[Event Coverage] K-pop’s Original Visual, Kim Jae Joong Rocked The KL Stage

After 12 long years, JYJ’s Kim Jae-joong returned to Malaysia, treating fans to a thrilling evening filled with hits from his newest album Born Gene, as well as previous hit, as part of his Asia Tour.

Despite being banned from public broadcast in Korea after the well-known fallout and contract dispute between the three JYJ members (Xiah Junsu and Park Yoochun) and SM Entertainment/TVXQ, the huge crowd at the press conference at the Pavilion Mall and at the KLCC Plenary Hall showed that Jae-joong still had plenty of loyal fans in Malaysia.

The hall was filled with fans in red, the official colour of TVXQ (Dong Bang Shin Ki), showing that there were plenty of Cassiopeia (TVXQ’s fanclub) in attendance. There were fans with TVXQ lightsticks and those with red lightsticks, as well as banners and messages for the singer.

The show kicked off with performances from MIC, a group of trainees from Jae-joong’s agency CJes, who started the show on a high note with a great cover of JYJ’s ‘Found You‘, from the OST of the popular (and nostalgic) drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal. They followed this with a rap cover of BTS’s ‘Tear’ and Enhypen’s ‘Blessed-Cursed’, and JYJ’s ‘Mission‘.

After they said their greetings (in both Bahasa and Korean) and waved goodbye, the crowd roared as Jae-joong exploded onto the stage with his 2013 hit ‘Just Another Girl,‘ once again cementing him as a versatile singer, able to sing both idol and rock songs.

This was quickly followed by the uptempo ‘BPM‘ and ‘Tick-Tack‘ from Born Gene, and the rock stylings of ‘Welcome to My Wild World‘. Taking a break, Jae-joong apologised for taking 12 years to come back to Malaysia, and cracked a joke asking if he looked his age (36, and no, he looks younger). He also practiced the latest addition to his Bahasa Melayu vocabulary, telling fans “You’re so cantik”, sending both male and female fans into swoons.

During the VCR break, the video featured him talking about the various hardships faced, as well as the names and positions he has been known for – main vocal, visual, singer, actor – and featured a snippet of his famous audition for S.M Entertainment, sending the audience into cheers.

Emerging in all-white, the singer looked angelic as he sang both ballads and rock songs, as the setlist included the likes of ‘Walking on Water‘, ‘Good Morning Night‘ and ‘Broken Mirror‘.

During another VCR, he also spoke about one of his most memorable photoshoots, which was taken with former S.M Entertainment and Super Junior member Han-geng, and Japanese actor/singer/former Johnny’s Entertainment idol Yamashita Tomohisa (known to fans as Yamapi). As Jae-joong is known for his wide network of celebrity friends around the world, this was no surprise to fans.

Heavy rock songs ‘Mine‘ and ‘Butterfly‘ had fans swooning, as he rocked out (to the point where he cut his knee), before he walked around the stage, throwing some lucky fans his concert towels. Jae-joong also learnt a new word ‘Abang’, as fans in the front rows kept calling him ‘Abang Jae-joong’ to his confusion. A lucky male fan also received a towel and a finger heart, due to his loud screams of excitement as Jae walked around the stage.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and Jae-joong apologised for having to leave due to his tight tour schedule, and said he would keep his earlier promise of returning to Malaysia within the next two years. He ended the night with ‘Nobody Like You‘, the title track off Born Gene, before disappearing beneath the screen.

We can’t wait to see you back again soon!