Tag: Taemin (SHINee)

TAEMIN was another comeback that kicked off the week. He returned for the first time since his Guilty era and leaving SM Entertainment, signing on with BPM Entertainment (home to VIVIZ, HA SUNG WOON, BADVILLAIN and a few others) for his solo work. He will continue with SM Entertainment for SHINee promotions. TAEMIN’s latest title track, Sexy In The Air, is featured on his 5th mini-album, Eternal.

Sexy In The Air is probably the most TAEMIN-coded title to date. We all know when TAEMIN’s appeal is most robust, and I feel like a song titled Sexy In The Air calls out that. Intriguingly, the track can be split into two. The first half features a groovier electronic style that feels trendy and upbeat. The second half leans more toward a hip-hop style. Tied together by the title and lyrics, these halves make for an interesting dynamic. But it works, in my opinion, bringing two sides of TAEMIN into one song. Even the transitional part between the two halves felt very clean. TAEMIN himself does an excellent job with his vocals. I like how we are treated to vocals in both halves of the song. I lowkey would have expected the hip-hop side of the song to have more of a spoken motif. But his vocals on either side of Sexy In The Air were smooth and sultry. The choruses and hooks in the song were catchy, though I would have liked something more developed from TAEMIN. The choruses and hook felt a little too simple and safe, especially for a song that innovates like this one. But I guess putting two distinct styles into Sexy In The Air, where the song can easily be split in half, is a gamble, so having other elements of the song feel safe does help reign it in.

Sexy is indeed in the air throughout TAEMIN’s music video for this comeback. Part of this comes from the choreography we see throughout the video—I will speak to the choreography in the next section of the review. Another part of the sexy appeal is TAEMIN’s charismatic looks and outfits, such as the one in the featured image of this post. I will admit that the clean and crisp feel of SM Entertainment’s music videos is missing in this one (no-brainer as SM Entertainment is not behind this video). But TAEMIN’s presence compensates for that. The man knows how to captivate and does it well in this video.

We all know where TAEMIN excels during his comebacks, and Sexy In The Air doesn’t deviate. His whole choreography routine was just so captivating to watch. From the footwork to the synchronisation to the punchy moves that fit the groovier style from the first half and the bouncy moves that fit in with the hip-hop style in the second half. All of this was amazing to watch. The best part definitely has to dance solo he has at the end of the routine.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

After over a 2 year hiatus as a solo artist (due to his mandatory military enlistment), TAEMIN is officially back with a brand new mini-album and title track, both of which are titled Guilty. The last time we heard from TAEMIN (as a solo artist) is through his Advice comeback in 2021. More recently, following the completion of his military enlistment, TAEMIN did return as part of SHINee’s comeback HARD from earlier on in this year.

Haunting is how I would personally describe Guilty. And it does that from the very first second, thanks to the instrumentation. The mix of some low beats and orchestral elements makes Guilty super atmospheric and evocative. The orchestral elements also adds a striking component to the song, at the same time. This in combination with TAEMIN’s vocals creates quite a piece. TAEMIN captivates with his singing in Guilty. For the most part, he sings in a slow and dragged out manner. It feels sensual and sultry, which is a style that we know that TAEMIN does best. We also get some powerful moments from TAEMIN via high notes and some stronger and really heavenly vocal work at other points in Guilty. The second verse also features some rapping from the soloist, which fits in amazingly well, and some deep whispery vocals in the pre-choruses that adds to that haunting vibe that I mentioned at the start of this section. Guilty is also definitely well-produced, with a lot of thought put towards the planning of when the vocals or instrumental comes into play. This just makes Guilty even more riveting and captivating to listen to, overall. If I had to be critical about something, I would have like more memorable melodies. But honestly, the music and vocals take care of that side of things for Guilty anyway.

The music video features a zombie-esque storyline (how fitting for the day before Halloween). But rather than it being gory and another horror conceptualized music video (beware – there is still some of this, like the emerging hands that looks like it was going to bend his neck just before the first chorus, but we are shown soon after that TAEMIN is just jerking around like zombie and TAEMIN’s zombie bite mark which he digs his fingers into), there is actually more to the video than just brain eating zombies. The zombie virus shown in the video is compared to the idea of selfish love portrayed in the lyrics of Guilty, where it causing pain to the other person while claiming it as one’s own way of loving (taken from SOOMPI). It is definitely a different and unexpected take on something that is quite terrifying and it keeps it quite terrifying. TAEMIN’s acting in this video is superb, with the zombie-like jerking throughout the video and the emotions you can see on his face when he is stilled and thinking about his lover.

If what we see in the music video is the choreography (i.e., the jerky movements that we saw during first chorus), then this is going to be a routine that you do not want to miss. It feels very artistic and contemporary. The ‘arm under the shirt’ move brings a sensual vibe to the table, which I thought looks very cool. The rest of the routine that we did see in the music video also captures the music quite well. For now, I am giving it a 9/10, just because it is unknown what the entire routine will look like. But it can be an easy 10/10 should the stage performance for Guilty replicate all of what we see in the music video (and I will return to update the review accordingly if that is the case).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.3/10

While I was on break last week, a number of comebacks occurred that I could not review. Now that I am back, I will try my best to get on top of the last week and this week’s comeback. First up is SHINee’s Taemin, who made his last comeback with Advice (the title of both the mini-album and its lead single) before his impending miltary enlistment at the end of the month. While his fellow group members have completed their miltary enlistment, Taemin pushed forward with his solo career, releasing massive hits like Want, Criminal and Idea. Luckily for all the Shawols out there, SHINee was fortuate enough to make a group comeback earlier this year just before Taemin enlisted with Don’t Call Me and Atlantis (Album Review Here!) in addition Taemin’s solo release.

What makes Advice sound stunning was the piano present in the instrumentation. It was definitely captivating for me to listen to, especially since it was incorporated really well into the electronic trap-centric instrumentation and made the otherwise standard electronic influence a bit more gripping than if it was packaged as a standalone. Furthermore, I really like the vocals throughout the song. Taemin slips into falesetto mode for some of the song, especially when it came to the chorus, giving the song a bit of dynamism to make it a little bit more exciting. I really like it how his vocals are backed up when it came to the chorus, adding some depth to the song. And I feel that the additional dynamism and depth were much needed. Without the much needed dynanism and depth that we got, Advice would have been a bit shallow and too ‘safe’ for my liking. As a whole picture, Advice is good. But I will admit that Advice isn’t as show-stopping as some of his previous hits. There is a couple of reasons for this, but I feel like this boils down to one of two reasons (or maybe a combination of both). Advice felt overly consistent and stuck in neutral gear for the three and a half minutes or so. Also, Taemin’s solo releases tend to explore unexplored territory for KPOP, or repurposes rare styles to be his own. I felt that Advice didn’t have that individualistic spark which always perks my interest. But nonetheless, Advice is still a listen and might be a good song if you want to ease into Taemin’s discography. But as someone who has reviewed all of his solo tracks, Advice lacks what it takes to be at the top end of Taemin’s discography.

While those are my thoughts about the song above, it doesn’t mean the same thoughts necessarily apply to the rest of the comeback. The music video for Advice, to me, is haunting. And this is all done without slipping into a dark or twisted theme. The initial scene with Taemin’s body marked with grease and covered only by a black mask with white stitching and web-like overlay (whilst playing the piano) was very impactful and made the video feel sinister and creepy. We are then shown Taemin in a choreography shot with long hair with grey-blue ends, which make him look chraismatic as a vampire. Very impactful imagery. The rest of the shots (I don’t have time to go through them one by one) follow a similar pattern. This is also complimentary to the atmopshere which the lyrics create. Based on what I understood of the lyrics and visuals aspects of the video, his lover is driving him insane and makes him a crazed person (“The more you trap me, the more I go off the rails“). Based on his lyrics, he warns this lover to stay away from him, but they don’t. This results in Taemin going insane completely, driving recklessly on the road and dying at the end of the video. A very interesting set of events.

Once again, Taemin pulls off an impressive routine for this comeback. There was a lot of footwork and I really like how he carried that haunting atmosphere from the music video over to the stage performance. I really like the dancers contributed to the start, setting the scene of the performance. I also really like how they were slowly brought in using small body rolls at the end of the bridge.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10

Within the last month, Taemin has been super busy by being part of four different music releases (including today’s comeback). We first saw him in his 2 KIDS pre-release track, dropping in preparation for today’s comeback. His second release was 100, the first pre-release single of SuperM’s upcoming end-of-September comeback. We saw him again in Tiger Inside, serving as the second SuperM pre-release track which just dropped last week. And now, we find ourselves tuning in with his fourth release – the title track Criminal and his third Korean studio album, Never Gonna Dance Again.

I am just going to get right to the point. Taemin killed his comeback. And this comment is simply based on just one listen to Criminal. He tackles the synthwave genre, a genre that is pretty much new in KPOP as far as I can remember (and one that I am going to need to search up). The song’s instrumental is rather consistent, but there is still a lot going on. I love the slight tick up in energy that the chorus gives up (relative to the verses). It is small, but its impact is quite large. But the most important detail with this synthwave instrumental is that is compliments Taemin’s vocals. He sings rather low and seductively at the start and it slowly builds ever so slightly as the song progresses along, before his vocals climaxes (i.e. gets louder) after the ‘Destroy My More‘ line at the end of the bridge and we get some ad-libs for the final chorus. These pairings of vocals and instrumental just have so much chemistry with one another, creating a sensual and seductive atmosphere that I just want to continue to replay. To me, the best part of the song has to be his vocal climb during the verses. Once again, it is small effect, but it has such a large impact. It just leaves me in awe and it stuns me when I replay the song (even though I know it is coming). The ‘La La La La‘ was also another strong, suspenseful part of the song that I also love. Overall, Criminal is artistic, aesthetic and plays with Taemin’s strengths.

The music video of Criminal looks so good. Based on the lyrics, the song is about wanting to escape an relationship as it torturing oneself. But the more you want to leave, the more you want to stay. It is a similar concept to Stockholm Syndrome, which is where the victim of a kidnapping or hostage situation feels trust, affection and need for the captor to be in their life post-crime in order to survive. It is very interesting to see him play that out in lyrics. But it is very captivating to watch him be tortured throughout the music video. And we don’t actually see the explicit torture that whoever is inflicting upon him. Rather, we see Taemin’s self torture of wanting leave (and even contemplating death at some points) but is unable to do so in the final seconds because of his need for this relationship. His acting is so good and the set design is really stunning.

The music video shows me enough of the choreography to make write this part of the review. And as per my past reviews for Taemin’s choreography, this one is equally as good. I really liked the bounded wrists at the start, showing us that captive situation. We then see him take it off effortlessly before doing to the ‘good stuff’ in this routine, where we see him show off his performance skills. The best part of the choreography has to be the bridge of the song, where the dancer’s engulf him with their hands, seemingly making it look like he is enjoying the euphoria of returning to the relationship.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 10/10

Time to continue this week’s edition of review catch up. Next up on the reviewing list is 2 KIDS, Taemin’s pre-release single for his upcoming comeback. Originally scheduled for July 2020, his comeback had to be pushed back due to an injury. But with the release of 2 KIDS, it seems like we will be seeing him very soon again through his comfirmed two part third studio album, Never Gonna Dance Again. There is no confirmed date for this comeback just yet, but I will endevour to review it as soon as it is released, unlike this review which is many days late. In other news, this Taemin’s first solo comeback since the release of WANT.

While 2 KIDS doesn’t deliver anything epic or powerful as his previous releases, Taemin’s 2 KIDS still manages to fit his discography. Given that this is Taemin, it clearly doesn’t have a wow factor to be given that title track status. And so, it comes off as an ideal side track for his upcoming solo album. The new release features an electronic pop instrumentation that opts for lighter and simpler vibes. Yet, there is an elaborate nature to it that enables Taemin to show off his vocals and performance skills (I will touch on this later on). There is an airy nature to the song, making it perfect song to put on while taking a stroll on a breezy and sunny day. His vocals are breathy throughout the song, which definitely compliments this. This combination is quite refreshing. Taemin’s sentimental and reflective vocals were stunning in this song. You could feel the emotions in his voice as he sings about young love. However, I did feel that the chorus was a little too heavy handed with the autotuned backing. I wished that it was a little lighter in this regard. But it at least gave the song some interesting textures to play with. I also wished that he had more ad-libs towards the end of the song, as this seems like the perfect track for Taemin to show off some of his ad-lib skills. In addition to the ‘wishes’, I wanted the song to be less repetitive. The repetition dried out the song and left it boring, especially towards the end. But overall, 2 KIDS is a solid effort and a definite strong teaser for what is to come.

For this review, I will be combining the music video and performance parts of the usual review together. Why? Well, the music video is essentially a performance piece. We don’t see much choreography during the verses. Instead, we see Taemin act throughout the verses. It looks like he is wandering the streets right after an argument with his lover and is reminiscing about his young love. The choreography comes into play during the choruses. And it is just so captivating to watch. I also love the European city setting of this music video. It just adds such a refined and comforting atmosphere to the video, which contrasts nicely with his pain and emotions that he channels through his choreography.

Song – 8/10
Music Video / Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.8/10