The Grace (band)

The Grace 천상지희
The Grace performing at A'Nation Concert. From left to right: Dana, Stephanie, Lina, Sunday
Background information
Also known as	TSZX The Grace CSJH The Grace Tenjochiki
Genres	Pop, RnB, dance
Years active	2005 (2005)–present
Labels	SM Entertainment Avex Asia (Taiwan) Rhythm Zone (Japan) United Asia Management
Website	천상지희 (Korean) TJCK (Japanese)
Members
Stephanie Lina Sunday Dana

The Grace (band)
Hangul	천상지희
Hanja	天上智喜
Revised Romanization	Cheonsang Jihui
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ŏnsang Chihŭi

The Grace (Korean: 천상지희 더 그레이스; hanja: 天上智喜 The Grace ) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment in 2005. It consists of four members who sing, dance, and act. The quartet debuted in 2005.

The band had been known as TSZX prior to the promotion of their 3rd Korean single around the end of 2006, at which the group changed their name to The Grace. TSZX was the romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, Tiān Shàng Zhì Xǐ which was also simplified to CSJH, the romanization of the Korean pronunciation, Chun Sang Ji Hee and the simplifications are still sometimes used to refer to the band despite the change in the official name. In Japan, the group is still officially known as Tenjōchiki, which is also abbreviated (albeit less frequently) as TJCK. Their official fan club name is Shapley, named after the largest known megacluster in the universe whose brightest points are four very bright stars which can be seen from Earth. Their official color is pearl pink (previously it was pastel rose pink).

History

Debut and early works

The Grace's first official performance occurred on April 29, 2005, in China. They performed their new songs "Too Good" and "Boomerang", and it was broadcasted weeks later by the Chinese channel CCTV. The verses in Boomerang were also sung in Chinese. Two days later, the quartet debuted with "Too Good" on SBS's music program Popular Songs (Inkigayo).

"Too Good" was the first single by The Grace. They promoted the song for a few months before switching to "Boomerang".

After promoting their first singles in Korea for almost 7 months, the group headed off to China. Officially released in March 2006, according to online stores, the Chinese version of the single included three new tracks: the Chinese versions of "Too Good" and "Boomerang" and the pre-group track "Fight To The End". After promotional activities concluded, The Grace headed to Japan.

Japanese singles

The debut Japanese single Boomerang was released January 25, 2006. "Boomerang" was re-recorded for the release, with Japanese lyrics and an altered instrumental. The Japanese single also had a B-side called "Do You Know?", a solo song by member Sunday. The Boomerang single ranked #110 in the Singles Top 200 chart.

The Club was released on March 8, with another solo song called "What U Want", sung by Stephanie. It reached #131 on the Japanese Oricon Charts. The single was also promoted briefly in South Korea. After quick promotional activities in Korea, the group went back to Japan for their 3rd Japanese single, Sweet Flower which was used as the theme for the month of April on the TBS Radio & Communications music show, Count Down TV. Sweet Flower entered the charts at #151. The single was also released in Korea by SM, but it was left unchanged from its Japanese version.

Between the 3rd and 4th single releases, official releases in other Asian countries took part. The Japanese single Boomerang was released in China on June 19 by Avex Trax official Chinese distributor CRSC. The Avex China website also lists the Japanese single of The Club, but it is not listed by CRSC. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, a new edition of the Korean version of The Club single was released, containing a Chinese version of "The Club" plus a DVD with the Korean music video.

Even with the first few singles having low sales, another single was scheduled to be released. juicy LOVE was in stark contrast with The Grace's previous singles, as it had a reggae beat, matching well with its summer release date. Japanese reggae singer Corn Head was featured in this song. This time, the B-side was "Sayonara no Mukō ni", The Grace's first Japanese ballad written and sung by Dana. Like the previous single, Juicy Love (styled juicy LOVE) was released in Korea, left unchanged.

After four singles, The Grace's promotion in Japan went on, continuing to perform at different events. During Juicy Love promotion, Dana hurt her leg and was unable to perform at a few of their venues. Their last song released in Japan at the end of their activities was "Get on the floor", a duet with rapper Dogma for a movie soundtrack.

The group's last event in Japan was the a-nation tour held by Avex Trax at an open-air stage.

Return to Korea

After weeks of waiting, SM finally announced their 3rd Korean single and in addition, changes to the group concept. Although The Grace was first marketed as an a cappella pop group, they strayed away from that image and became a typical pop/dance girl group with their later releases. To strengthen their image as an a cappella band, SM changed the band name from just CSJH to CSJH The Grace (which their international name was later simplified to just "The Grace"). The name change was also applied to the members' stage names as well: Dana The Grace, Lina The Grace, Sunday The Grace, and Stephanie The Grace. The new name is being used extensively and consistently in place of the old ones on official promotional material.

The single 열정 (My Everything) (translated to Passion) was released on November 3, 2006. The lead single from it was the title song, a ballad track unlike their previous singles. According to the press release, the song matched with the winter season, having skillful vocals and harmony.^[1] Other songs in the single include an a cappella version of George Michael's Faith, which had already been performed during the 1st single promotion, and new songs like "The Final Sentence" and "IRIS (할 말이 있어요)". Promotional activities started soon after the release, with performances on the various music shows done live in order to showcase the vocals. Members of the group have also appeared on variety shows, including SBS's New X-Man. However, the changes did not greatly increase sales; the single entered at #30 on the Music Industry Association of Korea's monthly sales charts^[2] Promotional activities for the single ended in late January 2007.

2007

First full album

In April 2007, a teaser video of The Grace was released, revealing a new "sexy upgrade" to their look for their first full album;^[3] the video was aired on various Korean music channels. The album, entitled 한번 더, OK? (Hanbeon Deo, OK?, translated as "One More Time, OK?") was released on May 4, 2007."^[4]

"One More Time, OK?" is The Grace's most successful song to the date, topping Mnet M! Countdown and SBS Inkigayo charts. The album sales in its first month were almost four times what My Everything sold in total, ranking the album at 6th place for the month.^[5] On June 15, the album was released in Taiwan, being The Grace's first major release overseas.^[6]

A month and a half after release, the album was suggested to be inappropriate for younger audiences by The Commission on Youth Protection. The songs "One More Time, OK?" and "Tonight Is On Me" were considered to have "suggestive lyrics". The Commission on Youth Protection is currently undergoing judgement to see if the album will be flagged. The final decision will be made towards the end of August. If flagged, the album will have a 19+ sticker attached before being put to sale.^[7]

In July, after "One More Time, OK?", the group shortly promoted two more songs off their first album. "女友 (그녀들의 수다)" (Girl Talk) was performed on various TV shows, with a music video for "Dancer In The Rain" released.

Japanese single and album

Shortly after promotions for their first Korean album ceased, a new Japanese single was announced for release on August 1. It featured three new songs: a dance number named Piranha and Japanese versions of the songs My Everything and Just For One Day, which features TVXQ's JaeJoong. The first presses included a remix of The Club (song) featuring SEAMO, their first remix to be released on CD. The single debuted at 26th place in the Oricon daily charts and ended at 50th place in the weekly charts.

About a month later, the release of their first Japanese album was set. The original date announced was November 21, though the date was then moved a week earlier to November 14. Entitled Graceful 4,^[8] the album consisted of nine previously released songs and new material, including One More Time, OK?, a translated Japanese version of their first Korean album's title song. Just For One Day has also been remixed for the album, having a jazz variation.

2008

During the first months of 2008, The Grace still promoted themselves in Japan, performing on various events in support of their first Japanese album. They held three concerts in April and May named Graceful Party Vol. 1.^[9] The last one, at Daikanyama UNIT in Tokyo, featured Here, a new song in collaboration with hip-hop group Cliff Edge.

Their sixth Japanese single, called Stand Up People, was released on July 23. It featured Dear friend, a mid-tempo ballad, and remixes of the title song and One More Time, OK?.

Their seventh single, Here, featured a collaboration between Tenjochiki and Cliff Edge. It was set to be released on October 22 only, but after the song leaked, it was offered for free download for a limited time. Here was chosen to be the theme song of both the drama and movie of "Homeless School Student", based on a Japanese best-seller book. A second song and PV were released entitled Near. Here reaching to #16 at the Oricon Charts with sales of over 16,000.^{[citation needed]}

2009

Second Japanese album

The album entitled "Dear..." ^[10] was released on January 7, 2009 from which the sixth and seventh singles ('Stand Up People' and 'Here') were released. The album debuted on 14# in Oricon.

Subaru soundtrack

The Grace appeared on the soundtrack of the Japanese movie Subaru. "少しでいいから" (Sukoshi De Ii Kara / A Bit of Good) and "Coming To You" are both featured tracks on the soundtrack.^[11] "少しでいいから" (Sukoshi De Ii Kara / A Bit of Good) is a part of The Grace's second Japanese Album "Dear...". The movie also features member Stephanie as a ballet trainer ^[12]

2010

Due to Stephanie's major back injury, all activities for CSJH The Grace were halted. Until mid 2010, members Lina, Dana, and Sunday have been appearing on the screen. They attended the annual SMTown concert, SMTown Live '10 in August and September. After the concerts, Dana and Sunday were cast in the musical "Rock of Ages" with SHINee's Onew and TRAX's Jay from the same company. In October, Dana was also cast in another musical, "The Three Musketeers". Stephanie has been going through rehab and recently recovered fully. She attended Korean Arts University and with the encouragement from the school, she auditioned for the Los Angeles Ballet. She stated in a interview that after she has completed the shows in the States with LAB, she will head back to Korea to continue on her singing career.

On November 24, Avex Entertainment, as well as SM Entertainment Japan, released a statement about the renewal of contracts of SM artists signed to Avex.^[13]

Dana once again tweeted to one of her fans that The Grace will start producing a new album and it is believed that the album will be released next year. Dana also stated that they will start their recording between December and January. One of the SM representatives revealed “Dana has been recording consistently all this while. However, details are yet to be confirmed on the group’s actual comeback.” ^[14]

2011

On January 27, SM Entertainment confirmed that the group was going to come back some time around April. Due to her ballet schedule, Stephanie won't be able to join the other girls for the release. It is presumed that the comeback will only consist of Sunday and Dana, since Lina has stated that she wants to focus on her acting career.^[15] Stephanie and Lina will be joining their group's activities after they culminate their individual activities.

On June 27, SM Entertainment has confirmed, "CSJH will be undergoing a new project for their comeback in the beginning of July. Please look forward to their new image.” CSJH The Grace were rumoured to be making their comeback on July 13 with a song called “V.I.P".

However, on July 4, SM Entertainment announced The Grace would come back as a duo sub-unit - CSJH - Dana & Sunday. In fact, they released a digital single named "나 좀 봐줘 (One More Chance)" on July 11. The first comeback stage was on KBS music program Music Bank on July 8.^[16]

SM confirmed again in a news that the group might have a comeback together with Lina and Stephanie by end of 2011. The date however is unconfirmed.

Discography

Further information: The Grace discography

Korean studio albums 2007: 한번 더, OK? (One More Time, OK?)

Japanese studio albums 2007: Graceful 4 2009: Dear…

Tours

Japan Nationwide Tours 2008: Graceful Party Vol. 1 2009: Tenjochiki 1st Live Tour 2009 ~Dear...~

Tours with SM Town Artists 2007: 2007 SMTown Summer Concert 2008: SMTown Live '08 2010: SMTown Live '10 World Tour

Awards

Years	Awards
2005	12th Annual Korea Entertainment Arts Awards : Best Female Group 3rd South-East Music Ceremony : Best Foreign Singer Group
2006	13th Annual Korea Entertainment Arts Awards : Hallyu All Star Award
2007	14th Annual Korea Entertainment Arts Awards : Best Female Group M.net Asian Music Awards : Best Dance Music

External links

• Official Korean Website (Korean)
• Official Korean Website (CSJH - Dana and Sunday) (Korean)
• Official Japanese Website (Japanese)

References

1. ^ Daum 천상지희, '천상지희 더 그레이스'로 개명
2. ^ 11월 가요음반 판매량집계
3. ^ (Korean) Yahoo! News Korea. 천상지희 더 그레이스, 섹시 업그레이드로 컴백. April 24, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
4. ^ Gamespot Korea. 천상지희 더 그레이스 파격 변신 티저 영상 눈길. April 24, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
5. ^ Recording industry association Korea 2007. 5 월 - 가요음반 판매량
6. ^ Avex Taiwan 天上智喜 再一次，OK？
7. ^ Newsen.com 천상지희 신곡 ‘한번더 OK?’ 노랫말 19금 도마 올랐다
8. ^ Oricon Graceful 4 Oricon Page
9. ^ 天上智喜 1st LIVE 2008 〜Graceful 4〜（仮）
10. ^ Oricon 天上智喜 Dear... Oricon Page
11. ^ Subaru Official Website Sukoshi De Ii Kara and Coming To You are featured in the Subaru Soundtrack
12. ^ Subaru Official Website Subaru trailer featuring Stephanie
13. ^ http://www.avex.co.jp/html/upload_file/top_01/7860_2010112416081903_P01_.pdf
14. ^ Nate: 천상지희 3년만 컴백? 다나 "이번달 녹음"..기대↑
15. ^ Yahoo! News Korea: 천상지희, 오는 4월경 컴백 예고 '2인조 혹은 3인조?'
16. ^ http://www.allkpop.com/2011/07/csjh-to-comeback-as-a-duo-csjh-dana-sunday