Xiah Junsu's solo single debuts at No. 2 in Japan

Xiah Junsu of Korean idol group TVXQ has made a splashing solo debut in Japan, placing his first single at No. 2 on the prestigious Oricon music chart on the day of its release.

According to data on Oricon's daily singles chart released Thursday, the singer's new single album titled "Xiah (Intoxicaton)" shot to second place upon its release the previous day.

This marks the first time for the pop idol to rank on the Japanese music chart by himself -- he had previously graced the chart numerous times as a member of popular boy band TVXQ.

TVXQ had enjoyed great success throughout Asia and the Japanese music industry in particular, becoming the first foreign artist to top the Oricon singles charts six times with their 27th single "Share the World/We are!" released last year.

They made music history in Japan again in early April, when they placed their single and album simultaneously within the top three slots of Oricon's singles and albums chart, the first time for a foreign artist to do so in 15 years.

The boy band officially quit working as a group both in Japan and Korea however, due to the ongoing legal battle between three of its members -- Xiah Junsu, Hero Jaejoong and Micky Yoochun -- and its Korean agency SM Entertainment.

Last July, the three singers had asked a court to nullify their 13-year exclusive contract with SM, claiming that the contract period is too long.

However, under the management of Japanese agency AVEX, the trio are planning to form a separate group through which they will continue their musical activities in Japan.

They are set to hold a fan event next month at Osaka Dome and Tokyo Dome as a way of expressing their gratitude to their fans.

Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@