TVXQ! Talk Beginning Anew With ‘New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love’: Exclusive

TVXQ, Courtesy of SM Entertainment

For many male Korean celebrities, taking nearly two years off to fulfill their mandatory military service means a huge setback in their career. For the duo known as TVXQ!, however, it just means the start of another era after a decade-and-a-half of leading K-pop’s ascent throughout Asia.

When they released their first album in three years at the end of March, Jung Yunho, known as U-KNOW, and Shim Changmin, aka MAX, set out to reintroduce themselves to K-pop audiences with New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love.

A more laid-back album than the majority of their past work, The Chance of Love, or Fate/Destiny as it’s called in Korean, blends jazzy pop tunes, touching ballads, and some trendy dance tracks with house and future bass leanings to showcase the type of romance fitting of 30-somethings. “If you link the first track to the last track, you will find a whole story,” U-KNOW told Billboard over a video call from Seoul. “Then, you will receive some kind of feeling as if you are watching a movie. Personally, I want a happy ending. But we wanted to leave it to fans to have their own open conclusion. When I listened to the album, I felt that it was a happy ending, but I wonder how you think about it.”

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