Super Junior
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For the professional wrestling tournament, see Best of the Super Juniors.
| Super Junior | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Super Junior members at the LG Optimus Super Junior Fan meeting, hotel CHATEAU de CHINE, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, November 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | SJ, SuJu |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genres | Pop, R&B, dance-pop, electropop, rock, hip-hop, bubblegum pop |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | S.M. Entertainment (South Korea) Avex Group (Japan) |
| Associated acts | SM Town Super Junior-K.R.Y. Super Junior-T Super Junior-M Super Junior-Happy S.M. The Ballad M&D |
| Website | superjunior.smtown.com superjunior-jp.net/index.html www.facebook.com/superjunior |
| Members | |
| Leeteuk Heechul Han Geng Yesung Kangin Shindong Sungmin Eunhyuk Donghae Siwon Kibum Ryeowook Kyuhyun | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 슈퍼주니어 |
| Revised Romanization | Syupeojunieo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Syupŏjuniŏ |
Super Junior (Korean: 슈퍼주니어) is a South Korean boy band. Formed in 2005 by producer Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment, the group comprised a total of thirteen members at its peak, and was once claimed to be the world's largest boy band. Super Junior originally debuted with twelve members, consisting of leaderLeeteuk, Heechul, Han Geng, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk,Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, and Kibum. Kyuhyun was added to the group in 2006.
Super Junior launched into international recognition following the release of their best-selling single "Sorry, Sorry" in 2009, the title song of their most critically successful album Sorry, Sorry. The group has released and contributed to over 20 records with varying degrees of success. Over the years, they have been divided into smaller subgroups, 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 six music awards from the Mnet Asian Music Awards, nine from the Golden Disk Awards, and is the second singing group to win Favorite Artist Korea at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards after jtL in 2003.
In December 2009, Han Geng left the group after filing a lawsuit against their agencySM Entertainment. Heechul and Kangin announced their hiatus to fulfill their mandatory military service of two years, and Kibum temporarily parted with the group for his pursuit of an acting career, leaving Super Junior down to nine active members.
Contents |
Musical career
2000–05: Formation and debut
In 2000, SM Entertainment held their first overseas casting auditions in Beijing, China and recruited Han Geng, who auditioned against three thousand applicants. That same year,Leeteuk, Yesung and Eunhyuk were recruited after auditioning for the company's annual casting system in Seoul. Sungmin and Donghaebecame trainees after jointly winning first place in an SM-sponsored contest in 2001. In 2002, Heechul and Kangin were recruited along withKibum, who was discovered in Los Angeles, California by a casting agent. Siwon became a trainee after being scouted in 2003 and Ryeowook in 2004, who was recruited into the company after winning the 2004 Chin Chin Youth Festival singing competition. Shindongand Kyuhyun, the latter winning third place at the 2005 Chin Chin Youth Festival, were cast in 2005.
In early 2005, Lee Soo-man announced that he had been preparing for an all-boy project group of twelve members to debut at the end of the year. He called this singing group to be "The Gateway to Stardom of Asia," as most of the members in this group were chosen for their experiences as actors, MCs, models, and radio hosts prior debut. Heechul and Kibum were already established actors at the time, and most of the other members had already made various kinds of appearances in television and media. Inspired by the rotational concept of Japan's girl group Morning Musume, Lee said that his new group would also experience line-up changes, with new members replacing selected members every year to keep the group constantly young and all-rounded. This concept was then newly introduced to the K-popmarket.
For a while the group was rumored to be called O.V.E.R, the acronym for "Obey the Voice for Each Rhythm." However, before the group settled with their current name, the company simply referred to them as Junior, a representation of the members' young ages when they first became SM trainees. After the members' showcased their different talents to the company at a picnic, the company finalized their group name to Super Junior, and officially became Super Junior 05, the first generation of Super Junior.
Super Junior 05 made their pre-debut performance on the Korean channel Mnet on September 11, 2005. At the showcase, they performed various styles of hip-hop dancing, where they danced to B2K's "Take It to the Floor". Han Geng, Eunhyuk, and Donghae also performed a separate dance together, dancing to Usher's "Caught Up." However, the performance did not air on television until May 16, 2006 as a segment in the Super Junior Show, the group's first television documentary.
The group officially debuted on SBS's music program Popular Song on November 6, 2005, performing their first single "Twins (Knock Out)". Adigital single with "Twins (Knock Out)", "You Are the One", and three additional tracks were released online on November 8, followed by the release of their debut album SuperJunior05 (Twins) on December 6, 2005. The album sold 28,536 copies in the first month of release and debuted at number three in the monthly chart of December 2005.
2006–07: U, concept changes and commercial success
In February 2006, Super Junior 05 began performances for "Miracle", the second promotional single from their debut album. "Miracle" topped the music charts of Thailand, drawing interest from international markets. As promotions for "Miracle" ended, SM Entertainment began selecting new members for Super Junior's second generation, Super Junior 06. The company even prepared a list of chosen members that were to graduate from the group. However, the company abandoned the rotational concept after adding a thirteenth member, Kyuhyun, in 2006. The group then became known as just Super Junior, without the suffix "05".
After the addition of Kyuhyun, Super Junior released their single "U" for free download on May 25, 2006 on their official website. "U" exceeded 400,000 downloads within five hours of release and ultimately surpassed 1.7 million downloads, crashing the server.The physical singleof "U" with a total of three tracks was released on June 6, eventually selling over 81,000 units in South Korea. The single became one of Korea's most popular songs of the year, taking up number one spots for five consecutive weeks on two of Korea's top music programs By the end of the year, Super Junior collected over seven awards in five of South Korea's top music award ceremonies, and was one of the three Best Newcomer winners at the 21st Golden Disk Awards.
In late 2006, Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Yesung formed the subgroup Super Junior-K.R.Y., Super Junior's first sub-unit. They performed their first single "The One I Love", theme song to the Korean television drama Hyena, on the KBS music program Music Bank on November 5, 2006. In February 2007, Leeteuk, Heechul, Kangin, Sungmin, and Eunhyuk formed Super Junior-T, a trot-singing group. They released their first single "Rokuko" on February 23, 2007, and made a debut performance on Popular Songs two days later.
Super Junior released their second album Don't Don on September 20, 2007. Don't Don sold over 60,000 units the first day of release and debuted at number one on the monthly chart of September 2007. Although Don't Don received mixed reviews from critics, the album went to sell more than 160,000 copies by the end of the year, becoming the second best-selling record of 2007.Super Junior received seven nominations at the 2007 Mnet/KM Music Festival, winning three of them which included Artist of the Year, termed by many as the highest recognition of the ceremony. Super Junior collected two more recognitions at the 22nd Golden Disk Awards, including a Disk Bonsang award (Record of the Year).
2008–09: Sorry, Sorry and career breakthrough
Super Junior-M, Super Junior's Mandopop subgroup comprising members Han Geng, Siwon, Donghae, Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and non-Super Junior members Henry and Zhou Mi, was formed in April 2008. Although the creation of the subgroup initially created a strife between the group's fans and their management, Super Junior-M went on to become Super Junior's most successful subgroup, selling out two concerts in Hong Kong, topping weekly ratings with their appearance on Chinese variety programs,and was the idol group with the most endorsement contracts in China. They won numerous awards at Chinese music festivals, and achieved critical acclaim after the release of their single "Super Girl" from their second record Super Girl, which garnered them a nomination for Best Vocal Group at the 21st Golden Melody Awards. A fourth Super Junior subgroup was created soon after Super Junior-M's debut. With five members from Super Junior-T and Yesung, they formed the subgroup Super Junior-Happy, releasing their first extended play (EP) Cooking? Cooking! on June 5, 2008. In November 2008, Super Junior-T made a debut in Japan, collaborating with Japanese comedy duo Moeyan. Their single "ROCK&GO", the Japanese-language version of "Rokuko", debuted at number 19 on the Oricon Daily Charts and ascended to number 2 three days later.
Super Junior's first Asia-wide concert tour, Super Show, commenced on February 22, 2008, in Seoul. The group held a successful two-day fan meeting in Japan at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, selling out 12,000 tickets in several days. The group released a compiled single "U/Twins", which includes the Japanese version of "U" in the limited release version, to complement the event. The single peaked at number four on Japan's Oricon Daily Chart on its first day of release, and dropped down four places on 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.
The group released their third studio album Sorry, Sorry on March 12, 2009. The album was met with acclaimed reviews. It was their first album to debut at number one on the Hanteo Charts, selling over 29,000 copies the first day. After only a month of release, the album became South Korea's best-selling album of 2009, and ultimately sold over 250,000 copies in South Korea. It became the best-selling K-pop album in Taiwan, Thailand, China, and the Philippines, in which the latter credited the album to be the first K-pop album to reach number one in music charts from the country.The album's title single "Sorry, Sorry" became an instant hit, collecting a total of ten number-one awards for ten consecutive weeks in Korea, and stayed as number one for a record-breaking 37 weeks in Taiwan's K-pop singles chart. "Sorry, Sorry" achieved national and international success, and has since been the group's best-selling single in South Korea.Sorry, Sorry won several accolades at the 24th Golden Disk Awards, including the Disk Daesang (Best Record of the Year).
After the success of Sorry, Sorry, Super Junior commenced their second Asia-wide concert tour Super Show 2, on July 17, 2009 in Seoul.
2010–present: International recognition, lineup changes and subsequent releases
Despite their critical and commercial success, the group was plagued by legal turmoils and lineup changes during their concert tour. Though Kibum was shown in the ads and promotional videos for Super Show 2, he did not officially participate in the concert tour, and announced his temporarly leave from the group to pursuit his acting career. In October 2009, Kangin was charged with a DUI and hit-and-run after crashing into a parked taxi holding three passengers. In December 2009, Han Geng filed for contract termination from SM Entertainment, claiming that the provisions of his contract were unlawful, harsh, and against his rights. He parted with the group and released his solo album Geng Xin in July 2010, which sold over 510,000 copies. That same month, Kangin announced his hiatus to fulfill his two-year mandatory military service
With only ten members left, Super Junior went off to release their fourth studio album, Bonamana in May 2010. Although the album did not fare as well as Sorry, Sorry critically, it sold over 300,000 copies in South Korea, outselling Sorry, Sorry. The album remained at the top of Taiwan's Korean-Japanese Music Charts for 61 weeks, breaking their own previous record of the said chart.
To promote the album, Super Junior embarked on their third Asia-wide tour Super Show 3 in 2010 and 2011, and had sold-out concerts for each stop. In February 2010, Super Junior released a 3D movie version of their tour,Super Show 3 3D in all CGV and Primus movie theaters. The movie debuted at number six on the box office charts and went off to become the best-selling 3D movie in Korea. After touring in Japan, they released the Super Junior Japan 'Super Show 3' Opening Commemorative Album in February 2010, which debuted at number two on Japan's Tower Records online sales charts. The DVD version of Super Junior Japan Limited Special Edition - Super Show 3also debuted at number two, while the CD version debuted at number ten. The album also remained at number three spot on the Oricon Daily Chart for two consecutive days and number six on the Oricon Weekly Chart. Following their commercial success in Japan, the group released a Japanese version of Bonamana's self-titled single in June 2011, which debuted at number two on the Oricon Daily Singles chart, selling over 59,000 copies the first week of release.
Between Super Show 3 stops, the group took part in the SMTown Live '10 World Tour and toured in Paris, Los Angelos and New York along with other SM Entertainment-managed artists, performing outside of Asia for the first time. Super Junior's performances were well-received by the media, and they were honored as Korea's National Pop Culture Icon for their role in spreading the Hallyu Wave (Korean Wave), receiving the Minister of Culture Awards by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the Pop Culture Art Awards. They were featured onCNN's Talk Asia program, and talked about their popularity and strategy for advancing into the world music industry. The group has achieved recognition beyond Asia, reaching notability in Europe, North America, and South America. Peru’s Top 30 ranking of The Sexiest Men in the World included all of the members on the list. They gave exclusive interviews to Slovenian and Iranian magazines, and were selected by Brazilian Hallyu fans to be the number-one Korean artist they want to visit Brazil. Both Mexico's TV Azteca and the United Kingdom's BBC acknowledged Super Junior to be the leading icon of the Hallyu effect.
Super Junior held a large-scale press conference on August 4, 2011, coinciding with the release of their fifth studio album Mr. Simple. The album debuted at number one on the South Korean Gaon Chart, selling 287,427 copies. The album stayed on the chart as number one for four weeks, and sold over 441,000 copies in South Korea by October 2011. It peaked at number three on the Billboard World Albums Chart and number 17 on Japan's Oricon Album's Chart. The album's title single "Mr. Simple" won first place on the first day of the group's comeback performance on the music show M!Countdown. In September 2011, Heechul announced his temporary leave of the group after enlisting for military service. Following Heechul's departure, Super Junior began their first world tour, the Super Show 4 in November 2011.The group's second Japanese single, a Japanese version of "Mr. Simple", is slated for a December 7th release in Japan.
Discography
Main articles: Super Junior discography and Super Junior videography
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Artistry
Musical style
Super Junior experimented with a variety of different genres throughout their career. They pursued bubblegum pop in SuperJunior05; etherealand alternative rock in Don't Don; pop and contemporary R&B in Sorry, Sorry and Bonamana; and electropop and synthpop in Mr. Simple. The group has also covered few songs in their albums. Their debut single "Twins (Knock Out)" is a cover of Triple Eight's "Knockout," which was released in 2003. In most of their covers, the original titles are kept, such as Cape's "L.O.V.E" and Exile's "Believe", both tracks fromSuperJunior05. Super Junior works closely with Yoo Young-jin, who has produced and arranged most of the group's title singles since debut. Yoo's also known for creating the renowned SMP style, a genre that includes a balanced infusion of rock, R&B, and rap, empowered by the sounds of electric guitar, bass, and other different percussion instruments. Super Junior prominently featured this SMP style in Don't Don. The group are also acclaimed for their vocal harmonization and unison as each member contributes a different range in their choruses, and often incorporate different types of vocal belting into their songs.
Dance style
Super Junior's performances are heavily centered around their dance choreography, and are acclaimed for their highly synchronized dances. The group's pre-debut performance was a hip hop dance, and have occasionally joined B-boy battles and performances throughout their career. Most of their dances are inspired by street dancing styels, with a majority of their choreography containing hip hop dance moves such as popping, waving, floating, and liquid dancing. Han Geng and Sungmin, both trained in martial arts, often incorporate martial art-styled dances into their choreography. Being professionally trained in dancing prior debut, Super Junior often choreograph their own dances. Shindong is the main choreographer for "U" and for a majority of the group's other dance performances in TV shows and concerts. Eunhyuk choreographed the dance for "Boom, Boom" and worked with the other members to create the dance choreography for "Don't Don" and "Marry U".
Subgroups
Since debut, four Super Junior subgroups were formed. With the exception of Kibum, all of the members were put in at least one subgroup. The intentions of the subgroups were part of SM Entertainment's strategy to not limit Super Junior's activities while certain members focus on their individual careers Furthermore, the goal of subgroup formations was to show that Super Junior could accommodate and perform different musical genres. This strategy was later challenged by critics, as it has influenced an overwhelming amount of music groups to create official and unofficial subgroups alike.
Super Junior-K.R.Y.
Super Junior-K.R.Y., established in November 2006, is the first Super Junior subgroup. It comprises members Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, andYesung, three of the most vocally powerful members of Super Junior. Super Junior-K.R.Y. specialize in performing mournful, R&B-style ballads.
The trio's first official performance was on November 5, 2006 on KBS's Music Bank, performing "The One I Love", theme song to the Korean television drama Hyena.Aside from the theme, they contributed to two more tracks in the original soundtrack of Hyena. The trio also performanced in two additional original soundtracks, one track in both the soundtracks of Snow Flower and Billy Jean Look at Me. Unlike Super Junior's other sub-units, Super Junior-K.R.Y. has not officially released an original single or album, and only participated in collaboration albums and original soundtracks.
Super Junior-K.R.Y. held their first mini concert tour in Japan in August 2010. They held two more concerts in Kobe in November 2011 and another two concerts in December 2011 in Fukuoka. Over 22,000 attended the tour.
Television, film and theater career
Further information: Super Junior filmography
Television
Prior Super Junior's debut, several of the members made brief appearances in television dramas. In 2000, Leeteuk appears as an extra in the television drama All About Eve as a moviegoer. Kangin was an extra in the 2002 drama The Secret Lovers. Siwon made a brief appearance in the 2004 drama Precious Family, and Kibum portrayed the teenage Han Jung-woo in April Kiss that same year. In early 2005, Heechul became the MC for music programs Popular Songs and Music Banks. He simultaneously co-hosted Youngstreet Radio Show with ex-M.I.L.K. member Park Heebon; however, Heechul took over the radio show in 2010, which was then renamed to Kim Heechul's Youngstreet Radio. That same year, Heechul made his first television drama appearance in the idol drama Sharp 2, which had Kibum starring as the main character. Following Sharp 2, Heechul appeared in Loveholic as a young junior chef. Siwon portrayed the teenage Kang Bong-man in Eighteen, Twenty-Nine and Sungmin made his first television appearance as the teenage Kang Dong-shin in Sisters of the Sea.
After Super Junior's November 2005 debut, Kibum and Heechul starred in the sixth season of the sitcom Nonstop, which also featured members Han Geng and Eunhyuk making a brief cameo appearance. On November 11, Leeteuk, Kangin, and Shindong made their MC debut on Mnet's music program M! Countdown. The group's first two television documentaries, the Super Junior Show and Princess Diaries aired right after their debut. From March to May 2006, Super Junior starred in the horror mockumentary Mystery 6, which featured Donghae as the central character. The group's first reality television series, Super Junior Full House, aired from May to August 2006. Their other reality television series, Super Adonis Camp aired right after, although it was filmed before Super Junior Full House. Super Adonis Camp starred seven members of Super Junior (Leeteuk, Han Geng, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, and Donghae) who were forced to live in a boot camp environment. They were split into two teams, and each team had to live off with only 30,000 won (approximately US$30) to purchase groceries.
In August 2006, Super Junior starred in Super Junior Mini-Drama, a 5-episode television program featuring the Super Junior members acting in separate half-hour mini-dramas, which was written and produced by them. That same month, both Leeteuk and Eunhyuk founded their own on-going radio show, Super Junior Kiss the Radio, which has become one of the most tuned-in radio channels in the country. In 2007, Donghae, Siwon, and Kibum starred in the reality dating game Super Summer. The show documented the member's efforts to win dates with model Lee Eun-jung through competing in games. The winner of each episode would get to have a date with the girl, while the other two men would have their own "man to man" date. Super Summer was primarily shot in Saipan. At the same time, the Super Junior-T members starred in the weekly variety show Idol World.
To promote their second album, Super Junior starred in the weekly educational television show Explorers of the Human Body after the release of Don't Don in 2007. The members answered curious questions about the human body by doing humorous demonstrations and experiments with their own bodies. Although the show was the highest-rated program of the Sunday reality line-up at the time, the program ended after thirteen episodes. Due to the popularity of the program, the producers planned to write in another season, but had difficulty in accommodating filming time with Super Junior's packed schedules. In 2008, Leeteuk, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, and Donghae made appearances in the third season of Unbelievable Outing, a game show. In 2009, the group hosted the charity show Super Junior's Miracle, which featured the Super Junior members helping troubled teenagers. In April 2009, Han Geng starred in the Chinese television mini-dramaStage of Youth, which featured the rest of the Super Junior-M members in the last episode.
Coinciding with the release of their fourth album, Super Junior starred in the talk show Super Junior's Foresight, where several of the Super Junior members interviewed prominent and experienced entertainers in the industry. In 2011, they starred in the fourth season of Hello Baby, which they were given the task to take care of an infant. Both Leeteuk and Shindong made guest appearances in the television drama All My Love; Leeteuk appeared in episode 14, while Shindong was featured in episodes 43–44.
In March 2011, Siwon and Donghae were casted as the two male leads in the Taiwanese television drama Skip Beat!, a live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name. Siwon portrays Dun Helian, a famous television star, and Donghae portrays the ambitious Bupo Shang, a fairly new singer who used his girlfriend Gong Xi (portrayed by Ivy Chen) to get famous. Super Junior-M will sing the opening theme "Extravagant One Man Show" (Chinese: 華麗的獨秀), while Donghae will perform the ending theme "This Is Love" (Chinese: 這是愛).
Film
In 2007, twelve members of Super Junior, excluding Kyuhyun, starred in the group's debut film Attack on the Pin-Up Boys. The first film released by SM Pictures, it premiered on July 26, 2007 in South Korea. "Wonder Boy", performed by Super Junior, is used as the theme song of the film. Although the film was promoted as a typical high school comedy, the movie gained positive reviews from critics, praising that the movie had a well-oriented plot unlike most idol films. However, ticket sales remained low in the premiere month despite its unexpected success in the sales the first week. The film was a box-office bomb, failing to attract more than 102,600 admissions and was proven to be a big loss for SM Pictures. However, both versions of the film's DVD became a best-selling record and were sold-out in both Korea and oversea markets, which was more than enough to make up for the production loss of 8.5 billion won. Following Attack, Heechul, Kangin and Shindong lent their voices to the three chipmunks for the Korean release of Alvin and Chipmunks.
Theater
- 2008
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- Xanadu Musical (Heechul, Kangin)
- 2009
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- Mountain Fortress Yesung)
- Akilla (Sungmin)
- 2010
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- A Middle Nap (Kibum)
- Hong Gil-dong (Yesung, Sungmin)
- Spamalot (Yesung)
- The Three Musketeers (Kyuhyun)
- 2011
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- Jack the Ripper (Sungmin)
- Temptation of Wolves (Ryeowook)
- Fame (Eunhyuk)
- The Three Musketeers (Kyuhyun)
Endorsements
Super Junior members first began endorsing for various fashion lines in early 2006, notably for Ivy Club (2006–2007), NII Qualified (2007) andSpris (2006–2007).
With their high popularity in Thailand, Siwon was contracted to be the main endorser for 12 Plus Miracle (2007–present) and began endorsing its products with interchangeable Super Junior members. Siwon also makes several prominent appearances in Korean brand Spao's catalogues along with SNSD and other Super Junior members. He also recently endorsed and modeled for the SK Telesys "Reaction" smart phone, also appearing in the phone's humorous mock-action commercial. While, On July 2010, Super Junior's Choi Siwon was appointed as UNICEF Envoy. Acer Computer Co., Ltd. a leading position in Thai computer market also presented Siwon as a new endorser for Acerproducts. He has also been featured in notable magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, High Cut, and Men's Health, as well as modeling for large brand names such as Armani, Lacoste, Gucci, and Burberry.
Currently Donghae is the brand ambassador for Maxim Colours Contact lens worldwide. The group are also known for their string of humorous commercials for Thailand's Yamaha Fino along with several other Thai entertainers, notably Golf & Mike. Super Junior were 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. Most recently in 2009, Super Junior have filmed CFs for brands such as Kyochon Chicken, Star Snacks and Happy Bubble. They also endorse a clothing line called SPAO (2009–present). Super Junior also Spokesmodel for Donate Blood (2007–present) campaign at the Republic of Korea National Red Cross and was appointed as Goodwill ambassador for World Blood Donor Day. They also promote and endorse for Samsung’s marketing of their new smartphone Samsung Galaxy S in Singapore.
Members of sub-group Super Junior-M also starring in commercials for Chinese mobile phones branded OPPO. They also star in a new commercial show for Pepsi and endorse Chinese clothing line Semir, reflecting their huge popularity in the Chinese region.
On February 20, 2010, Super Junior was named as Taiwan's tourism ambassador. On March 3, 2011, Super Junior has been appointed by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Korea as the 2011 Honorary Korean Ambassador Foods to promote Korean cuisine all over the world. Recently, The Hong Kong Tourism Board has officially invited Super Junior to host a travel show promoting Hong Kong. Earlier this year, Super Junior was chosen as the CF model for Japan's famous convenience store company, Circle K Sunkus. On May 16th, the song was shown on major Japanese TV channels as the commercial song for Japanese convenience store chain Circle K Sunkus. On June 17, 2011, Super Junior chosen as the ambassador of Seoul Summer Sale 2011. Recently, Super Junior has been appointed to be the ambassadors for Korean tourism.On July 26th, they signed an Memorandum of Understanding with Korea Tourism Organization‘s head, Lee Cham, in a simple ceremony to officialize their status. On October 18, Super Junior was selected, alongside their labelmates f(x), as models for all LG Electronics products for one year and will participate in the company’s global marketing activities. They also will produce Super Junior’s music videos in 3D early next year. Super Junior will be endorsing LG's new smartphone LG Optimus Glare.
Other Media
On July 20, 2010, S.M. Entertainment, together with NEOWIZ Internet Corporation, Ltd, released an iPhone application which features Super Junior's 4th regular album, 'BONAMANA'. The lite app can be purchased for free, while the full app can be purchased for US$7.99 on iTunes.
Influence and impact
During the course of Super Junior's career, several pop groups were formed similarly extraordinary numbers of members. JYP Entertainmentrecruited thirteen boys to be in a boy band, who were all revealed in the show, Hot Blood Men. Of these thirteen, eleven were split into two groups that debuted at different times: 2AM, which has four members, and 2PM, which has seven. Together, the two groups form the eleven-member boy band One Day. Ast'1, a boy band under DSP Entertainment, released a promotional video in March 2008. In the short preview the boy band expressed that they would "Knock Down Super Junior", which resulted in a lot of criticism lashed into the group. However, they clarified that they had no means to create conflict, and explained the reason why they want to defeat Super Junior is because they see Super Junior as their answer of success.
Controversies
Expansion to China
For more details on this topic, see Super Junior-M.
After the subgroups Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-T, on October 2, 2007, S.M. Entertainment announced the birth of another Super Junior sub-unit project that would begin activities in China starting 2008. Zhou Mi and S.M. Entertainment's new Chinese-Canadian traineeHenry Lau, who was also featured in the music video of "Don't Don", were also members of the subgroup.
The announcement brought in a huge wave of dissatisfaction and opposition from fans of Super Junior after the announcement of two new members. Initially, fans were planning to boycott the company's products, however, most fans agreed on a silent protest instead. Thousands of fans from Super Junior's official fanclub E.L.F. silently sat in front of the SM building and held signs that supported the group to have only thirteen members.
After more rumors regarding adding a Chinese member to the subgroup, the fans decided to gain a legal representation as part of S.M. Entertainment's stockholders. As of March 20, 2008, Super Junior fans purchased 58,206 stocks of S.M. Entertainment, holding 0.3% of the company's entire stock. They released a statement that they will obtain all chances to prevent S.M. Entertainment from adding new members and to keep Super Junior as only thirteen.
Conflict with MBC
For more details on this topic, see Kangin.
A time-slot dispute occurred between S.M. Entertainment and MBC when SM insisted to have Kangin stay on SBS's Explorers of the Human Body instead of MBC's Sunday Night Dong-An Club (동안클럽) where Kangin has been a regular host. MBC temporarily banned the rest of Super Junior from appearing in any future performances and shows hosted by MBC. Kangin also lost his MC jobs to T.O.P. of Big Bangfor the music show, Show! Music Core and also two more variety shows, which both soon canceled after Kangin left due to low ratings.MBC demanded an apology from S.M. Entertainment in order for Super Junior to appear on shows hosted by the channel again. However, MBC concluded that Super Junior's ban was never official, but just a decision for shows' producers to decide.
Han Geng's lawsuit and departure from group
For more details on this topic, see Han Geng.
On December 21, 2009, Han Geng filed for contract termination with S.M. Entertainment, label company of the group. The following day, Han Geng's lawyer stated the claimed reasons behind the action: provisions were in S.M. Entertainment's favour, unlawful 13-year contract length, unfair sum of money to end the contract, not allowed to request to revise his contract, forced to do things that were not in his contract, forced to do things against his will, fined if he disobeyed the company, missed any events or even was late, and there was uneven profit distribution. Along with this, it was disclosed that because of S.M. Entertainment's refusal to give him a day off in over two years, he had developedgastritis and kidney disease.
Han Geng's current manager, Sun Le, also submitted a statement to the court of South Korea citing S.M. Entertainment's violation of Han Geng's rights. Sun Le's statement contended that: Han Geng was forced to wear a mask due to company's ill handling of the visa issue, company purposely discriminated against Han Geng and his family, company refused to cooperate or listen to any of Han Geng's suggestions, company purposely turned down individual activities for Han Geng (including Ariel Lin's "Fireflies" music video, which later starred Siwon and Donghae) and that the company treated Han Geng's potential endorsers poorly.
On December 21, 2010, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Han Geng. The court stated, “All three contracts – from the January 2003 contract, the altered contract from February 2007, and the affiliated contract from December 2007 – do not exist.” A representative of S.M. Entertainment stated that that they would file an immediate appeal to reverse the decision.
On September 27, 2011, Han Geng's departure from Super Junior was made official when legal representatives of both Hangeng and S.M. Entertainment eventually released a statement stating, "Han Geng and S.M. Entertainment have amicably settled on a mutual agreement, and the lawsuit was able to come to a close after Hangeng submitted his 'Notice of Withdrawal of Appeal'. Additionally, S.M. Entertainment's official Super Junior website and sub-unit Super Junior-M also no longer lists Han Geng as one of the current members of both groups as of November 2011.
Conflict during Expo 2010
On May 26, 2010, organized by South Korea Pavilion of Expo 2010, many Korean pop stars including Super Junior were invited to the "South Korean classical and pop concert" which was planned to be launched at Expo Cultural Centre on May 30. As the tickets were not for sale to the public, visitors who want to enjoy the show could only exchange the ticket via expo ticket in the west door of the Expo Cultural Centre on May 30. The total ticket number is 5000, while 2500 of which would be assigned to Korea visitors for free which caused the actual available number to be 2500. Super Junior fans collected in the entry of the Expo Cultural Centre, and the strong emotion led to the occurrence of violence, resulting in casualties. A local armed police said that this is his first time to see such a “crazy” situation in Expo 2010 since the Expo park was opened.
Tours and concerts
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