consistently rap as the supporting vocals.
Super Junior's music falls into the category of mainstream Korean pop. Songs of this genre are usually mixed with different branches of electronic instruments, with heavy emphasis on urban contemporary, dance pop, and rap. Super Junior has been notable for their light, bubblegum pop dance mixes, such as "Miracle" and "Sapphire Blue," but with the release of Don't Don, they began to incorporate a more mature style of composition into their music. The album's first single "Don't Don" includes a balanced infusion of rock, R&B, and rap, along with other musical elements like the electric guitar, bass, and other different percussion instruments, adding to a mixed genre labeled as SMP. Classical instruments are also woven into their music, such as the violin in "Don't Don" and the African djemba and Indian tabla in "A Man In Love." They have also released songs that are solely focused on rap and hip hop. An example is "One Love", a song that Eunhyuk wrote for their first concert.
Super Junior has covered quite a few song in their albums. Their debut single, "TWINS (Knock Out)" is a cover of Triple Eight's "Knockout," which was released in 2003. While the musical style is mostly maintained as the original, "TWINS (Knock Out)" touches closer to rap rock, with quicker rap and more emphasis on the bass instruments. In most of their covers, the original titles are kept. Examples include Cape's "L.O.V.E" and Exile's "Believe." However, most of these covers are re-arranged to different accompaniments, such as H.O.T's "Full of Happiness" (행복).
Heechul, Shindong, and Eunhyuk are credited for their rap lyrics in their co-single with TVXQ, "Show Me Your Love". Eunhyuk is also the main contributor for the rap lyrics in the group's single, "U". After the release of their second album, Don't Don, more members began to contribute in writing. Leeteuk, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, and Donghae wrote the lyrics to the pop track, "I am," a song talking about the ordinary man in a celebrity's life. Eunhyuk remains as one of the main writers for most of Super Junior's rap lyrics in the second album.
Dance style
Super Junior has done performances centered heavily around their choreography. The group's pre-debut appearance was a hip hop dance performance and they have also joined B-boy battles and performances throughout their career.
Their dance styles are widely termed as street dancing, with a majority of their dance choreography containing hip hop dance moves such as popping, waving, sliding, and liquid dancing. Most of their songs usually contain a music bridge where two to six members from the group do a dance performance. Han Geng, Shindong, Eunhyuk, and Donghae are reportedly the most skilled dancers of the group, where the four of them are usually seen leading group dances and also performing solos. Dances in the form of martial arts are widely used in their dance routines as both Han Geng and Sungmin are professionally trained in that area.[82][81] Some of the members also participated in creating their dance choreography, such as Shindong who was the main choreographer for "U" and for most of the group's other dance sequences. The members were also responsible for the dance choreography of their comeback single, "Don't Don."
Image
Super Junior frequently changes their image with each musical release. Super Junior's debut image softly leaned towards a rock appearance to complement the single, "Twins (Knock Out)." During their promotion of "Miracle," many of the members displayed a youthful and cute image with their lighter hair color and funny dance style. The group soon transitioned to a more mature, preppy style with "U", where the members changed their hair to a darker color and wore darker, more flamboyant outfits.
With the release of Don't Don, the group surprised the media with an edgy transformation. Some members bleached their hair, wore dark makeup, and had temporary tattoos . Kang-in had a hairstyle that was a buzz cut with scratched designs, Sungmin's hair was bleached blond and half shaved, while Heechul, Han Geng, and Kyuhyun sported with bright-colored hairstyles, which were all inspired by punk fashion, as well as modifications of hip hop fashion. Their outfits also became more revealing as a part of their new image. However the group's image was quickly changed back to a more classic image as promotions began for their ballad single, "Marry U."
For their third album Sorry, Sorry, Super Junior has comeback with a more mature image they deemed to be "from boys to men." The group catagorizes their title track, "Sorry, Sorry" to be an offshoot of the "urban minimal funky" genera. For performances, the members are styled with well fitted suits and clean cut hairstyles that further accentuate their newfound mature image.
