Taemin the only member of SHINee who has yet to enlist in the military. And it seems like he will be holding that phase of his life off a bit longer. He will be officially releasing his 3rd Japanese mini-album tomorrow (4th of August), which shares the same name as his latest title track, FAMOUS. On top of that, there are currently rumours floating about that Taemin will be joining Kai and Baekhyun (from EXO), Mark and Taeyong (from NCT) and Lucas and Ten (from WAYV – the Chinese subunit of NCT), forming a super collaboration male group in the near future (though we will find out this week with SM Entertainment confirming that an announcement is coming in regards to this).

Taemin has continued to wow me time and time again with his unique dance tracks. Famous seems to approach this unique vibe again, but it doesn’t really go that length like his Korean and previous Japanese releases have. Famous starts off with a simple beat. But as the song progresses, the song moulds itself into a very interesting and subtly upbeat track. I found the chorus to be very straightforward and it lacked that complexity that Taemin’s track tends to go for. While I have stated that simplicity is good on a number of occasions, it just doesn’t leave me 100% satisfied. I did like the hook (‘Famous’ repetition, which is still growing on me. I also like the ‘No Drama’ deep autotune that is featured throughout the song. I thought that was a nice detail. I thought his vocals were pretty good and that slight rapping sequence in the second verse was awesome! Apart from the simpler chorus, I thought Famous was a great track, overall.

It seems the simplicity feels that I had were compensated through the music video. It does not take a simple approach. Instead of going for a lot of complexity on a visual level. There is a lot going on in the video, despite it all being Taemin close-ups. Very aesthetic, might I add. He starts off being tied up. He then is seen posing in a broken-down car. And then surrounded by half-eaten apples. There is definitely meaning behind all of these different scenes but I am not confident in trying to decipher any of these (as I am usually wrong). The camera work and the dark lighting made every feel more profound and intense. My favourite bit has to be when he rips the ribbon. Paired well with the songs and definitely a peak in a visual manner, as well.

Taemin is one of the best dancers in KPOP. There is no doubt about that. The choreography for Famous takes an aesthetic approach as well, similar to how his music video does. Based on what can be seen in the music video, everything looks stunning and he further proves his status as one of the most established dancing idols out there, once again.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10