SHINee (pronounced like the word ‘shiny’) are a five-member male idol group that debuted under SM Entertainment in 2008. So far the group has released four Korean and three Japanese albums. The members are Onew (leader), Jonghyun, Minho, Key and Taemin.
SHINee’s music usually fits in with the electronica pop genre, with their sound always having a rather experimental element to it, which has been shown a lot more in their recent releases. The group have been known since the beginning as being hugely influential on the fashion scene, having always been quite adventurous with their style and often being labelled as ‘trendsetters’. As with many idol groups, they have grown and matured in the limelight both physically and musically. Evolving from the cute youngsters trying to catch their noona’s attention in ‘Replay’, through to serenading their ‘Dream Girl’ and then showing a much manlier image in the likes of ‘View’ and ‘Married to the Music’.
As well as a great amount of success in their native Korea, the group has consistently worked in neighbouring Japan since 2011, releasing both original Japanese tracks and Japanese versions of their Korean songs. They have held multiple concert tours in both countries, as well as a small concert in London!
SHINee are also known for their very inventive choreography that usually involves a high level of synchronisation and complexity in the moves. A lot of their dances show off a creative and fun side as well as an intertwining teamwork that many other K-Pop groups would be hard pushed to recreate. The group show a confidence in their performances that reassures fans (A.K.A SHAWOLs) that they are always ready to bring their best to the table.
As with many idols, they have made a few appearances on Korean variety programmes which allow viewers to see a snippet of their individual personalities. From the earlier days of their appearance on ‘Hello Baby’ to Taemin and Key’s partaking in ‘We Got Married’ and ‘We Got Married Global Edition’ in which they were paired with APink’s Na Eun and the Japanese model Arisa Yagi respectively.
All the members have also embarked upon various individual activities. Leader Onew has starred in musicals such as ‘Rock of Ages’ and Minho was a fixed member of the athletics show ‘Dream Team’. Key has worked as part of a duo called Toheart with Infinite member Woohyun and both Jonghyun and Taemin recently made their own solo debuts.
It seems that, as time goes on, SHINee are becoming increasingly daring with their concepts, often embracing a high level of surrealism in their visual work and experimenting with interesting sounds – making them difficult to tie down to any one genre fully. They are a group that always seem to jump in headfirst with their endeavours, having taken part in an inordinate amount of activity throughout their 7 year career so far.
Whether you are a fan of the group of not, it is easy to see that SHINee are not afraid to do something different and break that typical K-Pop idol group mould, and it is perhaps this that makes their comebacks some of the most highly anticipated there is.
Let us know if you’re a fan of SHINee!
Here is a selection of their MVs:
‘Replay’
‘A.MI.GO’
‘Lucifer’
‘Ring Ding Dong’
‘Sherlock’
‘Everybody’
‘Married to the Music’
