Music / Idols

SB Exchange #1: SHINee

Written by Gaya On December 21, 2011

Gaya here: new SB staff member and new K-pop fan to boot.

I discovered it like a lot of other new fans: through the internet. There I was, on a cold June day in 2011 (I live in Australia) on some random forum and someone posts a link with nothing more than a “hey, watch this!” Figuring I had nothing better to do, I clicked on this link and watched for the first time the performance version of SNSD’s Run Devil Run. I absolutely loved it: the dancing, the black and white sets, the brass section that kicked in at the chorus…though at one point I did ask my laptop in confusion/frustration just how many more people were going to be singing in this song.

That music video was soon followed by some more. I may have watched Hoot more times than I care to admit (I found ‘Choi Si Won‘ gorgeous, though I preferred the store clerk in Gee), but my interest was more on the casual side, and I was pretty certain that after a while I would just close that Youtube window and go back to the rest of my life, with nothing more than a tale to tell my friends about some pretty Asian girls who sang pretty songs.

And then I saw Lucifer.

I don’t know how to explain why I love this song so much; all I can say is that the first time I watched the music video, it felt like I was standing in front of a gale-force wind. One massive, one-note blast of music (and the discovery that the hot rapper dude and the cute store clerk were the one and the same) and I was hooked. Every new thing I discovered about K-Pop can be traced back to SHINee: music shows, variety shows (I’ve seen SHINee Hello Baby, of course), J-pop (this was more a rediscovery), K-Dramas — heck, even Seoulbeats — in six degrees or less.

Some of you may not be as enamored with SHINee as I am, but I’m sure everyone feels the same way. Everyone has experienced some kind of pull, something that attracted them to K-pop, be it a band, a song, a specific person in the industry. Anything. At first, it’s just that one thing, but then you start to branch out, and discover new and different things, and learn to see things that you thought you knew in a different light.

And I guess that’s how this segment got started: Seoulbeats Exchange is basically my effort to learn more about K-pop and to become a more informed fan. I pick a band I’m curious about and interrogate the senior SB writers (my fandom sunbaes, if you will) about them in order to augment my knowledge and thus create a more clued-up view of them in the context of the K-pop scene, which we share with you, and hopefully help inform some other newer fans to K-pop like myself.

And thus the first group of this week is SHINee.

SHINee seems to me a band blessed with talent: they have a high vocalist-to-member ratio, they specialize in complex choreography, and have amassed a large global fanbase. But what do my more senior K-pop fans make of them? I put forth my questions to Ree, Megan and Patricia:

Do you think SHINee will ever be able to shed the noona-bait image?

Ree: In some sense, I think SHINee already has. I think I’ve said this before, but the material SM has given SHINee (A.Mi.Go, Ring Ding Dong, Lucifer ect.) aren’t very… noona-bait to me. I think it’s the fans, and it’s some of their drives to continuously see the SHINee members (specifically Taemin) as young boys that’s really holding them back. There’s also the fact SHINee became about image and gimmick much too quickly. The noona-bait image SHINee has isn’t being fed by their company any more, but it’s something fans/public continuously push on them. So really it’s up to the fans and the public, I think you need to give them a few years… Or kick Taemin out of the group (I kid, I kid).

Megan:That depends entirely on whether or not Taemin loses his baby fat sometimes within a few years. For the most part, they’ve shed it, but every so often the stylists just default to the pastels when they can’t come up with anything better. It looks terrible, but I guess that’s what comes of creative exhaustion. That’s hardly an exclusively SHINee phenomenon, though. The Suju members are way past the teen years, yet sometimes they’ll also default to the fetal look.

Patricia: Well, Taemin’s legal now, so I don’t know how much their noona-bait image is still worth. In my opinion, SHINee’s noona-bait image was long gone by the time “Ring Ding Dong” was released, and they haven’t looked back since; even the Japanese remake of “Noona Neomu Yeppeo” was done in a more mature style compared to the original. Now, one has to wonder how SHINee will feel about performing “Noona Neomu Yeppeo” at their concerts when they’re 30.

Honestly speaking, SHINee’s noona pandering during their debut was a little bit offputting, but it was marketing genius and it played a huge part in building this current trend where more and more kids are debuting in their early teens. And that in itself could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing…but one thing’s for sure: there are plenty of new rookie groups out there boasting average ages between 14 and 16 that would probably be more worthy of the noona-bait title. From my observations, many of the ‘noona’ fans have moved onto Boyfriend, B1A4, and other rainbow-spitting boy groups, while SHINee’s current fanbase are around the same age as the members themselves – late teens, early twenties. In that sense, it’s almost as if SHINee is growing up with their fans, and I think that concept is a lot easier to stomach than the noona-bait idea.

Jonghyun was recently voted the number 1 idol among the Korean gay population (le gasp: a poll Jaejoong DIDN’T WIN). What would you say is his appeal to this audience?

Ree: Jonghyun’s appeal… well he has a lot of appeal. I’m in the minority that loves him and his over singing ways, he’s also a good talker (too much of a talker depending on how you look at it). But I really can’t see how he’s more appealing to the LGBT audience more so than anyone else. (On another note though, Korea acknowledging their gay population? Say what?)

Megan:I think Jonghyun is like the sexiest dude alive, so hell yeah I think he has appeal. He’s one of a grand total of three dudes in K-pop that I find legitimately attractive. His voice is gorgeous, his face is gorgeous…I could go on and on. As far as appeal to the gay community goes….well, as far as persona goes, he comes off as a liberal sort of fellow, not to mention comfortable and fluid in his sexuality. I could see how people might pick up on that and appreciate it, and perhaps find it refreshing, especially in a culture that generally restrictive on the concept of sex, sexuality, and sex appeal.

Patricia: I think you’d have to ask a gay man if you’re looking for a response to that question that reaches beyond speculation. But Jonghyun does have a lot of fanboys, gay and straight alike, and I think there’s something appealing about him that exceeds the scope of hormonal fangirlism. He’s not the best-looking guy in the bunch, but he has a lot of charisma both on and off the stage and he comes across as being very genuine and sincere. He’s got a real obvious passion for music and a life apart from idoldom, which I find to be very admirable. Generally speaking, I think Jonghyun is a really likable person amongst people of all genders and sexualities, and the fact that he was voted the most popular idol among the Korean gay population seems to just demonstrate the breadth of his appeal.

Do you know how we can get Key’s voice back to the way it was at debut?

Ree: This, I really have no idea. He sounds fine in the studio, but that’s a given, like everyone sounds fine in studio (except Yoochun these days it seems). He sounds especially beautiful on The First, and I was watching one of their live performances in Japan and he sounded decent enough. Then he comes back to Korea to do Hello and it’s… urgh. One of my friends told me that Key is just being a lazy singer, if that’s the case… I guess he should just stop being lazy? That being said, I actually hope it ISN’T lazy singing, because that’s horrendously unprofessional and at the moment I like Key quite a lot (second favourite after Onew), and I don’t really want to not like him.

Megan: Give him more time in the spotlight, so he’s forced to practice more. Ever since Taemin and Minho picked up their slack, SM has been letting Key sort of languish. He’ll shake his booty to girl group dances, but his parts in SHINee’s songs have definitely been pared down quite a bit from what they used to be. No wonder he’s getting rusty! There’s no opportunity for him to do anything.

Patricia: I wish. I don’t think Key was an amazing singer even when he debuted, but he certainly didn’t suck as badly as he does now. His live performances remind me of Rihanna…and that’s a cause for concern. Key comes across to me as being a very unfocused singer, and he seems to be more interested in creating a performance than demonstrating his skill. He’s done a really great job of the former in the past two years or so (no one does Ke$ha quite like this kid), and I think he’s realized that performance really is his niche, but in doing so, he’s lost focus on training his vocal abilities and other basic skills. I think it’d be really great if he spent some time practicing some songs that fit his voice rather than his personality. Key’s passion seems to lie more in entertainment than in music, but he needs to know that skill is just as important as execution.

SHINee’s performance at the Kpop Masters in Las Vegas was criticised by some for being too ~~robotronic~~ robotic; but considering SHINee hasn’t released any original ~~Korean~~ material for more than a year, some staleness would not be unexpected. Any suggestions on how they could spice up their performances to make them more interesting for themselves as well as the audience?

Ree: I’m going to go ahead and say I don’t see anything… wrong with their performances. Then again, I follow KARA, so just being able to hold a tune live is 1000+ for me. But I think what they could do is loosen up a bit, have some fun, some audience interaction would be good too. For me, the best performer amongst them is Jonghyun, and I think that’s because he lets go and he’s so into his singing it’s like… dude whoa. Other than that, the easiest way to spice up a performance is to play around with the stage production and/or remix the song. SHINee can be as into a performance as much as they want, but seeing the same song performed over and over again is going to get a tad tedious no matter what. So really, the simple and first thing to do is play around with the stage production and the song. Like that Lucifer live with TRAX playing with them was one of my favourites of all time. Bring that back! And put Jonghyun back in that cage. Heck, put all of them in cages! Give Taemin a whip again and– okay, you get what I mean.

Megan: They need to let SHINee cut loose as performers a bit if they want them to be interesting. They all look caged in, like they could put on a hell of a show but are too restricted by choreographers orders or fear of screwing up or whatever. Perhaps they could take a cue from Jonghyun, like Ree said. The man is just letting it all out there when he sings. He might be ripping his vocal chords, sure, but he’s putting every ounce of his being into it. In other words: cut back on the polish. Do some improv bits, change up the routine, don’t be afraid to interact with the crowd.

Patricia: SHINee has been robotic since the very beginning. Their greatest appeal was the fact that everything they did was perfect and mechanical. SHINee did a dance cover of Usher’s ”Run It” back when they first debuted and the performance in itself was completely void of emotion, but it blew people away simply because of how precise it was. Frankly speaking, debut-era SHINee was completely robotic, completely ‘spice-less,’ but completely un-stale because of how sharp they were.

Since then, however, SHINee’s lost their edge and their performance precision has gone way down, and the fact that the majority of the members aren’t engaging performers makes the entire group come across as being rather stale and boring. After their popularity started rising, SHINee began investing more time in the variety circuit rather than their performance — and in this K-pop day and age, one has to stay in the variety circuit in order to continue one’s idol career. But the cost of this came at their performance quality. I think SHINee hit rock bottom around early 2011, and it wasn’t until they went to Japan that their performance skill started to regenerate itself. Why? Because all they did in Japan was practice. There were no variety shows to prepare for, no acting gigs, none of that “idol” stuff SHINee had to deal with while they were in Korea. SHINee hasn’t done a ton of performances on Japanese TV, but the ones they have done show overwhelming improvement from their late 2010/early 2011 performances in Korea.

I don’t think SHINee can or should “add” anything to their performances apart from sheer skill and practice — as a group, SHINee just doesn’t have that kind of natural charisma and any attempts to replicate it would come across as being fake and gimmicky. What SHINee can do, however, is pull off performances that are ridiculously in-sync — and if they can regain that kind of performance skill, then I can guarantee you their performances will be that much more exciting to watch.

Say something nice about Choi Minho!

Ree: He’s really competitive I guess? And good looking. He’s also bros with Donghae, Kyuhyun, and Changmin, so maybe awesome/talent by association?

Megan: He’s incredibly earnest. Whatever he does, whether it be singing or dancing or MCing, even if he isn’t the best at it, he’s definitely trying to be the best, instead of getting all complacent. You can see it in his eyes, he’s trying so hard, sometimes.

Patricia: This question is really hard to answer…and Minho is my favorite member. What do you say about a tall, gangly kid who seems to have no passions apart from winning? Oh, right — he’s good with kids.

Sum SHINee up in one sentence:

Ree: SHINee is very talented, but as a group they’ve been pretty much stagnant since debut despite individual improvement.

Megan: Talented but completely mis-marketed.

Patricia: They were perfect before the K-pop Machine ruined them.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - -

SM artists are commonly labelled as being too perfect and automated, and SHINee is no exception. As for their charm on stage, I like to think of SHINee as being like a Christopher Nolan film: technically flawless, but missing a little something in the emotion department. I’m thinking that this is something that will come to them with more experience, both on and off-stage.

Overall, it seems that SHINee is a talented group with real potential, and that their shtick should be more along the lines of being a highly skilled unit that relies on its talents for its success rather than wearing pastel denim — and it’s only when they (and SM) realize this that SHINee can grow to the level where they can actually realize their aforementioned potential.

What do you guys think about SHINee?

(dkpopnews)

TAGS: B1A4, Boyfriend, Jaejoong, Jonghyun, Key, Minho, Onew, Seoulbeats Exchange, SHINee, SM Entertainment, SNSD, Super Junior, Taemin

http://twitter.com/Eclipse_9 Eclipse

SHINee > everything else
Anonymous

Well, I wasn’t really interested to them at first. A bunch of SM kids dancing and singing? Sounds familiar. I didn’t even give their singing a chance, although I did admit that Replay is really a nice song (minus the noona part).

But then out of the blue, I watched their Hello Baby, and it felt like someone just smacked my head.

SHINee is not a perfect group (well, is there any?). If I want to put it in my own definition, SHINee is like a parcel. Filled with lots of assorted sweets that can cater to many people. Each have their own flavor, but none can stand out when they’re being presented individually. Together though, they are a very pretty decorated parcel.
Anonymous

Why does Ree hate Yoochun so much?
She might as well be the head of his anti fan club

She always brings him up even when its an article about another group, and if she needs to thrown a barb at an idol its always yoochun

I agree that his voice has deteriorated compared to before but he still sounds pretty good to me

anybody that follows this blog consistently would assume that he sounds like absolute crap if they didnt actually know anything about TVXQ/JYJ

Anonymous

oh and to anyone who doesnt know
Yoochun is the one in the grey coat

Let me know if he makes your ears bleed just like he always does Rees, “these days”
*sigh*

Video is from 2011.
maldita

Well, compared to a lot of current idols, Yoochun still undoubtedly outsings them. Sure, he has his moments, just like in the video, but compared to how he good he WAS though, current Yoochun sounds like crap. Even back during their “Mirotic” days, Yoochun’s voice has already noticeably deteriorated. People have their own opinions. :)

Revolutions1234

Really?? I didn’t notice, maybe I’m not observant enough. I dunno, I always thought that though YC sounds so-so in studios his (and JYJ’s) LIVEs are always much nicer to listen to and his voice seems to sound better LIVE imo. :/ I dk, maybe cause during LIVEs I pay more attn to Jaejoong that’s why I didn’t notice the deterioration or smth :/

http://twitter.com/nowheregirl1993 Fatouma

As much as I adore Yoochun as much as the next Cassie, The deteritoration of Micky’s voice seems to be more and more noticeable when he’s singing only with Junsu and Jaejoong. That latter were the best singers, along with Changmin (when he stops screaming) of DBSK. Micky was one of them, but these past years, and songs, his voice hasn’t up to par. His voice is pretty good, but when you compare them with his past songs, it’s hard to go WTF happened to his voice? Although it is pretty random that she spoke about Yoochun, she has a right to say whatever she wants, even you don’t agree with it. I to myself became a rabid fangirl when I heard one of them, I can’t remember if it was Ree, pointing Micky’s loss of talent in one of the podcasts. But when you actually listen to a lot of DBSK’s music [which I have these past few months since I discovered them last year ;____;] Micky’s voice has gone south and it’s clear in the video that he seems to be having trouble controlling his voice. Maybe he’s going for a higher range to keep up with Jaejoongie and Junsu, or maybe its his smoking habit, but Micky is losing his manly, deep voice.

But with that being said, maybe Micky’s voice is just developing, as it usually does a singer begins to age, and his smoking is just making it worse, but Micky really start practising and working on his voice again.

On a side-note, I’m still stinging about the Yunho-is-better-than-Micky comment on the podcast, ;_______; My Micky hasn’t gotten that bad, right? Just kidding, Yunho’s voice is great, when he isn’t trying to sing like he’s got a tube stuck up his nose. Please Yunho, honey, just forget about being a rapper and stick with singing and dancing your pants off.
http://colourmesplendid.wordpress.com Ree

Interested in this. Can you point me to what other articles I’ve had a go at Yoochun at when it wasn’t relevant? I genuinely do want to know, because I don’t want to be known as a Yoochun anti when I’m not.

But anyway, let me tell you a story, so maybe it’ll explain why I seem to take shots at him so much.

For a good few years Yoochun was my second favourite member of DBSK, and he was also one of my favourite people in K-Pop as a whole. His voice was my favourite in the group, tied with Junsu. Believe me, I had a lot of love for Yoochun. And honestly, when someone I did hold in such high regard regresses so badly, the disappointment I feel tends to show itself in other forms — like being mean to him whenever the chance arises. Another thing with his regression is that it’s self-inflicted because of his smoking, and I know other K-Pop idols smoke (i.e: Jaejoong, that dude in BEAST, ect), but I can’t believe that Yoochun doesn’t realise what a toll it has on his voice. And the fact he continues irks me a lot.

And really, he does have his moments. But as I was listening to In Heaven, I noticed that in certain album tracks his voice sounds completely horrid — and really, if it sounds bad recorded then… that’s a problem.

Gaya

wait, Jaejoong and Yoochun smoke??? Well, I guess this may explain Yoochun’s voice for me a bit, but Jaejoong? Seriously?
I need some time to digest this.

http://colourmesplendid.wordpress.com Ree

A whole lot of K-Pop idols smoke. That’s why they get worse over time. Half of SJ did (maybe still do), and the dude from BEAST, and I’m sure there are more. Heh.

Gaya

Well, I’m definitely learning more about k-pop…

http://twitter.com/nowheregirl1993 Fatouma

With Yoochun, I think he knows what he’s doing, smoking and otherwise, isn’t good for his voice nor his health. He has asthma for god sakes [Micky, Y U NO STOP SMOKING D: ] and he really needs to stop this filthy habit, for his voice and health’s sake. Imagine Jaejoong and Micky down the years if they continue to smoke, they’ll be hideous ;____; With that being said, it seems like Jaejoong and Junsu are noticing that there is something wrong Micky’s voice. For In Heaven, their songs seem more like a battle of voices between Junsu and Jaejoongie, with Yoochun stuck in the sidelines. He barely gets any lines, and they aren’t as good in comparsion to his old voice, or Jaejoong and Junsu’s voices.

But the things that bewilders me is how Jaejoong manages to keep his voice relatively the same, that boy is a smokehouse. But maybe it’s because Micky has asthma and that makes it worse for him.

http://colourmesplendid.wordpress.com Ree

It’s true, Jaejoong and Junsu are what’s holding In Heaven up, and Yoochun adds in the necessary line when he’s needed. And a lot of the times when they do give him lines, they give him lines that aren’t adapt for him — which is also a reason why he sounds horrible. Junsu and Jaejoong are both adapt enough to handle it, but Yoochun ends up caving. Honestly, JYJ really need to hire and someone to do their A&R, or else Yoochun is going to be heading down a sad, sad road.

I think it has something to do with asthma as well — and the fact Yoochun has been a slow degradation. Even before his horrific era he wasn’t the most stable of them when it came to live singing, and the smoking highlighted that weakness. Jaejoong on the other hand is a competitor for best singer in the band, he has a longer way to fall I guess.
RC

Even though I personally attribute Yoochun’s vocal deterioration to his smoking, I’ve also noticed that a lot of Broadway performers (I live in NYC so this is what I’m familiar with) smoke constantly and yet are able to maintain their voices. Seriously, walk past a random stage door before or during a show. Clearly there are other factors involved which explain why Jaejoong still sounds so good. As someone else further down brought up, I think Yoochun’s voice problems are emphasized by singing in ranges that are not suited to him.

Anonymous

I’m an elf,a cassie, a shawol, a sone, a shapley, etc by order.

When DBSK5 separated and JYJ released The Beginning with Ayy Girl as
their title song and DBSK (homin) released KYHD and made me sure that
DBSK without jaejoong,yoochun,&junsu is too not special (don’t get
me wrong,I love changmin&yunho,but there’s just no ‘wow’ factor to
me without jyj..again,this is just my opinion), I became a shawol more
than a cassie.

I think they’re talented and their songs are good,but they (or SM,idk
who to blame in this) just didn’t know where they’re heading to. Super
Junior, I have to admit, is a great entertainer,with every member great
with what he’s best at. DBSK5 got too much talent as an individual and a
group that they are able to pull off individual activities as strong as
their group activities. SNSD played everything well by their fans’
demands. So where are SHINee heading to?

I used to pity them when DBSK & Super Junior is on their peak years.
They look just like fillers. Fillers that got too much talent to waste.
Then SM decide to cultivate their entertainment skills by putting them
into Hello Baby, Minho in Dream Team&100 out of 100, Onew in
emcee-ing&musicals. Hello Baby is a success,but putting minho in a
variety show is a mistake,onew did fairly good in emcee-ing but not that
outstanding. He’s still someone that got attention from a pitiful image
showed in shows (which is not good for me anyways). But what is
Jonghyun doing at times?He got no individual activities,but I think
he’ll be funny on shows..

Then SM decide to pull them off from entertainment to be the successor
of DBSK5,in Japan,by putting them there full time (but still sending
them to Russia,London,etc). They’re not THAT focused on their promotions
in Japan (or maybe they just need some more time). Actually, I’m a bit
shocked/disappointed when their name showed up on KBS/MBC/SBS
end-of-year programme (don’t remember which one),what would they
perform?another RDD or Lucifer performance?they looked SUPER BORED when
they performed in in London and I don’t want any more disappointment. I
would love it if they perform ‘Better’ though,but I don’t think they
would perform it,since they don’t even have the korean version of it,and
it’s a ballad song.

As individuals,they’re good too,but still not THAT good. Jonghyun maybe
has strong vocals,but there are plenty that succeed over him,even in SM.
Onew too,and his entertainment skills are not that outstanding too. Key
got overall skill,but I can’t stop thinking of him as the ‘Sungmin’ of
SHINee,good at anything,but no particular skills,then got
forgotten.Taemin is a great dancer,but like Jonghyun&Onew,not THAT
good (or maybe he’s too young and still got time to improve and make a
name for himself). Minho…oh minho,he’s the reason I love SHINee at
first but now I always question his talent…no offence,but I really
expect him to have one field of talent,even his acting in Piano didn’t
touch me..

So after JYJ released In Heaven, DBSK took over SHINee’s place
again…and I’m not planning to change it again unless they already make
a distinction of what direction they’re heading to,and make a
distinction of who they are. Not just another boygroup by SM besides SJ
& DBSK. And I hope they do it fast,because there are too much
boygroup in korea, with young age also, as their title as Noona’s
beloved group also already snatched. SM’s going to release another
boygroup next year too, right?they have to step it up to make them as
the mighty boygroup sunbae of SM Ent.

oh this comment is getting too long.. and once again,this is just my
opinion,and I don’t intend to hurt anyone.they’re still my 3rd favourite
boygroup after all :)

Anonymous

I think one of the main reasons why SHINee is now seen as “middling” is their strong debut
Replay remains my favourite SHINee song

Jonghyun is very talented
So is Onew (my favourite member)
Taemin is a poor mans Jaejoong /except when he dances
Key has lots of wasted potential
Minho is just ….there

I still like SHINee (because of Hello Baby) and they’ve put out some songs i really like
I really dont like how they’re promoting in Japan, but their Korean comeback is going to make them or break them in the eyes of a lot of fans who have been feeling disenchanted with them as of late.

Anonymous

hmmm…I love Replay so much,but I like the Dance Version MV more and my favourite song from them is RDD…yes,Jonghyun is very talented,but sometimes he put too much effort/exaggerate it too much that it made me don’t like his performance that much. Onew is my favourite too, I love his voice in Better, andI hope he get more job in MC-ing (because he has potential to do it).

and I agree with you..their korean comeback (and when is that?please SM,make it fast before I forgot that there is SHINee on kpop world) will be their important step. So please, SM, no more crappy albums/concepts/outfits.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mren-Thirtythree/100003009725337 Mren Thirtythree

I’d first like to say thanks for an article like this. I’m also a fairly new kpop fan and I’m always interested in hearing what other fans have to say that have been around longer.
As for my thoughts on Shinee, they’re actually the first SM group that I had ever gotten interested in. My introduction to kpop was through the YG groups, so I found it a bit difficult to be interested in the SM style.
Lucifer and Ring Ding Dong were the songs that I found by Shinee, and I liked the edginess to their sound (I’m not a big fan of bubble-gum overload). I also really liked the Lucifer dance.
But as time passed, I started to get…..bored. I kept wanting to see them change up the choreography of Lucifer, even just a BIT, but with every new performance it was the very same thing. Even the boys themselves looked bored. By now, they can do all their dance performances without thinking, and that’s what they’re doing. Not thinking. Not engaging the audience.
I’m wanting to see what happens next with them. I’m wanting new songs and new performances. My hope is that I’ll see a spark of life and enjoyment from them on stage. I WANT to like them.

Gaya

Firstly, you’re welcome! The main audience for these articles are the newer K-pop fans, so it’s great to hear from you :)
Funnily I’m more familiar with the SM style, and do find it harder to get into YG artists… I guess it’s because I was exposed to more SM stuff at the beginning, and so I’m more comfortable with it. While I chose SHINee for the 1st SB Exchange, I want to look at other acts that I not as familiar with too- you learn all kinds of things from other fans that you won’t find on official news sites, or wikipedia, or even tvtropes. I hope you stick around for those!

Maddy

*le gasp* An article that isn’t on SNSD and it’s so well developed!?! [Taking a cue from Ree here; I kid, I kid =p]
This was a really engaging discussion and I thoroughly enjoyed everything pointed out. Poor Minho, people just raen’t ready to cut him some slack. lol
Personally I think Shinee have some catch songs, they seem talented, really good at variety shows and al that jazz, but I’ve never been able to follow them K-Pop style. Like watch subbed videos of them on variety shows, check behind the scenes, concert performances over the usual etc. I think that primarily comes from their image and ‘looks’. Taemin is actually younger than me by almost a full year and the rest of the members have always had a very young appeal too. I think it’s an ingrained North American tendency, but I like my men a little tougher in general. Shinee look like such flower boys and that’s always pushed me away from them for some reason. It was actually 2PM that got into K-Pop, then I found DBSK (post Merotic, lawsuit, all that jazz). I tend to incline towards the older groups or groups like 2PM which isn’t a good thing if you look at the way K-Pop works (The Boyfriend twins really creep me out. THEIR EYES! What is that!?! Poor kids, but I can’t help but run from them). 2PM have a really manly image on stage which goes down the drain because they’re really adorakable behind the scenes. lol
But anyways, welcome to K-Pop. Seoulbeats is a good network to explore K-Pop through. It’ll keep you very grounded to the good, the bad and the ugly.
http://twitter.com/nowheregirl1993 Fatouma

There’s no doubt that there is talent in Shinee, I think that they have each of their own respective talent [Jonghyun&Key with singing, Taemin with dancing, Onew with singing again, and MinHo with being pretty] showcased in each of their song, they could make as the biggest acts in Korea, and actually deserve that title. I loved Replay, and it really made me excited for the new talent that SM had to offer. But when they came out with dull, repetitive catchy songs like Lucifier, Hello, and the god-awful Ring Ding Dong. It seems like Shinee is just another casualty of poor SM management, as we have seen with SNSD, F(x), and Suju. Each of these groups have their decent share of talent, and when given good songs, with good production, and concepts, they can be really amazing musically.

The latter can be related with to the former DBSK. As much as I love O Jung Ban Hap, Mirotic, etc, but when I compare DBSK’s Korean songs to Japanese songs, I was really shocked at the difference in how the songs sounded, written, and produced. They were amazing and I’m sure it definitely help boost DBSK’s popularity in Japan, when they stopped translating their Korean songs, and started making wonderful Japanese songs. I don’t know if its because Avex made their own songs for DBSK, or rather Tohoshinki, or SM had a different approach for them in Japan, or anything else.

But SM has copious talents, and when they are showcased properly, they can make really beautiful music, and their eye-candy can help make their idols easier to fall in love with. But alas, SM really seems bent on letting their groups’ talents go to
waste and keep them as manufactured as possible, so they still can make a
quick buck. SM’s in it for the money, and with the current state of kPop now, I think the easiest way to get rich is to hash out easy to listen to, catchy, but dreadful music, because let’s face it, all SM’s groups have strong fanbases (f[x] maybe not so much] and many of these fanbases have their share of deranged, albeit ignorant fans, and will buy anything with their favourite idols’ faces on it. What is sad is that these are the types of fans companies love, since they’ll be willing to spend copious amounts of money on their idols, even if what they were selling was a sex tape =.=
kasoo

Like everyone said, Shinee is well-damn freakin talented boyband, but they (SM & whoever the market conseptor is..) have LOST the direction in their concept, song, etc..

Their debut concept is the best start they ever had. with some of RnB style, slick choreography, good songs, great harmonization, talented members and the “Contemporary Band” tagline, it’s make their concept is so FULLY Prepared.. But then after that, here’s come the Kpop Machine Ruiner.. with the rising of their popularity of course SM wants to utilized their asset with 100% force and it means a HALF Prepared comeback concept with one FULL variety schedule.. it made their development as a performer was decreased until now..

For me, the real problem of their development direction is come from the “Contemporary Band” concept.. because of that contemporary stamp, their direction of concept is going everywhere. they try every genre, style, fashion, songs, and everything, because they think contemporary means they can fit and change with every single concept that were thrown to them.. It’s not that Ring Ding Dong, and Lucifer is miss-concept for them (Lucifer by far is the 2nd best concept for Shinee imo), but it make Shinee doesn’t really have a one fully line direction for their future development concept.. and it make me cannot picturing what will their concept when they’re on their peek?? still being the contemporary one with another “quirky” concept?? i think now the fans of Kpop is not really interesting with the “quirky” style of the boyband anymore..

The everywhere direction concept is also shown in their promotion in Japan.. The Disaster Fashion of Lucifer and The First everyone?? It’s just a shame that SM promoted them as a cute, flower boy, bubbly boyband again when Shinee debuted in Japan.. They debuted in japan after the Lucifer-era, so it’s like a throw back for their growing development concept.. After they make step-by-step from Boy to Man growing concept with Juliette, Ring Ding Dong, and Lucifer, they have to gooooo back to their Replay era when they are the cutie pie boys with the innocent smile.. such a waste..

So, in my opinion, if Shinee want to get their peek position in the Kpop Industry, i think they should have one FULLY Brand New concept for their future direction (no, not the contemporary one) to make them shining with all the talents they have in store.. if DBSK have their Manly direction of concept , SNSD with their “Oppa”, and Suju with their All Around Entertainer concept, Shinee should have one fully direction concept who will bring them to their peek of their career..

Ilovemandoo

Agreed. I have so many qualms about the “contemporary band” thing that I don’t know even know where to start. First of all, can I just say that it’s so hard to always be on the “cutting edge” of anything?

Second of all, I feel like what SM really wants (money, popularity) is conflicting with the contemporary band concept. SM has many popular mainstream artists, but it’s quite hard to accomplish this (being popular in a mainstream way) while still being ‘quirky’ or ‘contemporary.’ Take SNSD for example. They’re one of the most popular artists in Korea right now, but with the exception of The Boys, they’re generally packaged in a very generic way. They have the same uniforms.. A catchy song meant to do well.. Nice choreo, etc.

SHINee started off strong when they debuted primarily because they had an R&B-inspired song that brought flavor to the kpop industry. It’s not the cookie-cutter, generic kpop song meant to do well (like Ring Ding Dong.. I’m sorry to say). Replay is contemporary being done well because it had something new to offer. The sad thing is there are a lot of songs on SHINee’s albums that would be quirky yet still appealing, yet SM has been choosing the generic songs that they think will be hits. And then they add some kind of weird, often unflattering fashion that is meant to make them seem contemporary when they’re doing the generic stuff a lot of other people are doing. My point is that SM needs to choose between contemporary or mainstream. Their albums are still fresh and have their own SHINee flavor to them, yet their singles don’t reflect that at all. They should choose one and not half-ass it, instead of swinging SHINee here and there.

Also, though Kasoo has a point, I don’t think they necessarily have to ditch the contemporary band thing completely. It’s cool if SM wants them to be unique, but they need to do it in the right ways by focusing more on the substance.

The other problem I see with SHINee (in recent years) mainly has to do with SM. SM lately is so uninspired. Their singles (apart from The Boys) have all sounded the same lately (Bonamana, Mr. Simple, Lucifer, Hurricane Venus). Even visually, they’re very uninspired. Their music videos all seem similar to me–the nice choreo, the slow-mo camera (which has been overused in my opinion), the obvious overuse of the same sets and costumes. SHINee has the talent, but SM is being lazy and not giving them material.

Another thing (that’s unrelated to kasoo’s comment) that I want to address is their performances. As a fan, this may be my protective nature coming out, but I feel bad for SHINee when people criticize their performances especially because they’ve been singing the same song for over a year LOL. As it was addressed in this post, it’s inevitable that it seems a little stale by now, especially if they don’t mix it up. In addition, they were incredibly overworked, which definitely hurt their performances (remember Jonghyun’s voice cracks?). However, despite these challenges, they have always remained professional and are still consistently great live. I do concede that sometimes they need to work on the emotional aspect of performances, but I have no trouble with that when they’re doing covers, etc. so I think that it partly has to do with the material.

Lastly, I said all of this as a huge SHINee fan, and it pained my heart to say some of this stuff. But these are real problems that I think should be addressed if they’re going to further their careers. Hopefully, SM does address these things and their next comeback kicks ass.

Ally

Gaya are you an SMTown stan by chance??? Just curious because most of your references are of sm artists.

Honestly, I used to really LOVE Shinee tbh… until they went away and I was forced to open my eyes pay attention to other idols and then start to see Shinee in a different (more real) light. Now I definitely prefer Miss A and Infinite… and although they are not perfect, I feel as though the group dynamic as highlighted in this article is so much stronger than it is with Shinee which I never really noticed about shinee until I stopped paying attention to them, which is also why although they may leave for a period of time I think I’ll be more inclined to stay interested.

The thing is Shinee is in fact genuinely talented, and coming from SM definitely has it’s advantages like automatically having stans and being marketed and promoted as such that people will identify with you in a certain way or see you in a certain light. But imo, that’s part of the problem, SM has so much power and control over these boys that you begin to question what’s real with them… even their interviews and personalities are scripted to some degree (Minho was NEVER the shy type… have you seen this boys pre-debut pics, Onew is more care-free and serious minded than a clumsy airhead and Taemin so obviously wants to grow up). Sometimes it’s a bit sad because you can catch those rare moments of the boys when they say something or do something honest and what they tell you is unexpected or something you felt better off not knowing to some degree… like Taemin constantly saying that he feels lonely and just recently that he wants to have same aged friends with other idols, Onew is a really heavy drinker and was part of an sm depressed support group, Key said he considers them as coworkers…

I really respect shinee, and I think that if they were given the chance to live an idol life a little less restricted and more trusted, that we would see a 180 degree change in these boys tbh. They might feel more motivated and look a bit happier on stage (Minho looks like he’s attending his own funeral sometimes). They might also find that missing charisma because imo, SM helps them in this regard… looks and soundwise, they really aren’t better looking or sounding than any other group out there (especially since Japan promotions)- They remind me of the older version of Teen Top tbh. I like Teen Top btw and think C.A.P. is hot so I’m not saying that to be a hater, only to emphasize a point. (wtf were their companies thinking giving them those names though, were they wanting their groups to have a small shelf life?)

So lastly for the Shinee members individually… I think Taemin needs to gain confidence in himself and develop his voice because it’s gorgeous (sounds like Jaejoong with a hint of Jonghyun), Jonghyun needs to stop oversinging and trying to outshine his members (he will have no voice left and he sounds a bit much live because of it) Onew to gain happiness and be himself a bit more- his voice is just perfect imo, Key to find himself and to stop being insecure and start caring, Minho to stop rapping and let Onew and Taemin replace him since they are actually good and sing a bit more since he’s not terrible, he’s a nice boy I like his personality.
Anonymous

Shinee: They are brilliant at harmonisations and what really REALLY annoys me is that they are giving them alll this electro-pop shit and whereas it’s catchy, it does start to grate on me and the odd moments where it doesn’t, I really think they are the best harmonisers on the SM scene without 5 member DBSK on the scene.
http://twitter.com/polinchka polinchka

Is it bad to say that I love how every article that mentions JYJ/TVXQ but is not related to them has a massive response thread that is amusing to read? Okay, Cassie fangirl moment over.

Okay, maybe not over. I got into Kpop because of Yoochun. Go figure, because of SKKS. So yeah, at first, he was my favorite…only after discovering Love in the Ice which is still my ringtone. Anyways, I like him the least out of DBSK(5) now. Oh well.

SHINee, however, took me forever to start to like. Oh, I was blown away by Lucifer and I adore the choreography but there was something that I found offputting about SHINee for a long time. I listened to Hello, Lucifer, and Ring Ding Dong and besides the -ic lyrics which REALLY get my nerves so I can’t listen to Ring Ding Dong much, I thought they were great. My problem is that listening to every other song that were not promoted…I disliked most of them. Somehow, I had missed Replay so when I found it recently, it became my new favorite song. I’m desperate for new good music. Little is released Year End except Christmas stuff so SJ releasing Oppa Oppa made my month. Anyways, SHINee, yeah. I still can’t get into them. I am no Shawol even though by my own standards, as I like what they do and they are HIGHLY talented, I just can’t get into them. I didn’t realized quite what it was until I read this article, actually. I think you guys nailed it. They are robotic in performances and don’t interact with the audience. The only one who does any flairs or improve is Jonghyun and when he does, I LOVE it. Everyone else…is in a mold that they don’t try to escape. I like when artists interact with the audience or at least do adlibs that improve the song (why I love DBSK/JYJ so damn much…they’re awesome live, better than recordings ._.) I wish SHINee would release another song like Replay (minus the noona parts XD) or another dance song in Korea. The First was a good album in total, as it is composed of their old Korean music mostly, but none of the new Japanese songs made it to my permanent playlist… I just feel like SHINee’s talents are being wasted. Their last release was around the time I got into kpop, when B2st was promoting Soom, and Beast blew them away with that song. I liked Hello but it didn’t fit their image, to me. For a group that has been around for 3 years? Yeah, they have not released enough songs, for me, to be as popular as they are, STILL. When they first debuted, totally understand why everyone went crazy about them, but now? It’s remnants of a glorious past… which is sad because they could still be powering through if they got new music.
cutiepie88

Look I adore Shinee really I do. I was very optimistic for this group. In a way, I really thought there were going to be like the next DBSK. I mean their debut to me was one of the best from SM in my opinion. But sometimes I think about when Shinee debuted around the time when Kpop was amazing and had groups like DBSK, WG, SNSD, SJ, BB etc… personally I think Shinee had a little bit of leeway because they were a part of SM a company with groups who have a large fanbase. So of course, performing at SM Town fans may have in the beginning did not come to watch them but it was almost like free publicity for them. Which in the beginning was beneficial to them as a starting point.
Therefore, they really did not have to work as hard to be popular but after 08 to me, they had to step up their game because I am sorry after 2009 Kpop had declined a lot in my eyes. The groups today (which are too many to count in the first place) do not capture my attention with the same spark like before with some exceptions. In addition, I felt that after replay SM was just having too many different concepts about Shinee and then before I know it their off to Japan and I was like…..wait a minute?
Shinee reminds me of that Britney Spears song “I’m not a girl, Not yet a woman” XD seriously I really feel like their stuck in limbo and part of that I do agree it’s some of fans not wanting Shinee to grow up but also sometimes I think SM don’t really know what to with them! And now SM is coming out with another boy group seriously! What about their other artists! It’s sad cause I really don’t want Shinee to get “kick to the curb”. Cause I really adore Shinee and I know a lot of people too I mean they even were voted for SBS MTV global act? (someone correct me if I’m wrong) which to me is very cool and lets me know that Shinee fans are still here.
Shinee as group DAEBAK but individually there is no spark I remember watching one interview of them and I remember thinking where is the charisma that I saw when they were performing. I mean boy if it’s by themselves with other people with a more dominant personality you forget their there if they don’t say anything. I just think they need some creative freedom in their career (some other SM talent as well) and maybe that why everything is so robotic cause they are being told what to do, say, sing, dance, and everything else. Wow this is long!! XD LOL!
RC

This article is really kind of cool. I’m also a new Kpop fan, started with DBSK Mirotic about 3 or 4 months ago. At first I was just really heavy into DBSK only, devouring hours of music performance and variety content, then oddly enough I branched over to Big Bang. Recently though I’ve picked up Beast and only just started listening to Shinee.

Shinee is new enough for me that I love Replay and adore Key’s girl group dances. But I have had some problems finding the next song/show/activity that suck me further into Shinee. Hello is nice, but I don’t like Ring Ding Dong and Lucifer annoys me after a while. I’ve also not really come across anything that showcases their individual personalities in a way that keeps me interested. And even though I’m in a similar situation with Beast, i.e. not particularly drawn to any of their personalities, I like a lot more of their music and so that gives them a bit of a bye.

I wonder if part of this new SB Exchange, you’ll deal with DBSK (and post split permutations) from the viewpoint of a new fan? Coz it’s clearly a very different animal emotionally and it seems hard to find discussion and analysis of their music pre/post split that doesn’t carry emotional baggage.

ebolajez

Watch SHINee’s Hello Baby! The series is up on YouTube. Its hilarious and their personalities really shine through.
Lovezain11

I thought it was funny that u started off with dbsk and then branched out to big bang because that was what happened to me. I have only been a real Kpop fan for a year. Before I really got into Kpop I was only into dbsk and their songs. Their Japanese song why did I fall in love with you was my favorite song ever. But then they split and at the time I was just getting into them. Then I saw lollipop with big bang and 2ne1 and fell in love with bigbang. I am still very much a follower of bigbang and other YG artists but I still enjoy other groups like Infinite, beast, super junior and ukiss. Shinee I never really got into though. I like some of their songs but nothing really attracts me to them.
Anon

i think it’ll be hard for seoulbeats to discuss former and present dbsk’s music, seeing as most writers on here are fans. even if they tried their best to talk objectively, some emotional baggage will still sneak in.
http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava

If you like all those boy groups you just mentioned I think you might like mblaq aswell, because all the groups you mentioned are up there on my list along with mblaq, they have awesome songs and are amazing in variety shows too ^_^

http://www.facebook.com/people/Sharon-Gomba/832004521 Sharon Gomba

The first kpop song’s I ever heard in the beginning of 2010 were DBSK – Hug and Balloons, Super Junior – Sorry Sorry I loved these song’s so much; so I got curious and started searching for other songs and I was hooked. Stumbled on BTS of SHINee’s Replay, the boy’s where so awkward during the interview, I just thought they were too young, didn’t pay attention but loved the song and added it to my growing list of fav kpop songs.

Because of Super Junior I got into watching a lot of variety shows, especially some of the older one’s, post 2009, before most of them got deleted on youtube. So I started to watch some of the newer stuff and actually watched Hello Baby first before Yunhanam. Because some of their music was played as BGM during the shows, it got me curious and I started listening to other tracks from their albums, instantly became a fan of their music.

I only realised that I’d become a fan of SHINee when I heard Lucifer was coming out and I became excited when the concept photo’s and album jackets started coming out. I found myself watching every live performance, interviews and variety show appearances as well as looking for information on fansites.

I think I’d only been a casual kpop fan until than and didn’t pay attention for long to any band. A lot of Shawols I’ve talked to say the same thing, that they got hooked on the music and slowly started liking the boys as well even if they’d dismissed them before. I thought I would have moved on by now, but I genuinely like the music they bring out and they are one of the few groups I willingly spend money on. I’m fascinated by their choreography and like watching them perform.

Maybe it’s because I follow them closely and have watched fancams of their numerous performances, I’ve noticed the major change their performance style from when they were rookies. Definitely more confident and comfortable on stage; slight deviations from choreography, engaging the fans. But I think this growth has deteriorated a bit in the last couple of months, it especially show’s when their tired as well as having to perform Lucifer and Hello repeatedly for over year. This is really noticeable when you watch their Japanese performances, where they seem more revitilised.

I guess I’ve never been bored with SHINee because I share my interest with other Shawols, we discus everything, their latest performances, interviews, the members etc. Plus I have other musical interests so my focus isn’t always on SHINee, I think when you put too much focus on one band to entertain you constantly, it’s hard to appreaciate why they became your favourite band in the first place. (That’s the advice I’d give to any fan.)

lol, I think I may have rambled on a bit but the cycle is starting again for me as a SHINee fan, with numerous hints and announcements that SHINee is preparing for an early 2012 comeback, anticipation is building.
Shante Payne

I’ve been saying this forever; SHINee needs 2 ditch SM and go 2 YG!
Anonymous

First of all, welcome to Seoulbeats, Gaya. I would have joined, but I don’t know if I’d be able to do the required article a day.

I think the problem with SHINee and other artists in SM is the interdependence they have on the company. I’m not saying they lack backbones and can’t think for themselves, but they rely on SM’s team to know what’s the right direction for them to go. All the artists in SM came in as fresh faced middle and high school students who just knew that they liked singing, dancing, and acting. They hadn’t figured out where their niches were and they were trained in everything and then given a role to fulfill, even if it wasn’t the best choice in the long run. Eventually after debut, they all started branching off and it was then that they discovered where their passions laid. Right now, the groups that have been around for more than a few years (SJ, SHINee, SNSD, TVX2, f(x) will join their ranks shortly) are all in a rut because they either know what they want to do now, or they’re in the process of figuring it out. But they need SM to figure it out as well.
The members of SNSD have stated that they find the songs they’re forced to sing nauseating. There are members who just aren’t cut out for singing and/or the style of music/choreography that SNSD is anchored to. Hyoyeon isn’t a singer. She’s a dancer, but the simplistic, dainty steps just doesn’t work for her. She’s like Jonghyun. She has to go all out and sometimes “all out” isn’t about being dainty. It’s about being rough and giving 110%. Taeyeon’s had crying fits because some songs she’s been given, she hates. Then we wonder why for all the talent she can show, she sings like a robot. I think Jessica is regretting her life decisions thus far and is realizing that this career isn’t for her. The other members have different tolerance levels. Some of them can handle the fetish like way they’re presented, but some are conservative and feel out of place and uncomfortable with the way they’re marketed to dirty, old ajjusi fans who’ve been perving them since their barely legal days. They lack unity as a group, but they’re not allowed to agree to disagree and compromise with SM.

For SHINee, Jonghyun… that man has passion. Sometimes he loses his voice, he has so much of it. Songs like Lucifer, Please Don’t Go, Obsession, Hot Times, Nothing Better… he needs songs where he can let loose, but can also reign him in so that he doesn’t need surgery for nodules. Key can shine in the presentation department and put on a good show, but he needs more passionate involvement if he’s going to give 100%. I don’t know Key’s vocal health, so I can’t call it lazy or a genuine issue that needs a throat specialist and vocal coach. If it is laziness, then it’s the same laziness that’s been plaguing SNSD. They’re bored of the puppet-on-a-string song and dance routine. They need to be given some area of control where they can feel proud of what they’re doing, knowing that the good results are their brain child(s) and not someone else’. Minho… they don’t know what to do with him. He’s competitive and he likes being able to prove himself capable. The problem with him is that he’s put into this brooding, silent persona and the rapper role as a way to reign that fire under his butt in. I guess they fear that if he gets too ambitious, he’ll pull a JYJ or will try to out sing Jonghyun and out dance Taemin? If they’d train him properly and let him sing more than that tiny little line in Hello, he could be a great asset to SHINee who’s full of Tenors and needs a manly little “umph” in the bass department. Onew has the same problem as Minho. The man’s serious and could have the potential to be a leader like G Dragon (The members of Big Bang are scared of him when they need to get down to business, but they respect him and he gets shit done when it needs to be.), but of course, SM doesn’t want ambition. They want docility and they don’t want Onew to be that intelligent. I’m willing to bet that if Jaejoong was the leader instead of Yunho, all 5 of DBSK could have been gone from SM. That’s the same vibe I feel at times with Onew. If he weren’t forced to be bubble brained, he could throw some kind of coup and raise hell if he desired. Taemin suffers what all stars and maknaes suffer. In Asian society, there’s a detachment between members of each demographic and a lot of it has to do with the age differences. In groups, this is seen where the younger half of a group suffer most with depression and loneliness. They no longer have their friends to talk to. They don’t have their family. All they have are these older people who may only see them as coworkers (ahem, Key, ahem) or they’re afraid of being seen as annoying little brothers who are pests. Daesung and Seungri had the same problems. It’ll be scary as hell, but Taemin’s going to have to be the aggressive one if he wants to make more true friends. He needs to build his self esteem if he’s going to show his full potential.

All these artists have some kind of talent somewhere, not always singing and dancing. The problem is in SM letting them grow and develop those talents and allowing them and the fans to transition in those directions in a way that’s not jarring. The groups were all marketed as pedo-bait and their intended audiences (sans SNSD) are too old to fall for that anymore. The audiences they have to cater to are around their age brackets and have grown with them. SHINee was going in the right direction at first, but it looks like SM is trying to recapture the first wave of audience members instead of capturing new ones. The same can be said for SNSD, Super Junior, etc. SM needs to help these artists in their transitions from being mere idols, because this generation of idols is moving on and becoming artists or are disappearing all together if they just can’t move on from the manufactured boy band/girl group to the next Brown Eyed Girls, Epik High, Clazziqai, etc. If they can’t move on and grow, then their careers are done, unless they manage to leave when the contracts are up and go to a smaller company or go indie. I don’t like every group SM churns out, but I do hope that they manage to make their idols something more and let them be more genuine in what they think, feel, sing, etc. They’re not robots. Robots are expected to be mechanical. Not singers.

Kliks

I like your analysis on each Shinee member a lot! And I definitely think/feel the same about Jaejoong being a better leader…
Youngji

FYI – we require two articles a week, not an article a day, so you can still join the team!
Maddy

I’m sorry, but I don’t think the 5 of them would have left even if Jaejoong had been the leader. I can see Yunho considering leaving more seriously, but definitely not Changmin. He clearly stated that he looked at staying with SM as the best decision for him after weighing his options, opportunities, room for growth as an ‘artist’ etc. And Yunho’s sense of loyalty to his company is too strong for me to see him going as far as filing a lawsuit. In hindsight if you look over there couple talks, or interviews and things like that, it makes complete sense why Yunho and Changmin did stay back. Even though they are ver different people, when it comes down to the big goals, values and their perception of what’s right and wrong, their answers were always very very similar. It actually makes a lot more sense even with all the details we’ll probably never find out as to why Homin did stay back. I’m not faulting JYJ for leaving because they had every right to file the lawsuit, but I can’t see Homin leaving.
I know your comment is primarily on Shinee, but I couldn’t resist stating my opinion on this. ^^
Anon

if you think yunho’s docile, then you’re wrong. there is a huge difference between being loyal and being docile, and yunho lands in the loyal end of the spectrum, not docile. and honestly, there is a reason why yunho was chosen as leader, and it’s not because he’s “docile” – it’s because he has the necessary diplomatic skills a leader needs. jaejoong doesn’t have that.

maldita

THIS. I’m sick of people always perceiving Yunho as SM’s lapdog or something just because he’s the leader who stayed. Honestly, when the lawsuit broke out, I wasn’t surprised Yunho and even Changmin stayed.
Anonymous

Company loyalty is definitely a good thing in such a cut throat business. Loyalty to your group and fans is a good thing, and so is knowing how to negotiate. Diplomacy and loyalty is all well and good, but I stand by what I said. Yunho screwed up royally as a leader. If all 5 agreed to split either way, okay. Nothing we can do about that. But he let 3 out of his 5 members leave while they were still under contract. That was not smart. If they were going to do it anyway, he can’t chain them to their dorms, but he could have said “Look, we know you’re not satisfied with the way things have been going, but just wait a couple more years until the contract expires so that you don’t open up a can of worms.” He couldn’t have not known about how they were feeling. If he claims he didn’t, I would call bullshit. There are just some things that one can’t not pick up on, and that’s whether or not your friends and coworkers are genuinely happy. There’s a time for diplomacy and there’s a time to put one’s foot down. We don’t know all the gritty details of what went on between Mirotic and the lawsuit, but something tells me that he didn’t fight hard enough to avoid such a mess happening like it did.

Anon

how is putting his foot down being a good leader? if anything, doing that would make him a bad one. if jyj were all set on leaving, there really is nothing he could do about it; jyj are three grown men, and one man (even if he is the ~leader~) trying to control three is impossible.

how did yunho “let” his members leave? jyj did not need his permission to do anything, and once again, one man cannot control three men’s will and free choice.

it’s funny, so many people blame yunho for “letting” jyj leave, but if it ever got out that yunho had impeded jyj’s free will, he would have been bashed anyway. it’s a catch-22 situation – damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t.

and fyi, 3/5 of h.o.t left after their contracts expired. they didn’t file a lawsuit in the middle of their contracts.

Anonymous

If these “leaders” can’t exercise some modicum of authority, then why the hell are there leaders in kpop groups? For the extra title? Putting one’s foot down doesn’t have to mean ‘It’s my way or the highway!’. It could mean ‘Slow down and think of the possible ramifications and outcomes, before you act.’ PR and managers can’t be there 24/7 to fix a problem and that’s where leaders are supposed to come in. What? If he does nothing, then he’s the innocent one and JYJ are the problem, but if he tries to bring logic and reason, then he’s Satan for making JYJ wait until a time where the law can’t come back to bite them in the ass? How does that make sense? How is that being a bad leader? That’s looking out for your friends and preventing what will already be a not so good outcome even worse than it needs to be.

Did you even read my comment? I already stated that if JYJ were going to leave, they were going to regardless. However, Yunho, being the ‘diplomat’ that he is, could have said “If you’re going to leave, then please consider doing it when the contract is up.” JYJ still get what they want: freedom, and if they want monetary compensation, they’ll talk to their lawyers. That way, they wouldn’t be breaching contract. I don’t blame JYJ for leaving if the working conditions were just so god-awful that they wouldn’t have survived another 2 years, but they could have waited and Yunho could have been the one to influence their decision to wait. Talking to them may not have made them stay until 2011, but at least he could say, ‘I tried.’ I find it interesting how ever since they split, no one, not JYJ or HoMin or even the press has brought up just what was going on behind closed doors as to why they just had to leave SM then and there. Yes, they didn’t get paid as much as they wanted/deserved. Yes, they didn’t get to have a life and free time. But, what after years of training and years together as a group from 2003 – 2009 finally made them snap aside from a shady contract? What made them after all that time finally look at it and question it’s legitimacy? That’s what I would like to know, but those (and this conversation) is a subject for a whole ‘nother article.
Boo

I think I read before that they had negotiations with SM but it didn’t work out. Idk. I’m sure that Yunho tried to l hold on to the other three. He is very loyal as you said and I’m sure it applies to his bandmates all the more. But when it comes to grown men, there is a limit to how much you can control their actions. Something must’ve happened. Maybe they fought. In their last few performances as a group, it was very tense. They probably did not see eye to eye and just grew apart.

Blah2341

If Yunho is the leader because he’s “diplomatic,” then what about the leaders of other SM groups? Everyone knows Leeteuk’s the biggest SM fanboy and I don’t think Taeyeon or Onew are confident talkers. Honestly, I think Yunho is docile. He might have a manly image or whatever, but he’s docile.

tegami

Their debut album, SHINee World, was their best. Excluding the intro – I love all of the songs in that album.

sigh~

It’d be so awesome if SHINee went back to their old style and ditched all that electro-pop noise…
http://twitter.com/ryzlbrmudz Rayzel Bermudez

I’m a new Kpop fan, I think it’s been two and a half months… and SHINee was my first love, although I didn’t like them so much at first. ‘Lucifer’ is definitely not a favourite of mine, but when I saw ‘Replay’ and watched them on Hello Baby, I was totally hooked ! I’ve branched out from SHINee since then, I know what you mean about their songs becoming a little stale (after listening to them like a thousand times) so I hope they release new songs soon.
bt

the only song i like from shinee is replay. even amigo started to sound annoying after a while, but
ever since ring ding dong and lucifer, i’ve blitz-ed them off my list
Mai

I became a Shinee fan this year and although I am new to Shinee, I am not new to k-pop at all, I am just new to stanning a SM group. Lol.

My observations may not be as great as older Shawols because I have yet to watch everything related to them or read up on their old interviews but from my observations of the current Shinee I think that what’s bringing them down is their lack of passion or motivation for succeeding as a group.

They debuted very young and started training even younger. Their debut was strong and they became famous fast, which I think affected them to a certain degree and you can see it in their performances. I don’t think that they are motivated to work as hard anymore nor are they required to work as hard by SM in their performances. They already have fans, all they have to do now is keep them. They haven’t really tried to capture new fans. Lucifer is not exactly what you call good music. Maybe good performing from their part, but I would never listen to Lucifer just because. Performances is what makes the song good.

You can see that by 2010 or dare I say by the time they had their RDD comeback, Key started caring less about his singing and dancing and cared more about the way he was presented to people. He started caring more about variety shows and put everything else in the back-burner. He may be a strong performer but that can only get you so far. Onew seems to care more about variety shows now than he does about anything else. Jonghyun has been lazy with his dancing only really caring about his singing. People can argue with me all they want but I have yet to see the same Jonghyun I saw back in 2008. He is no longer the same performer he was back then, he actually looked like he tried when dancing. I give props to Taemin and Minho though for actually giving a damn about improving their dancing and singing. Both have improved a lot in these areas but that’s not enough for the whole group.

I was never a fan of any SM group because of one little detail, SM is way too controlling. It breaks my heart to see Shinee so tired of everything and I think that they need a break to find out who they are again. In their London showcase, I saw some hope again, and I am hoping a hundred times that they are able to recapture some of what they lost. They are talented and they are still very young, they have time to really hit it big time. All they need is some time away from the spotlight.

I hope I am coherent enough, after finals my brain can’t really function as well. Lol.
http://twitter.com/PhanTheHotness Jenny

I remember SM saying and some people saying that they were going to be the next DBSK (I totally scoffed at that). However, I think they are the best at choreography that are such in sync and as intricate as DBSK. I mean, they are given some hard dances to go with their title songs. I am continually impressed.

Vocally, they are the best out of the group in their generation. I have never seen a group with such stable vocal talent as them. They sound just too perfect. Always on pitch and not out of breath
juliaa

Personally I think key’s vocals got waay better since debut like before he used to be so flat and couldn’t reach high notes but now his range got better. I agree though hes not consistent like some others but he’s definitely improving. I love SHINee but I wish they got more respect from the general public like if you ask a korean who they’re fave is its usually 2pm, snsd, big bang etc. Honestly I’m not sure why but they never create huge waves in the industry and I agree that it is a marketing problem.
lol people are suprised on how loyal I’ve been to SHINee since debut actually haha I honestly can say that I first liked them for their songs and voice oh and Jonghyun hehe. Oh I remember the days when I cringed at the sight of taemin’s mushroom hair
thunderandsmoke

SM ENT= THE PASSION AND TALENT STIFLER…

I have this special little place in my heart for SHINee. Their first album is probably my favorite kpop album of all time. Its magnificent and I remember when I first got into SHINee I was absolutely blown away by their talent. But I unfortunately got into them during their Lucifer era, and I just felt like their 2nd album was a sad sorry excuse for a comeback and so my love for them (except Jonghyun) quickly waned. As well as everything they do is so rehearsed. Maybe that’s why I’m not a big fan of SM artist, because nothing about them ever seems interesting or quirky or relatable, and there’s just no connection for me. But their fans love them and their fandom is INTENSE, so SHINee is obviously making a connection with some people. Same with the rest of SM’s artists. It really is a shame how SM just doesn’t know how to handle their artist so that they can mature and grow and flourish as individuals and as artists. They just want their idols to be entertainers and thats it, so much wasted talent and time.

I think the best demonstrations of SHINee’s talent, especially Jjong’s and Onew’s, is their covers of other artists’ songs. When Jonghyun covers Brown Eyed Soul its so emotional and breath-taking and I’m pretty sure I’ve cried at one time or another while watching him. And when Onew sings his solo at their concerts, I mean how awesome is that! He kicks so much a** with that song!! SHINee doesn’t get music thats suited for their voices anymore. Its really a shame because both Onew and Jonghyun’s voices, heck all their voices, are really suited for jazzy, R&B, and ballad type songs. I just wish they would get some decent new material that isn’t so generic and bland and poppy. Their second album had very little substance, as does their new Japanese album.
Boo

They need to come back honestly. They’ve been performing the same songs over and over again and I think that’s part of why their performances lately have been so lackluster. They have such potential to crossover in Japan but their promotions there have been somewhat half-assed. Wtf SM. lol.

I feel sad when people pick on Minho. He’s just so earnest and hard working and Idk poor boy. He seems to be one of the energetic ones when it comes to performing and interacting with fans/audience too.
Shawol

I’ve known them since their debut, but the thing that always struck me the most was Taemin’s awkwardness. lol. The songs I liked most by them were Amigo and RDD. And beyond that not an ounce of interest. But earlier this year I somehow started watching fanvids due to boredom and thought they were actually talented and cute. Then I listened to their albums and really liked quite a lot of songs and became a fan. Then watched HB, Yunhanam and other variety cuts and became a stan. heh.

I think their 100% choreographed
performances appeal to people most if they are energetic and sharp. Some ppl were disappointed with their performances in Las Vegas and Sydney, I heard. And most ppl who went to SMTown NY were pleased. I know one person who doesn’t listen to k-pop much became a fan after going KBS New-Jersey festival.
IA with Megan. Jonghyun appeal to gay men probably because he appears open-minded (besides looks and talent ofc). And agree w/Boo about Minho. Heard he’s the best at crowd interaction.

Shawol

Oh and ia w/ everyone who says that they’re grossly mismanaged.

Also it’s always pleasant to see new fans, bcoz since I gotten into them the ifandom got noticeably smaller and/or inactive. It’s mostly due to Japanese promotions but there are a lot of fans who complain about their non-closeness or sth similar. Some fans left the fandom bcoz Key said they’re neither family nor bffs. That’s soo weird to me.

http://gabidubu.tumblr.com Gabi

I’m a huge SHINee fan, they’re my favorite kpop boyband so, I just can’t be objective enough when it comes to these guys. So, that being said, here’s my blabbery:

I honestly didn’t know that Key’s vocals or dancing were being discussed among fans, arguing that he’s getting lazy over the years. I’ve been their fan for 2 years now, and to me, he’s always been good, and of course he’s improving like the rest of the group. In one of their recent performances (I can’t remember which one exactly) he practically saved the rest of SHINee. Everyone seemed to be exhausted and they were completely expressionless, but Key… he was very energetic and for a moment sounded like he was the only one singing (aside from Jonghyun, he even sounded sick) and that the rest of SHINee were his backup dancers. Maybe the mics weren’t functioning, but 4 out of 5 mics it’s too much. Either way, he really blew me away, and I respect him for that. I think he’s just loosening up, like some of you suggest SHINee to do.
Taemin has improved big time. And considering that he is a singer after all, he should’ve been good and consistent since the very beginning; but we’re in the kpop world, and being able to ditch his old image as a not-so-good singer to a respectable one is something to be proud of in that world.

Now, everybody knows that rapping is not Minho’s thing, so I feel like he’s wasting his time on that area. If SM would’ve focused Minho on singing, he would’ve been now just like Taemin. Key would’ve been a good rapper. He’s got what it takes to improve and do more than a decent rapping role, he’s got the sassy attitude, his character definitely suits better with the rapper image, and his looks really help since he’s somewhat(a lot) intimidating (at least more than Minho).Jonghyun is SHINee’s rock star. He’s always got that liberal attitude. But I really can’t seem to put my finger on what made him more outstanding in earlier years than now. Yes, his voice is wonderful, but it cracks more often than it should, specially when they were promoting Lucifer. Now it’s not that notorious (I think). So, I’ll just go with the most common theory: the super packed schedules. When SHINee is over, I expect to see a Jonghyun with an incredible songwriter-singing career with enough freedom to pull it off like the boss he is. With Onew I feel he can be a stronger leader. He’s got the character deep inside, I know it. He just like to play it dumb (because it’s his part in SHINee) but he can definitely pull off the respectable leader role. I always have this debate in my head if my favorite voice is Jonghyun’s or Onew’s. I always end up saying both. Onew made me a fan of ballads. SHINee’s ballads anyways, because he actually makes me feel something, even if it’s a little drop, or a huge wave of emotions. Plus, their ballads aren’t boring, thanks to that super soft, melodic and mellow voice, that is full of color. I’ve always got a soft spot for these kind of voices, they just melt me. I absolutely picture him being a ballad singer; an impressive one.

I couldn’t agree more when I hear that they are just marketed the wrong way. And now with the upcoming 2 SM boybands (bam! it’s not 1 but 2! le gasp!) I’m concerned as hell as to what SM is going to do with our shining SHINee. Let’s hope for the best with the upcoming comeback next year! SM: blow me away! I’m begging you, blow us away!
Anon

Ugh, this whole page is FILLED with TL;DR.
My eyes and brain ache.
Blossemcup4

I can’t really say that I’m a fan of SHINee. For awhile I didn’t want to get to know them, but then I watched Hello Baby and found them to be rather interesting people. I think the first song I heard/video I saw by them was “Lucifer” and I was amazed/confused. I was fairly new to the Kpop scene and before then I had seen nothing like “Lucifer”. I was amazed at the dancing and confused by Key’s hair. I can’t say if I am a true fan of SHINee, but I do kind of look forward to their music (except I totally ignored their Japanese stuff).
http://profile.yahoo.com/P4ZSUYNPUIRG7OCJAG3CTPDETM Bazinga

this was…. kinda depressing. ;__;

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=513439726 Sharon Overlord

I agree, depressing article. I actually did find Shinee boring at SMTOWN. Their not one of my favorites, but their talents lie in being very precise and great dancers.

I kinda liked their Sherlock performances though. The choreography was so hard that they look so tired and look like their trying their best just to get through the song without passing out. Kinda puts you on the edge a bit.

All singers should improve but I think Key is doing quite well. He brings in the fun. he’s kinda like Heechul. At Sm Town, LA I think? His rock bit with super junior, he totally lip synced it. Still the crowd was going crazy because of his high energy. Heechul has always had a knack with interacting with fans.

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