On June 25th Shinee released a music video for the song “Our Page”, along with the third and final part of their album The Story of Light. “Our Page” is a ballad dedicated and directed to the late Jonghyun, stating how much he is missed and how important his legacy is for Shinee.
Jonghyun’s loss shook the whole k-pop industry to the core, created various conversations and generally left everyone at a loss of words. This tragedy hit Shinee’s members hard, right before their 10th anniversary. A way of coping with grief and sorrow many artists choose is to convey the pain into art, and it’s what Shinee did with “Our Page”.
Shinee penned the song’s lyrics themselves and it’s easy to perceive how personal they got with it. It’s never easy to express such private feelings and sensations without being banal or being accused of exploiting a tragic event. Shinee opened up completely and used simple yet honest words, successfully conveying both their grief and their optimistic view of the future.
The song’s chorus is a perfect example:
The pretty words you left behind
become a poem, become a song
Our voices are flying
We know it’ll reach you wherever you are
If a star vanishes, will everything be forgotten?
I’m holding the precious you in my arms
I want to fill the pages of this story that isn’t over yet
Until the very end
The first part of these lyrics refer to Jonghyun’s album Poet | Artist, released posthumously. In the final bridge of the song Onew even sings: “You did well”, a sentence fans have been remembering Jonghyun with. Shinee clearly state that to them as individuals and to the group, his memory will never fade. On the other hand, they want to keep honouring him for the rest of their careers. Shinee have a future ahead and, even if they will move forward, they won’t move on without him.
Musically “Our Page” can be defined as a pop ballad with R&B influences. The song’s structure is pretty standard as the four members alternate in the verses and join forces in the choruses. Shinee have proven countless times through the years that they are skilled vocalists, and in “Our Page” rather than showing off their talent, they aim at conveying emotions with vocals. This can be seen in the belted choruses that manage to add further impact to the song’s overall emotional vibe.
“Our Page”’s music video is quite simple per se: it’s intended to be a visual representation of the song and doesn’t want to steal attention from it. At first Shinee are seen going through several tasks typical of their daily lives: Onew is composing, Taemin is working out, Minho is rehearsing some acting scenes and Key is practicing his dance moves. They all look sad and pensive, as to hint that their late member is always on their minds.
In the second part of the video the four members get hit by an aqua blue light — Shinee’s official fandom colour — and the atmosphere gets slightly more positive and hopeful. In the final scene Shinee sing in a room lit by tiny aqua green lights and in front of them there is an empty microphone’s stand, Jonghyun’s. As the album’s title suggests, light plays an important part in the music video. When Shinee are seen wandering, light symbolises the hope that helps them moving forward. At the same time — as aqua green is the group’s official colour — light can be a metaphor to represent Shinee’s fans who have stayed by their side for 10 years and will continue to do so.
As previously said, in front of a tragic loss many artists have turned to their art to express their feelings and “Our Page” is Shinee’s case. Throughout this song Onew, Key, Minho and Taemin have managed to express such sensitive and personal emotions without being banal or cheesy. On the other hand with its positive view on the future, “Our Page” wants reassure fans that the four members’ aim from now on is to keep on telling their story while always keeping Jonghyun’s memory alive.
(YouTube. Images via SM Entertainment.)
