The K-Pop Guide: SHINee

What, two SHINee posts in one day? Yes, because their five-year anniversary is coming up and I love these guys too much.

Bio

SHINee are a five-member Korean boyband under SM Entertainment. Formed in 2008, they debuted with Replay, probably the best debut song I’ve ever heard. They were all pretty young then (the youngest was fifteen, the oldest two were 18), and so Replay’s alternative title was ‘Noona you’re so pretty’. (noona is what guys in Korea call girls that are older than them). They pretty much stole everyone’s hearts. It’s not hard to get why.

SHINee is pronounced just like ‘shiny’, and the name came from the CEO of SM, who was thinking about the words ‘employer’ and ‘employee’. One employs, one is employed. And the name SHINee is used to mean that they are not the ones shining, but the ones being shined upon, by the fans and the spotlight.

Their official fanclub name is SHINee World, shortened to Shawol (weird name but you get used to it– we’re one of the proudest fandoms out there). The SHINee lightstick colour is blue-green. Very pretty.

Style

In some ways you can say SHINee is the pinnacle of everything you might associate with K-Pop. They are five very good-looking guys, singing some pretty stay-with-you songs, and they dance in sync wearing matching outfits. Except SHINee are so much more. SHINee’s songs aren’t just the catchy stuff you want to get out of your head because you actually dislike it– their songs are good. Their dancing is unparalleled. The MV review Why so Serious? That is one of their easier dances. Just watch Lucifer.

Hardcore SHINee haters are also very few and far-between. This is because they’ve been recognized as an elite band in the K-Pop world, even by critics. They’ve never had a true scandal, and their appearance is so wonderfully friendly that their leader was voted as the guy most girls would want to take home to their mom.

Musically, SHINee have had a lot of styles, but recently they’ve switched to a more rock-heavy style, with their newest album. It’s worked out pretty well for them, but then again, what can these guys not pull off?

Members

SHINee’s members are unbeatable. Talented, funny, and so close– they’re really a treat to watch. We’ll start in order of age– all the nicknames mentioned are actually very common nicknames for them, that they’ve either been given by fans or each other.

Onew!

First off is Dubu Leader Onew, also known as the Younggam. Younggam means old man, and it’s true, Onew doesn’t really act like a 23-year-old guy. Real name Lee Jin-ki (though he doesn’t like to be called by it), when SHINee go anywhere he always carries around medicine and stuff, because the members tend to get sick. But more than an old man, actually, he tends to act more like a kid. He loves snacks– he’s actually famous for his obsession with chicken. ‘Dubu’ means tofu, which he loves, but the cute name really fits! Because that is Onew– he’s cute, so adorable as he flails around for snacks or points at himself when youngest member of SHINee says that as the members get older they get dumber. He’s super-clumsy, but wow, he’s got strong fingers. He’s the king of ttakbam– flicking someone’s forehead with his middle finger. He can crack a freaking walnut.

Onew’s voice is amazing. It’s super unique, very distinct, and I’ve never heard anything like it. Recently he hasn’t been getting too many lines, but every line he does get, he rocks it.

Although we’re all Shawols, we have our own individual fandom sense too– fans who love Onew best are known as MVPs, after one of the lines he sang in Replay.

Jonghyun

Then we have Bling-Bling Jonghyun. Weird nickname? Don’t worry, he chose it. Because… he shines. Jonghyun is main vocalist of SHINee, and rated as one of the best male vocalists in K-Pop today. Seriously, his voice is both powerful and heavenly. Listen to him singing Lucifer acoustic. He’s also SHINee’s hot-body. Yeah.

He’s also a really talkative guy. Every interview… it’s just Jonghyun, Jonghyun. He really can’t help it. It’s pretty good then, that he’s ready to poke fun at himself– at his always running and noticeably large mouth, at his dinosaur-like features and at his height. Jonghyun is a certified short guy at 173 cm, and he’s not afraid to laugh.

Recently Jjong’s been missing from SHINee promotions, as he broke his nose in a car accident. He’s fine, but we still miss him terribly. We miss you, Jjong, and not just the Blingers amongst us!

Key

Midway through we have our Almighty Key. Called so because he’s just super-awesome. He’s SHINee’s tripled threat– vocalist, rapper, dancer. He’s also one of K-Pop’s widely accepted fashionista, rocking everything from ‘skirts’ over pants to rings with zippers on them. His real name is Kibum, and though the members usually call him that or Kibummie, it’s pretty obvious Key fits just as well.

In SHINee, as in most K-Pop groups, there is a mom of the group, and here it’s Key. He’s quite naggy, apparently, making sure everything’s all right and everyone’s going according to schedule. This guy even checks the exchange rates of the won. I don’t know how anyone can be such a fashioni-star and such a mom at the same time.

Key’s personality is also very straightforward– if he doesn’t like something, he’ll tell you. He’s also very good at English, and although he has quite an accent, he can carry on conversations easily.

Rumours fly about Key’s sexuality all the time, since he’s quite flamboyant, but very few Lockets care. We all love Key as he is, and don’t much care who he dates.

Minho

Reaching the younger ones, we have Flaming Charisma Minho. Why the nickname? Because he’s so charismatic. He’s been unanimously chosen as the best-looking member in SHINee, and he really fits the bill– he’s tall, with perfect model proportions, long legs and all that, and rumours fly about him dating every female K-Pop star he’s seen with. Not only that, but he’s athletic, and fit. Read about his hotness in my little feature on him. He's also fiercely competitive, and he'll always get a little too into games, but Flamers still love him nonetheless.

Minho generally has the most antis in SHINee, since a lot of people deem him not talented enough to be in SHINee. This should just tell you about the SHINee quality, since Minho is plenty talented. Still, all the haters are unjustified, as any Shawol will tell you.

And last, but definitely not least, we have Unstoppable Maknae Taemin. Taemin is maknae– youngest in the group, debuting at 15. Nearly every Shawol older than him sees him as that slightly-sunken faced kid in Replay, and the thought of Taemin growing up is just a little hard to swallow.

But he is. Actually, Taemin is a wonderful mix of grown-up and kiddish. The kiddish bit, I believe, mostly comes from his hyungs’ unbelievable babying of him. They’ve pretty much built a family– Onew’s grandpa, Jonghyun’s dad and Key’s mom. And there’s Minho. Somewhere.

Taemin’s actually pretty sneaky. He looks innocent, but he’s pretty sneaky, you can tell if you see enough of him. There is a very cute side to him– you just have to take him like that, half-and-half. He’s SHINee’s dancing god (and pretty much the whole K-Pop world recognizes him as one of the best dancers), and he’s now cementing himself as lead vocal (after Jonghyun).

His fanclub is called Taemints, because apparently whenever he met a fan of his that was older than him, he used to give her candy that he carried around. So cute!

Ships

Ships, if you don’t know, are just pairings between members in a band. Shipping runs deep in SHINee World. It’s a very casual thing, actually, not something many of us get manic about. Just, which two members do you like to see interacting in a different sort of way? Ships exist between every member of SHINee, but here are the more common ones:

JongKey (Jonghyun×Key)

SHINee’s cruise-liner, in terms of people supporting it. Jonghyun’s the biggest fan-servicer ever, explaining the huge amount of material you’ll find for this. Key's in on it now too, it seems.

2Min (Minho×Taemin)

Jonghyun found a fan-servicing disciple in Minho, and Minho found an easy target in Taemin. Perfect.

JongTae (Jonghyun×Taemin)

Be careful when you search for Jonghyun and Taemin. They did some… not family-friendly stuff on stage.

OnKey (Onew×Key)

This only increased in prominence recently, since Jonghyun’s accident. Very cute, but kind of sad for Onew, he’s just a Jjong replacement…

OnHo (Onew×Minho)

This is not popular. At all. But it’s the one I ship. So it’s included. The picture is from a still in an MV, not planned, not just a fan-service pic. It’s the one that made me jump on the ship.

OnKen (Onew×Chicken)

 Ahh… how could I forget the greatest ship in SHINee, the one shipped by our wonderful leader? Yes, it’s Onew and his one true love… chicken.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little guide on SHINee… now here’re some of their must-watch videos.

Why so Serious?- Their most recent… or you can read my review

Dream Girl- the most wicked mike-stand dance ever. Yes, they're dressed terribly, but the video is colourful, bright, and their dancing is impeccable.

Lucifer- This MV… indescribable. I’ve watched this so many times I’ve practically memorized the scenes. 

Replay- Debut song. They're all kids here, but this song is so good!

Hello- Sweet, cute, wonderful.

Sherlock- This choreo won an award, and for a reason.

And a little extra!

SHINee in their dorm! Just skip ahead to 35:00, it’s so cute to see them all hanging out in their dorm, watching themselves on TV and interacting with each other! And that puppy! Uwaa~