Super Junior-M (Korean: 슈퍼주니어-엠), often referred to as SJ-M, is the third official sub-unit of Korean boy band Super Junior established in April 2008. They are the first international music group in the Chinese music industry to have members of both Chinese and Korean descent.[2] They are also the first group produced by Korea's CT (Culture Technology) organization and was created through a comprehensive localization strategy.[3] Super Junior-M contains five Super Junior members, Han Geng (the leader), Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun, and two non-Super Junior members, Henry and Zhou Mi.[2]
Origin
People's Republic of China
Other name(s)
SJ-M
Occupation
Singers, dancers, actors
Genre(s)
Mandopop, dance, R&B, hip hop
Label(s)
SM EntertainmentAvex Asia (ROC)
Years active
2008–present
Associated acts
SMTownSuper JuniorSuper Junior-K.R.Y
Current Members
Han GengSiwonDonghaeKyuhyunHenryRyeowookZhou Mi
Influenced
A-ONE[1]
Official site
superjunior-m.iple.com
Pre-debut
Responding to Super Junior's rising popularity in China, Super Junior's management, SM Entertainment, decided to compose a new Super Junior sub-unit that is to focus entirely in the Chinese market. On October 2, 2007, an official announcement was released to the media, stating the birth of a third Super Junior subgroup that would debut in China in 2008. Super Junior's original member Han Geng, and an SM Chinese trainee, Henry, were stated to be the first two of the seven members representing the subgroup.[4] Five months later, a second Super Junior member, Siwon, was mentioned in news articles to be the third member.[5] However, the confirmed list of members were not released to the public until April.
Starting from April 4, 2008 to April 7, 2008, the seven members were released to the media in a chain of short trailer clips on different days, introducing the members' versatility. Han Geng was the first member to be announced on April 4.[6] On April 5, Siwon and Donghae were announced to be the second and third members.[7] On April 6, Kyuhyun was announced to be the fourth Super Junior-M member, following a new member Henry as the fifth.[8] Ryeowook was announced to be the sixth member on April 7 following rookie Zhou Mi as the final member.[9] A trailer of all seven members was released on the group's debut day, April 8. Super Junior-M's trailer clips exceeded 1.4 million views in less than four days.[10]
Origin of the name
Before the official name of the subgroup was released, they were often referred to as Super Junior China. On April 3, 2008, SM Entertainment released the official name of the subgroup, Super Junior-M, with "M" representing the word "Mandarin," expressing the subgroup's ambition to become successful in the Chinese music market not limited to only China.[11] The "M" can also represent a list of other aspects, such as the first letter of their debut album, Me, and also "mi" (Chinese: 迷), which denotes to "charismatic" as well as "fan" in Mandarin, the latter meaning referring to their desire to connect closer with fans.[11]
2008: Commercial success
Super Junior-M debuted in China on April 8, 2008 at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards and with the release of their first single music video, "U" online.[10] Their debut album was released in various provinces in China starting April 23, 2008 and the Korean version with three bonus Korean tracks was releasd in South Korea on April 30, 2008. The album was also distributed in several other Chinese communities on May 2, 2008 such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.[12] Reviews for the album were generally positive and it also gained praise from Guangdong singer, Hins Cheung, who said the album contains "international-level music" and that the group is "vocally-talented".[13]
On May 25, 2008 Super Junior-M won their first award, Asia's Most Popular New Group Award, at the 5th annual Music King Awards in Macau.[14] They also expressed wishes that they would like to hold a concert in the Hong Kong Coliseum sometime in the future.[14]
After their debut performance in early April 2008, the group made guest appearances in many chains of entertanment variety shows. They appeared in an episode of the second season of TVB and HunanTV's collaboration show, Strictly Come Dancing (舞动奇迹), which made the show's ratings increase to 5.01%, ranking it the third most watched show ever in all of China.[15] Super Junior-M's appearance in the talk show, Behind Story (背后的故事) two months later also increased ratings. The show had the highest ratings during that time slot, with a strong 4.05%.[16] Separated into several weekly episodes, the group's appearance in their first episode on the challenging game show, Bravely Going Forward (勇往直前) in early August gave the show the highest ratings during that time slot as well.[17]
Super Junior-M and Show Lo of Taiwan replaced Hong Kong entertainers, Nicholas Tse and Twins, for the 2008 summer season endorsement spots of Semir, a Chinese clothings brand.[18] They were acclaimed to be sunny, young, and passionate; thus their image was suitable to endorse the brand.[19]
On August 29, 2008, Super Junior-M, along with other popular Chinese artists such as Jacky Cheung and Jolin Tsai, performed at the 7th Golden Eagle Opening Ceremony Concert.[20] It was the group's last promotional performance for "U."[21] The group gave their first performance of their second single, "Me," on September 13, 2008 at the SMTOWN LIVE '09 in Shanghai concert. The music video was released on September 14, 2008 through Sohu.
Super Junior-M's second album comeback
The group revealed in August 2008 that Super Junior-M will release their second album next year, slated for a release in the last quarter of 2009.[22]
Responding to Super Junior's rising popularity in China, Super Junior's management, SM Entertainment, decided to compose a new Super Junior sub-unit that is to focus entirely in the Chinese market. On October 2, 2007, an official announcement was released to the media, stating the birth of a third Super Junior subgroup that would debut in China in 2008. Super Junior's original member Han Geng, and an SM Chinese trainee, Henry, were stated to be the first two of the seven members representing the subgroup.[4] Five months later, a second Super Junior member, Siwon, was mentioned in news articles to be the third member.[5] However, the confirmed list of members were not released to the public until April.
Starting from April 4, 2008 to April 7, 2008, the seven members were released to the media in a chain of short trailer clips on different days, introducing the members' versatility. Han Geng was the first member to be announced on April 4.[6] On April 5, Siwon and Donghae were announced to be the second and third members.[7] On April 6, Kyuhyun was announced to be the fourth Super Junior-M member, following a new member Henry as the fifth.[8] Ryeowook was announced to be the sixth member on April 7 following rookie Zhou Mi as the final member.[9] A trailer of all seven members was released on the group's debut day, April 8. Super Junior-M's trailer clips exceeded 1.4 million views in less than four days.[10]
Origin of the name
Before the official name of the subgroup was released, they were often referred to as Super Junior China. On April 3, 2008, SM Entertainment released the official name of the subgroup, Super Junior-M, with "M" representing the word "Mandarin," expressing the subgroup's ambition to become successful in the Chinese music market not limited to only China.[11] The "M" can also represent a list of other aspects, such as the first letter of their debut album, Me, and also "mi" (Chinese: 迷), which denotes to "charismatic" as well as "fan" in Mandarin, the latter meaning referring to their desire to connect closer with fans.[11]
2008: Commercial success
Super Junior-M debuted in China on April 8, 2008 at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards and with the release of their first single music video, "U" online.[10] Their debut album was released in various provinces in China starting April 23, 2008 and the Korean version with three bonus Korean tracks was releasd in South Korea on April 30, 2008. The album was also distributed in several other Chinese communities on May 2, 2008 such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.[12] Reviews for the album were generally positive and it also gained praise from Guangdong singer, Hins Cheung, who said the album contains "international-level music" and that the group is "vocally-talented".[13]
On May 25, 2008 Super Junior-M won their first award, Asia's Most Popular New Group Award, at the 5th annual Music King Awards in Macau.[14] They also expressed wishes that they would like to hold a concert in the Hong Kong Coliseum sometime in the future.[14]
After their debut performance in early April 2008, the group made guest appearances in many chains of entertanment variety shows. They appeared in an episode of the second season of TVB and HunanTV's collaboration show, Strictly Come Dancing (舞动奇迹), which made the show's ratings increase to 5.01%, ranking it the third most watched show ever in all of China.[15] Super Junior-M's appearance in the talk show, Behind Story (背后的故事) two months later also increased ratings. The show had the highest ratings during that time slot, with a strong 4.05%.[16] Separated into several weekly episodes, the group's appearance in their first episode on the challenging game show, Bravely Going Forward (勇往直前) in early August gave the show the highest ratings during that time slot as well.[17]
Super Junior-M and Show Lo of Taiwan replaced Hong Kong entertainers, Nicholas Tse and Twins, for the 2008 summer season endorsement spots of Semir, a Chinese clothings brand.[18] They were acclaimed to be sunny, young, and passionate; thus their image was suitable to endorse the brand.[19]
On August 29, 2008, Super Junior-M, along with other popular Chinese artists such as Jacky Cheung and Jolin Tsai, performed at the 7th Golden Eagle Opening Ceremony Concert.[20] It was the group's last promotional performance for "U."[21] The group gave their first performance of their second single, "Me," on September 13, 2008 at the SMTOWN LIVE '09 in Shanghai concert. The music video was released on September 14, 2008 through Sohu.
Super Junior-M's second album comeback
The group revealed in August 2008 that Super Junior-M will release their second album next year, slated for a release in the last quarter of 2009.[22]
Musical style
See also: Super Junior#Musical style
Super Junior-M's goal is to bring the Korean pop influence over to the Chinese market, re-representing the hits in Mandarin.[2] Similar to the style of their main group Super Junior, Super Junior-M's music style falls into the category of mainstream pop, dance, and R&B. Dance pop songs with rock and hip hop influences are easily heard in their music, such as in "Me" and "The Moment", which contains guitar riffs and heavy bass sounds. Rap is not performed as often like the main group, but these influences can be heard in "The Moment" and also the rap remakes in "Don't Don" and "A Man In Love".
See also: Super Junior#Musical style
Super Junior-M's goal is to bring the Korean pop influence over to the Chinese market, re-representing the hits in Mandarin.[2] Similar to the style of their main group Super Junior, Super Junior-M's music style falls into the category of mainstream pop, dance, and R&B. Dance pop songs with rock and hip hop influences are easily heard in their music, such as in "Me" and "The Moment", which contains guitar riffs and heavy bass sounds. Rap is not performed as often like the main group, but these influences can be heard in "The Moment" and also the rap remakes in "Don't Don" and "A Man In Love".
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