omonatheydid | JYJ launches North American tour with press conference in LA

mirotic-mor.livejournal.com posting in

As previously reported, Koreaboo will be extensively covering the North American leg of JYJ's World Tour which kicks off on the 20th with the Vancouver show. Before the group heads to Vancouver, they held a special press conference with some of the media in North America.

The conference was held at the Grammy Museum portion of Los Angeles' LA LIVE! Entertainment Complex. The 200-seat Clive Davis theater played host to the media and JYJ, offering an intimate setting for JYJ's first official press conference on US soil.

POWERHOUSE co-founder C.S. Hah was the host of the event and introduced the group to a warm reaction. As Yoochun is currently filming abroad, only Jaejoong and Junsu were present for it.

The 30-minute conference was done in Korean, with Hah translating for both the audience and JYJ during the Q&A. Both members were happy to be there and responded to questions with warm smiles and laughter over the course of the conference,

As this was a Q&A, Koreaboo was able to ask the members a question, which was regarding whether or not there would be a DVD release of the concerts to commemorate the World Tour. Jaejoong was pleased to announce that while there was no set date for a release, a DVD was definitely in the works, and to stay tuned.

Q&A Questions:

Question: How was it like to sing in English instead of Korean? How was the learning process?
Jaejoong: It was difficult for us, except for Yoochun. We are still learning the finer points of the language, but we are doing our best to improve our command of the English as we go a long.

Question: Given your huge fanbase in China, have you considered returning to the country at a later point with more more tour stops?
Junsu: There is always a possibility for a Chinese tour, and if circumstances permit, we'd like to tour the entire country.

Question: How was the challenge of being the creative director for the Asian leg of the tour? Will you be reprising your role for the North American leg?
Jaejoong: It was exciting to be able to do so, as well as challenging, given the larger venues we performed at. Jeremy Slaughter, who worked with us prior, will be collaborating with us for the North American leg of the tour, and we will be presenting to you a very enjoyable show.

Question: Will there be a photobook to accompany the tour to give fans who did not have the opportunity to come out to see it a chance to view the artistic direction the concert took?
Junsu: We wanted to focus on the concert itself, and due to our schedules, we were unable to do so for this particular concert, but we hope to be able to do so for later tours.

Question: You've been to several countries over the course of your tour. Did you feel that there were any specific fan reactions associated with a certain country, including North American fans?
Jaejoong: The fans were all very encouraging of us during our performances, and enjoyed the freedom we are able to have during them. The Thailand fans valued manners highly, which was something we noticed during our stay there.

Question: Will you be releasing a DVD of the concert?
Jaejoong: We are working on one, but we don't have a specific release date for it.

Question: Is there any significant change you've made to the performance that was not originally in the Asian leg of the tour?
Jaejoong: We've increased the number of female back-up dancers for the tour to give it more of a sexy and sensual feel during the dance numbers.

Question: What do you do to stay fresh during the lengthy flight from Asia to here? You both look great.
Junsu: (laughing) I don't feel very fresh. We had nothing scheduled yesterday when we arrived, so we used the rest of the day to relax and enjoy ourselves.

Question: How do you feel about your middle-aged fans and their support for you guys?
Jaejoong: Being loved by someone is much better than being hated by someone. It is always a good feeling to be loved by different age groups, and we never call our middle-aged female fans "ahjumma" (older woman); we instead call them "noona" (older sister). We appreciate the support they have for us.

Question: Did your busy schedules affect your preparation for this tour?
Junsu: We didn't have any difficult as a group. Rather than focusing on individuals, we do our best to focus on our group schedules as a whole.

Question: Will Rodney Jerkins (producer of "The Beginning") and/or Kanye West be apart of the tour?
Jaejoong: (laughing) That will not be happening.

Question: Do you guys plan out your airport fashion? As Junsu is commonly criticized for not being as stylish as Jaejoong, when arriving at LAX, did Junsu attempt to be fashionable?
Junsu: I attempt to be both fashionable and comfortable whenever I arrive at the airport. The problem I've been having though is when I'm trying to be fashionable, I get comments like "That's strange" or other funny comments direct toward it, so I'm always a little puzzled about how I should style myself.