Kim Jaejoong gets gold RIAJ for second single, 'Defiance'

Kim Jaejoong. Photo: Filepic

South Korean singer Kim Jaejoong has received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for his second single, Defiance.

Defiance breached the 100k mark within four days of its release on Oct 24 and hit No.3 on both Oricon and Billboard Japan.

It is also the opening song for Japanese anime series Zoids: Wild and was number one on Billboard Japan Hot Animation list.

This is Jaejoong’s second RIAJ this year, his first being Sign which was released on June 27.

The singer, who is also a member of JYJ, has been hitting all the right keys since he restarted his Japanese activities early this year as a solo singer, from high sales to regular appearances on Japanese variety and music shows.

Jaejoong has shown himself to be extremely versatile moving effortlessly from pop to rock in Korean and Japanese and was also invited to perform at legendary Japanese rock star Hyde’s Halloween Party concert recently.

He also sang a duet with Mika Nakashima on Music Day – no less than Glamorous Sky, a personal favourite that he sings frequently at his concerts. This song was also composed by Hyde, who has recorded an English version of it.

He has so far opened a Japanese fanclub called Jaefans, done two concert series and a hall tour, and released two singles.

Previously Jaejoong was unable to promote on both South Korean and Japanese broadcast due to a lawsuit he won against his former entertainment agency.

While he is now able to appear on broadcast in Japan, South Korea has not seen any change so far. Despite the nine-year unforseen hiatus in Japan, his popularity has not diminished.

With his high visibility on Japanese tv and social media, remarkable sales and sold out concert performances, it looks like Jaejoong is well on his way to establishing himself as a solo singer.