Korean boyband member to start 1st solo Asia tour

Kim Jun-su, a member of Korean boy band JYJ, starts his own Asian tour in May to promote his first solo album, he announced Wednesday.

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Kim said that he would play his first solo concert in Seoul on May 19 and 20 before performing in seven Asian cities including Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta and Shanghai through June.

The 25-year-old made his music industry debut in 2003 as part of TVXQ, which led the K-pop boom in Asia. The five-member group has sold more than eight million records at home and abroad. Kim and two other members of the group dropped out in 2009 and formed JYJ after a legal dispute with their former agency.

JYJ has gained huge popularity overseas through major Internet sites such as YouTube. The group's world tour this year resulted in a round of successful performances in fourteen cities including Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru.

The singer, also known as Xia, released his first solo album Tuesday titled "Tarantallegra", of which 80 percent of the songs are his own compositions. The new release, a mix of electronic dance and R&B ballads, had 100,000 pre-orders.

"Tarantallegra, stems from the indigenous language of Africa, meaning magical power for fast dance movements", (sic) Kim said at a press conference held in Seoul on Wednesday.

Kim has recently appeared in musicals such as "Elisabeth", in which noted singer Ock Joo-hyun starred. He was nominated for best actor at The Musical Awards for two consecutive years.

By Rachel Lee

leehye87@hotmail.com