Just one year ago today, the album “MY SUN” was released.

We experienced the launch of this more personal album as a very special chapter and a milestone in Kim Hyun Joong’s career.

For us, it wasn’t just the release of a new album.
It was the day when Kim Hyun Joong had again the strength to summon and face the Korean press  to speak live and present his work.

 

Since then, there’s one question that’s often asked about this album.

Did the promotional strategy of releasing an album in three parts / four songs, which was probably too unprecedented, not have an impact on public recognition of the album?

Many unconditional fans of ‘physical’ albums like ourselves, who only managed to get their hands on a copy after a six-week wait, may well have become discouraged, and for those who only listen to music online, eight songs on this album were no longer a novelty since they had already been released in batches of four for a few months…

With some songs probably already a year in the making and in ‘private’ existence by the time the album was released, we also had the very personal feeling that, just as the time for promotion had arrived, this last public launch had become an end rather than a beginning.

It was as if we’d just turned a page before moving on to other adventures.

 

An old story for those involved, who have been working on a finished album for a long time.

Washed, dried, folded, stored…

…and yet,  getting your music discovered by as wide an audience as possible should be the most important goal after the release of an album, shouldn’t it?

The best way to grow as an artist and to grow an audience has always been to tour extensively and take the risk of performing in unfamiliar territory.
It should be a challenge to win over a new audience.

Then, we can also understand – it just needs to be clearly explained to us – that the results of the objectives implemented do not always correspond to the scale of the aspirations, and that sometimes inappropriate means can prove demotivating.

We also understand that carving out an unobstructed path to success isn’t easy, and knowing exactly where to start can’t be easy either.

The old recipes for a successful tour aren’t necessarily applicable today; the multitude of promotional media can be confusing, time-consuming and costly.

So where should you start? Where should you concentrate your efforts?

There are probably no simple answers to these questions.

Should we resign ourselves or be satisfied with little?

At some point you have to adjust your choices to make them realistic, and decide which ‘numbers’ are really important.

 

So that this note of anniversary celebration doesn’t end on what might sound like a note of bitterness or resentment, we’re going to take the liberty of formulating a confident wish of hope:

That the objectives and the means envisaged for the promotion of the next album can be thought differently from the previous one.

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Online/Youtube presentation MY SUN album.
(Subtitles in French, English and Portuguese)

 

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Our favourite warrior bravely facing the press  (ENG)
(CREDIT : TONGTONG Culture)

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• Live performance of the main track from the MY SUN album.
  (CREDIT : TONGTONG Culture)