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?

My thoughts on: SHINee’s Why so Serious? MV

Another MV review-thing. This time it’s SHINee, with their new MV, Why so Serious? Yes, I know I’m late, but screw it! I love SHINee.

Okay, let’s get something very important out of the way. During this MV’s production, SHINee’s main vocalist Jonghyun was injured, so he doesn’t appear in it. In fact, they even re-recorded bits of the song with his vocals in it, so his voice isn’t even there. Being a proper Shawol (SHINee fan, for those who don’t know– the word is a shortened form of ‘SHINee World’), I was very upset. I miss Jjong. But, I will, though, try to be as unbiased as possible.

We miss you, Dino

 Since ‘Why so Serious?’ is the second part of their album, I just can’t help but compare the MV to Dream Girl, the first part of the album. And as amazing as the boys look here, I really felt Dream Girl was better– and not just because of their wicked mike-stand dance.