Biography
Better known professionally as Xia for his solo endeavors, the K-pop vocalist, composer, and performer Kim Jun Su first rose to prominence under the name Xiah Junsu as a member of the Korean boy band TVXQ! from 2003 through 2010, a period that brought substantial domestic acclaim alongside unprecedented commercial performance in Japan. Between 2010 and 2017 he performed simply as Junsu within the trio JYJ, formed by former TVXQ! members and responsible for three chart-topping Korean albums, while simultaneously advancing a parallel solo trajectory that sustained his visibility in both Korea and Japan.
Born in Goyang within Gyeonggi-do province on the periphery of Seoul, Xia shares a twin brother, Kim Jun Ho, who later recorded under the names ZUNO in China and JUNO in Japan and contributed songwriting to several of Xia’s solo releases. At age eleven Xia secured a contract with SM Entertainment after a succession of auditions; when TVXQ! debuted in 2003 he remained a high-school student, and during his later years with the group he pursued musical-theater studies at Myongji University. Shortly before completing his degree he issued a debut solo EP under the Xiah Junsu name in May 2010 and simultaneously took the title role in Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze’s Mozart!, drawing large audiences on the strength of his established fame.
He supplied songs to the television soundtracks Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Scent of a Woman as JYJ inaugurated its partnership with C-Jes Entertainment and began charting in both Korea and Japan. Xia’s first solo single for the label, “Uncommitted,” and his debut solo album, Tarantallegra, both arrived in May 2012 and reached number one in Korea. Incredible followed in 2013, peaking at number two, while the year closed with the number-one EP Musical December 2013 with Kimjunsu. Activity in 2014 remained limited, though the track “The Time I Loved You” appeared on the soundtrack for the television series Mr. Back. In 2015 the album Flower reached number two and the EP Yesterday topped the chart; that same year Xia made his stage debut in the initial Korean production of Death Note: The Musical. Following the release of the 2016 solo album Xignature he returned to the musical in early 2017 before commencing mandatory military service, an obligation that placed JYJ on indefinite hiatus. Solo work resumed in 2019, culminating in the November 2020 release of the Pit a Pat EP, which marked the end of his twelve-year association with C-Jes. After issuing a standalone single through Universal/EMI in January 2022, Xia delivered the Dimension EP two months later on his newly established imprint Palmtree Island and, in June, collaborated with former JYJ bandmate J-Jun on the single “Rokutosei.”
Born in Goyang within Gyeonggi-do province on the periphery of Seoul, Xia shares a twin brother, Kim Jun Ho, who later recorded under the names ZUNO in China and JUNO in Japan and contributed songwriting to several of Xia’s solo releases. At age eleven Xia secured a contract with SM Entertainment after a succession of auditions; when TVXQ! debuted in 2003 he remained a high-school student, and during his later years with the group he pursued musical-theater studies at Myongji University. Shortly before completing his degree he issued a debut solo EP under the Xiah Junsu name in May 2010 and simultaneously took the title role in Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze’s Mozart!, drawing large audiences on the strength of his established fame.
He supplied songs to the television soundtracks Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Scent of a Woman as JYJ inaugurated its partnership with C-Jes Entertainment and began charting in both Korea and Japan. Xia’s first solo single for the label, “Uncommitted,” and his debut solo album, Tarantallegra, both arrived in May 2012 and reached number one in Korea. Incredible followed in 2013, peaking at number two, while the year closed with the number-one EP Musical December 2013 with Kimjunsu. Activity in 2014 remained limited, though the track “The Time I Loved You” appeared on the soundtrack for the television series Mr. Back. In 2015 the album Flower reached number two and the EP Yesterday topped the chart; that same year Xia made his stage debut in the initial Korean production of Death Note: The Musical. Following the release of the 2016 solo album Xignature he returned to the musical in early 2017 before commencing mandatory military service, an obligation that placed JYJ on indefinite hiatus. Solo work resumed in 2019, culminating in the November 2020 release of the Pit a Pat EP, which marked the end of his twelve-year association with C-Jes. After issuing a standalone single through Universal/EMI in January 2022, Xia delivered the Dimension EP two months later on his newly established imprint Palmtree Island and, in June, collaborated with former JYJ bandmate J-Jun on the single “Rokutosei.”
Albums
Singles
