My Girl is the solo mini album debut of Kim Hyung-jun of South Korean boy band SS501. It was released on 8 March 2011 under S-Plus Entertainment and distributed by CJ E&M Music. The album was also released in Japan and Taiwan.

Background and development Kim Hyung-jun signed under S-Plus Entertainment after he left SS501's former agency DSP Media in mid-2010. Upon the release of the news, his new agency mentioned that despite doing solo activities from now on, his top priority would still be taking part in group activities with SS501. Kim then signed with Avex Entertainment for his future Japanese activities. "SS501’s Kim Hyung Jun signs with Avex, to release album in Japan キム・ヒョンジュン、待望の日本ソロ・デビュー" 22 January 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2011

Following Park Jung-min who was the first member of SS501 to debut individually, Kim Hyung-jun was second to announce that he would debut as a solo artist. The album was mostly produced by E-Tribe and RaDo, who are both known producers in the music industry. Kim was directly involved in penning the lyrics of the tracks on his first solo album as he aimed to deliver his message to his fans. The title of his album 'My Girl' implies the longing for love, but the meaning behind it, according to Kim, was to convey his gratitude towards his fans by staying with him through happy and tough times.Based on the Korean language: "솔로 활동이 힘들다는 것은 안다. 하지만 알면서도 힘든 순간 할 수 있었던 건 항상 나를 바라보며 외쳐주고 있는 팬들 덕분이었다"

Release and promotion A week before the album release, Kim held a showcase titled "1st Solo Mini Album Showcase" on 3 March 2011. A press conference was held before the start of the showcase at 1pm on Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. The showcase included performing tracks from the upcoming album and screening their associated music videos to the attendees for the first time before its release. SS501 member Park Jung-min attended the event and talked with him in front of their fans during a segment of the showcase to show his support.

After a month and a half of Park Jung-min's debut release, Kim Hyung-jun officially released his debut solo mini album entitled My Girl on 8 March 2011. He also released the music videos for his lead tracks "oH aH!" and "Girl" at the same time. The album topped various music charts immediately, both in real-time and daily charts. It also received predominately favorable reviews besides its commercial success. Music critic No Jun-young (노준영) commented: "The album is worth it for those who expected it... [Kim Hyung-jun] will be a greater solo artist one day with a little more effort,"Paraphrased from the Korean language: "이 정도 노래들이라면 정규 앨범도 기대할 만하다... 조금만 더 노력하면 대형 솔로 남자 아티스트의 계보를 이어받을 것으로 보인다". while another agency stated: "The album showcases a new style different from SS501 days... the public gave a greater response than is expected."Paraphrased from the Korean language: "SS501 때와 다른 새로운 스타일을 만날 수 있을 것... 음원 공개 때보다 더 큰 반응이 기대된다".

On 6 April 2011, a Japanese version of the album was released under Avex Entertainment with two Japanese versions of the two lead tracks as bonus tracks."My Girl (Japan Jacket A CD+DVD edition) product info" YesAsia. Retrieved 16 November 2012."My Girl (Japan Jacket B edition) product info" YesAsia. Retrieved 16 November 2012."My Girl (Japan Jacket C edition) product info" YesAsia. Retrieved 16 November 2012. Two days later, another version of the album was released in Taiwan under Universal Music Taiwan. The DVD album includes songs and music videos in Korean-language."My Girl (Taiwan edition) product info" YesAsia. Retrieved 16 November 2012. The album eventually peaked at number 37 and number 1 on Japan's Oricon Charts and Taiwanese music charts respectively.

Asian Tour Following his promotions in South Korea, Kim proceeded to toured Japan. Entitled "Kim Hyung Jun Japan Live Tour 2011", Kim promoted his album in Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo for weeks. He also performed in the "Fantastic K-POP Concert" in Jakarta on 19 June 2011 along with other Korean singers. The next day, he was featured on the front page of Indonesia's influential newspaper Sunday Post amongst other artists who performed that day due to his greater fan base and popularity in Indonesia. He continued touring in other countries for his sold out Asian tour including Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan in June and July.

Tracks Kim Hyung-jun's mini album includes a 47-second introduction song, showcasing the overall feel of the album."My Girl (Korea edition) product info" YesAsia. Retrieved 16 November 2012. Both E-Tribe and RaDo produced two tracks each, including the lead tracks "oH aH!" and "Girl". Particularly, the former song was said to have "lacked popular appeal" initially by Kim, himself, but he then realized its potential afterwards. The album comes with two instrumental songs for the two lead tracks mentioned, while the Japanese release also includes the Japanese versions of those. Both the fourth and fifth tracks entitled "No Other Woman But You" and "Heaven", respectively, were penned by Kim Hyung-jun himself, dedicating the latter to the late Park Yong-ha. Park and Kim became friends during their Japanese promotions as they were both managed by Avex Entertainment. As Kim remembered Park who committed suicide less than a year before his album release, he started to think of the people whom he loved but who nonetheless had left him, leading him to write "Heaven" to express his feelings.

Track listing CD

DVD

Music videos Oh Yeon-seo was the lead actress behind the music video of "oH! aH!". Due to her various music video appearances alongside South Korean idols, including Kim Hyung-jun, she was dubbed as 'Idol Killer' by the media. On 27 February 2011, it was reported that Park Jung-min visited Kim during his music video filming. It was around midnight when Park visited him to show his support on the start of his solo career after mostly doing group activities in the past.

"oH! aH!" "Girl"

Release history Country Release date Distributing label FormatWorldwide March 8, 2011S-Plus EntertainmentDigital download South Korea S-Plus Entertainment; CJ E&M Music CDJapan April 6, 2011 Avex Trax CD+DVD (Jacket A) CD (Jacket B) CD+Photobook (Jacket C) Taiwan 8 April 2011 Universal Music Taiwan CD+DVD

Charts Chart Country Peak position NotesGaon Weekly Single ChartsSouth Korea 32"Girl"35"oH! aH!" Gaon Weekly Album Chart 1 Gaon Monthly Album Chart 8 9,202Oricon Singles Chart Japan 37 G-Music Combo Chart Taiwanweek 15 ( 8–14 April 2011) 7 "This links to the current week - search for week number at the bottom of page" G-Music Combo Chart. Retrieved 16 November 2012. G-Music J-Pop Chart 1 "This links to the current week - search for week number at the bottom of page" G-Music J-Pop/K-Pop Chart. Retrieved 16 November 2012.

Notes

References

External links

"oH! aH!" music video "oH! aH!" Japanese version music video