By: LazerKim Kim Hyun Joong’s Breakdown album was tagged among the best seller album for Kpop solo male singer category from the all time record from year 1998 to 2011! Hyun Joong debuted as solo singer in June 2011 had released his first album successfully taking home three trophies from different music countdown. Let’s move back from the past in 2011 and see how Breakdown took his way to the top:
The album exceeded 70,000 pre-ordered copies in 10 days. It peaked at number one on Gaon Weekly Album Chart for the week starting 5 June 2011 and was the best-selling album for June on Gaon Monthly Album Chart with 100,433 sales. It also topped the Oricon Chart in Japan in the International Imported Album category for the first week of July.
The album’s title track “Break Down” was the first place winner for two consecutive weeks on Mnet’s M! Countdown music show, for 16 and 23 June 2011; and also won for two consecutive weeks on KBS’s Music Bank.
It is also certified platinum in Taiwan and Kim was presented with a platinum record by Warner Music Taiwan CEO Chen Ze Shan in a press conference held in Taiwan.
HISTORY OF COMPOSER
Breakdown was composed by Steven Lee, and according to him this album was the longest album in terms of time spent composing and recording as he had produced exclusively for Kim Hyun Joong. Steven Lee was relating how he spent series of sleepless nights composing this album and a part of Lucky Guy. But it’s worth the hard work since the album is still in good sales status after a year in terms of on line global sales. And of course Hyun Joong brought in the best in this album marking a good record in the history of music industry for a Kpop solo singer.
Steven Lee produced the first two albums of Hyun Joong, Breakdown and Lucky Guy had brought both albums to the Top of the music chart. And as I was reviewing the record of Steven Lee, I have noticed that he also produced two album for another member of SS501 and both albums were released a month before Hyun Joong did, but did not make it to the chart. This really surprises me because he was one of the lead vocalist of the group, having the same music composer as Hyun Joong, it’s very normal that lead vocalist do excel among the band members. But Hyun Joong did his part as soloist and work real hard, a huge degree of dedication and passion to his craft as he stayed on top above his members. Indeed he’s the leader and will ever site the good example.
I shall never forget this album, because this was the first time that Hyun Joong ever showed himself, what he has got that he kept all these years, eventually came out in the open field and shock the universe by its success. Hyun Joong thank Steven Lee and all the people behind the Breakdown project who worked with him in preparing for this album. It did not stop from there though because just after a few months, maybe just in time that Hyun Joong let his hair grow a bit longer, he released his second album Lucky Guy with the same composer Steven Lee. The guy is just as a lucky guy to win it again for two consecutive albums in a row!!
REIGNING CROWN
What make Hyun Joong’s first album Breakdown still saleable at this stage when he had released it a year ago? I would assume sales are coming in from countries beyond Asia. Since his dramas BOF and Playful Kiss are still airing in some countries outside Asia. I would say it must be the influence of his dramas, just like everyone else who have first seen Hyun Joong from BOF and PK, before finding out he’s singer and probably go after his albums. I may be guessing but common sense would dictate where the sales are coming from and why only after a year upon the album was released that sales continue to rise up from the time it was released.
Looking from that history record, in Japan Hyun Joong made a huge hit for Heat placing him at the third place among the foreign male solo singers who had released their singles from the 70′s till the present year 2012. Hyun Joong sold over 100,000 copies for a month for Breakdown while he made 140,000 for Heat on his first day release alone! Hyun Joong did a good start in Japan as well as he released his first single Kiss Kiss at no.2 at Oricon but had placed the album at Gold record status. Gosh! Everything Hyun Joong touches just turns to gold!!
I can still remember in the 4th of July as Hyun Joong released his album Heat, this was the time that Japan music industry was placed in the state of shock as the album was sold at 140,000 for its first day release! He had a contender that time was Yamapi who had released his album at the same time as Hyun Joong. That time before Hyun Joong released the album, I remember my young silent readers were so worried that he might not be able to make it to the top.
I was all wondering why, then I found out about Yamapi, having the same young fans of Hyun Joong in Japan and China. Then on the following day of release I can read from Yamapi’s fans saying not to worry and to wait for the weekly. Unfortunately Hyun Joong’s Heat kept rising up by number of sales until the rest of the month. Japan was quite surprised on how Hyun Joong got out of his way in promoting the album from the handshake to the street dancing that everything was just Hyun Joong’s effort and his idea on how he can win!
The hard work paid off but the truth is Hyun Joong would just like to meet his fans in person just the way he did at his recent Asia Tour Fan meeting, that he have not done in Japan as yet. This time there will be a different scheme in promoting his upcoming album and that would be fan autograph signing event in December. Well, I could not imagine how it is gonna be with the volume of fans he has in Japan! I still cannot forget the handshake session in Odaiba attended by 5,000 fans!! Well I just hope Hyun Joong won’t play with his 4D attack as sometimes he draw characters on fan signing!! That will take time!!LOL
SELLING LIKE HOTCAKE
It’s not only his albums that has been selling like hotcakes, Hyun Joong’s endorsements from various product proved increased in their sales record from last year till at present too. What does it takes that these products improved their sales? One major factor is the endorser. Like for example The Face Shop, the cosmetic product is known for female although the product also caters for male too. There’s an instant chain reaction from Hyun Joong’s fans whom majority are female patronizes the product.
One time there was a false rumors that TFS will be changing their endorser, and reading from the twitter, there was an instant reaction just popped out that fans will no longer buy the product once the company change their endorser!! Apparently TFS renewed Hyun Joong’s contract till 2013, those were just rumors since the record from TFS showed a good sales report this year. The Hang Ten also showed good sales report ever since Hyun Joong was chosen by the company as their endorser. This company was almost on downhill until such time they changed their product concept and getting Hyun Joong to team made a good improvement in their sale strategy.
One incident that I cannot forget is the Anan magazine as Hyun Joong was featured in one weekly publication. The magazine publisher released this series a day after Hyun Joong performed his first concert in Japan this year in Yokohama. His pictures at billboard were posted at the subway station which attracted passers-by that created chaos as these people would stop at the huge posters of Hyun Joong and taking photos of those posters!! The magazines were sold out at the newspaper stands in Tokyo in just a matter of few hours after the posters of Hyun Joong was posted, and the publishing company was forced to re-produce the magazines since there were pre-orders from consumers.
Hyun Joong just simply plays his magic wand and wallah!! Everything he touches just turns to gold! And that reminds me, his Unlimited Album is open for pre-orders already, we have a month to fill-in for pre-orders since Hyun Joong shall be releasing this album on the 12th of December 2012, that’s 12-12-12, Lucky numbers!!! So go get the pre-orders and let’s join in together in pushing him to the top of Oricon. I’m actually excited for this coming December since there shall be events to look forward to about Hyun Joong. He will be in Japan for its launching, I wonder what’s up to surprise us again??
BLOCKBUSTER
I think most of us have witnessed how BOF and PK came up to a huge attention especially from the global community. I remember last years since I was still a Korean drama addict, I visited the store where I usually buy DVDs to buy some new releases, I noticed that among the DVDs copies it’s always BOF on the best seller shelf. I asked the store owner who already became my friend, why is it that BOF is still on the top liner which is already an old drama. Then he said it’s still the best seller among all Korean drama, I told her maybe it’s because of the F4 influence to the young teenagers. But she told me it’s not the teenagers who buys the BOF but mostly are working ladies and mothers!!
This incident just popped in to my mind, that now I understand why BOF was saleable to ladies and mothers instead of the young teenagers! That time I wasn’t curious at all nor I didn’t have the idea if it’s Hyun Joong’s fans or any of the F4 members were buying the DVD, but the point is last year was 2011 and this drama was aired in our country in 2009 so that’s after two years and yet the BOF was still selling. So I can just imagine this time for Hyun Joong’s upcoming drama City Conquest I would guess is another blockbuster. I don’t mean to be predicting the future, but seeing from the teaser as I watch Hyun Joong is just like watching another brand new star out of Hyun Joong’s brand new image which quite the opposite of what we have watched in his previous dramas.
His character at City Conquest as Baek Mir is so captivating, admit it or not, that teaser was just a short teaser but judging from those teasers we already know Hyun Joong is quite different. Again, this drama was laying at Hyun Joong’s apartment for one year, as the producer said, it was never been offered to any actor for one year he waited for Hyun Joong to say Yes to the drama. Now it’s in the process of filming since July which I assume it has been five months of preparing before airing, therefore I would say this is a well prepared drama. Plus the early promotion or the public awareness program has gradually started since the first filming day that made Hyun Joong’s fans aroused their eagerness which I called a “deadly eagerness!!”
Come January 2013 Hyun Joong shall be hosting two concerts as scheduled to start its promotion for City Conquest. Oh this must be a big one, that I would like to kiss KeyEast and the drama production management in giving importance to Hyun Joong’s come back drama!! Of course as fans of Hyun Joong we shall be making a lot of noise in promoting the drama as well!! Now I’ll be keeping my fingers cross, pray very hard for its success and my hopes that Hyun Joong would finally make it to the awards nights for 2013. It’s high time to place him there being the best actor for the year. Hyun Joong had been earning awards for music and I think it’s high time for him to have a trophy for his acting career again. The last time he had was for Seoul International Drama Awards in 2009 as Best Actor for BOF. Now that reminds me, who were those critics saying he’s not a good actor?? Then why did he win this award??
LUCKY NUMBER
Is this some kind of a co-incident or the Japanese gold coin luck that marks the date of the century 12-12-12!! Since Hyun Joong and company probably the Universal Music picked the date December 12, 2012 to release Hyun Joong’s full album! It somehow gave me the impression that Hyun Joong believes in lucky numbers, if you remember he gave some numbers to his album Lucky Guy. Well, it proved the luck as the album was indeed successful!!
Anyway, just to make the upcoming album Unlimited a lucky one for an unlimited luck for him in 2013, we’ll help Hyun Joong to bring that luck to the Top of Oricon on December!! As I have mentioned in my previous article, we’ll go shopping diet for a while and instead of buying a Christmas present for Hyun Joong, why not save for this album as his year-end memory for 2012! I think the best Christmas present that we can give to Hyun Joong is pushing him to the Top of Oricon. Hyun Joong started this year by being in no.2 at Oricon and placing his album Kiss Kiss on Gold record status. Then maybe we can place him to No.1 to end his year 2012, isn’t that great??
Kim Hyun Joong have proven his power being the Best Seller ever since he debuted as solo singer, that had brought his fans to have a lot to be proud of about him as our idol! I’m so proud to be a fan of Kim Hyun Joong!! FIGHTING!!
LazerKim here writing
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