K-pop Goes February: Day 15- SHINee

It’s Monday again, dear friends, always a Monday. We’re onto the third week of my little K-pop project, and this week might be the most eye-opening for me. Yes, that’s right, we’re onto the Second Generation week.

Now, anyone who knows about K-pop will be familiar with the concept of generations, but for those of you who may not be diving into this world as I am (hi Dad), I’ll attempt to give a vague idea of what it is. Essentially, it’s just the term given to generalise the different trends in K-pop at different points along its timeline. The first generation started in the nineties, when South Korea was first opening itself up to the Western world, and the band Seo Taiji and Boys brought popular genres like hip-hop to Korean audiences for the first time. Once this musical trend grew into a full-on industry as we know it, you had what would be termed the Second Generation. I absolutely do not know enough about K-pop to know when this time period began, but I think sometime in the early 2000s is probably a good guess. As the styles and music developed into something more popular with wider audiences (not that it wasn’t extremely popular outside Korea before then), the Third Generation came into being. This generation is the one I’ve mostly been looking at up to this point, with some of the younger groups- Oneus, IZ*ONE, possibly Loona- even pushing into a newer Fourth Generation of more experimental ideas and yet more expansion of the genre.

The Second Generation of K-pop is therefore, many argue, the most important one, given that it’s the time when the distinctive elements of the genre were forged, and when the biggest groups started to make the most popular music. Whilst the Third Generation is the one that exploded K-pop into the Western world (yes yes I know BTS weren’t the first to achieve this but they are the best at it), popular opinion among fans is that it’s actually the Second Generation that established so much of what is loved about this kind of music. Examples of these groups would be superstars like Big Bang, 2NE1, Girls Generation, Super Junior, and, fittingly for this review, SHINee. So let’s get into it.

Who are SHINee?

As stated, one of the mega-groups of the 2000s/2010s, SHINee were a five-member boy group who debuted under SM Entertainment in basically the Tudor times of 2008. SM Entertainment is definitely a company I know, given that they are one of the infamous ‘Big Three’ entertainment companies that dominated K-pop, at least until BigHit came on the scene. I won’t go into detail about everything SM does, just know that they are a Big Deal. As are SHINee. You know a group is important when they have a separate Wikipedia page for their awards, and SHINee have won dozens in their time, for the popularity of their songs, for their dancing, and even for their style. This was something the group was distinctively known for, setting new fashion trends when they debuted. Spotify describes their music as “high-energy, bass-heavy, electronic dance pop” whilst Wikipedia gives their main style as “contemporary R & B”, so it’s clear that they have a lot of variety in their back catalogue.

In terms of SHINee’s timeline, it’s worth noting that, as I write this, the group is one week away from releasing a new album and led single, demonstrating that they are still active, or at least plan to be now that three of them are out of the military. And yes, it would have been a good idea to do this review when that material had actually come out, but I’ve already written out my schedule so there.

I can’t go further here without acknowledging that SHINee is now a four-member group, as vocalist Jonghyun died by suicide in 2017. Unfortunately, this is how I, and many others in the West, first heard about SHINee as a group, showing just how wide the impact of this tragic news is. The group has continued to work after his death, but of course there is an incredible sadness to knowing that one member in this group was so desparately unhappy that this happened. I’m sure it will be a pleasure to listen to the work he made, and I hope he’s at rest now.

The First Song

Wow the Second Generation was a long time ago. Their first song, Replay, was released in May 2008, when I was but a babe of fifteen. Watching the video, it is HARD not to focus on the hair- the layering, the heavy fringes, the BOWL CUT- but I shouldn’t really, because the song is good. We’re very clearly in a different era here, as the song is definitely in that R & B style that Wikipedia said it would be. The main thing I noticed musically was the quality of the singing, and the range of tones that the members used. The chorus was almost breathy, whilst in the verses there was some proper belting. The song’s vibe did remind me of nineties boy bands, and yes, the R & B of the time too. Interestingly, I’m pretty sure there was no rapping, which is definitely different from how boy groups operate today.

Five of the Big Hits

With so much more of a discography to choose from, and so much popularity behind this group, picking five of their big hits was a little nerve-wracking, but I think I’ve gone in the right way. I’ve gone for Ring Ding Dong, Lucifer, Sherlock (Clue + Note), View and Everybody, songs which range from eleven to five years old.

Now, I know that is a cardinal sin to say that I like K-pop without having heard Ring Ding Dong (ten points to Slytherin for that title) or Lucifer, but NEVER FEAR I HAVE RIGHTED MY WRONGS. And hot DAMN, I can see why these songs are at legendary status. Ring Ding Dong is a very late 2000s Autotuned, synthy dancefest, and the hair. I’m going to have to put an embargo on talking about hair with these guys but let me just say: bless you all for what you endured. The track’s instrumentation and techno-sounding vocals are very reminiscent of Black Eyed Peas’ Boom Boom Pow, but the central, monotone, underlying repetition of the chorus is far more catchy. Speaking of catchy, Lucifer is full of memorable synth hooks and melodic moments. I really like the style of keeping within one or two notes for the chorus that features in both songs. The dancing is also standing out, which is unsurprising as SHINee are famous for it. These are the oldest of the five songs I chose, and the style does change slightly as we move forward in time.

Sherlock (Clue + Note) is from 2012, and here they have added some brass flourishes into a driving electro bassline to exciting effect. The singing is still notably strong, with a lot more belting than I think I’ve really heard from boy groups in the Third Generation. We also have a little bit more rap sneaking in as time goes on, but what stands out is still the strength of the vocals for jump-along chorus.

Moving into 2013, SHINee released Everybody, in which the producers clearly answered the question “How much dubstep do you want in this song?” with “Yes.” The opening twisting, growling synths thread through the whole song, and it’s gloriously 2010s. The chorus is much more poppy in tone, and, much like its predecessors, sounds delightfully full: these songs are not half-arsing it in anyway. The latest song on this list is 2015’s View, which is clearly a development of their sound towards the less maximalist EDM sound of third gen groups. This one was the most underwhelming for me, but only because I’d just heard four total corkers. The verses of View are fun, housey dance music, but again the minimalist, repeated melody of the chorus adds much more of a funky/groovy edge. Over the years it appears SHINee have perfected the strong vocal, huge sound, and repeated refrain of a catchy chorus to really, really enjoyable effect.

The Latest Song

As I said, SHINee are just a week away from releasing their newest single Don’t Call Me, but sadly I don’t have a time machine (do you think I would be sticking in 2021 if I did??) so instead I have to for their 2018 song Countless. This is massively less interesting to me than their earlier work: I just can’t find anything to grab onto from the melody or arrangement. The chorus has the sing-along element we’ve seen so much in recent boy group tracks, but after the utter power and joy in their earlier work, this unfortunately sounds more like an album track from a lesser group than something these guys are capable of.

The Latest Album

Don’t say I’m not committed. At time of writing, SHINee’s latest album is The Story of Light: Epilogue. This is actually three EPs collected together, totalling sixteen songs. And I listened to all of them. For you. Or because I was cooking and I let the whole album run on. You choose.

I get three main vibes from this album: groove, ballad and EDM. The album opens much more in the latter frame, with Countless and other tracks such as All Day All Night and Chemistry striking similar chanty, mid-level synth notes in their production. The early standout on the album is Electric, with a hard, almost literally stomping, bassline that takes the song down to a more minimal level. The pace then slows down for balladesque work like Our Page and I Say, which didn’t really interest me, before bringing back the fun with Retro. This track is true to its name in its R & B stylings, with an enjoyable English spoken opener and some fun rap to set the lighter tone. For me, the highlights of the later part of the album are I Want You, a light, tropical dance track with interesting hooks, and the catchy groove track JUMP. The penultimate song, You & I, is another slow one, but the use of gently pulsating synths as the backdrop adds more intrigue than their other ballads.

This album is, perhaps obviously for 2018, much more subtle and layered in its textures and ideas. There is no “ring ding donging” or gleeful autotune here, but its absolutely an accomplished and interesting continuation of their musical career.

Thoughts?

I am obviously very late to the SHINee party, and I can only apologise. The songs they released at their peak deserve their status as cornerstones of K-pop as a genre, and they also get kudos for consistently impressive singing throughout their career. I will say that the music obviously changes a lot as we move closer to today, and I am definitely going to be following their new comeback next week to see what the next step is. But I am also going to be digging around to see what else I can find that’s like Ring Ding Dong, Everbody and Lucifer, because HOT DAMN those songs are just solid gold bangers. According to Wikipedia, SHINee earned the nickname ‘Princes of K-pop’ during their main years of activity. It may be about time to upgrade them to kings.