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Giulia Arnone

This album’s production is like crystal sharp, I love it so much

Anonymous

I was waiting for you to listen to this album! Personally this was the first shinee album I’ve listened to, and it was my most played album of 2023! All the songs are just so amazing and I fell in love with this album. If you have the chance you should really check out these two videos, especially the concert video for Identity. Minho was on fire🔥🔥 MV for “The feeling” : https://youtu.be/xSwJGduvM_g?si=djec1hNFDTc2Xt5D Convert video for “Identity” : https://youtu.be/OhKgX171418?si=JPKjxpTZVXYP-J1z

juls

As a shawol i feel so happy with all the patreon releases today!! Every time you said this was the track to beat I was like WAIT UNTIL YOU HEAR THE NEXT ONE 😂 Personally, I love shinees discography its phenomenal (including solos). I really wonder if you would come to like their older albums if you gave them a try. Thank you PD for checking out all these albums!

juls

Also Billboard has ranked Onew’s Circle as #1 out of 25 top kpop albums of 2023 :)

Flossie

Satellite is THAT song and I don't know how else to describe it

Flossie

I'm so glad you're gonna listen to Circle, but I'd definitely recommend Minho's solo album Chase (+Stay for a Night) for more Minho charisma and vocals. He really comes into his own with music in that style, like with Insomnia

Flossie

I've only been a SHINee fan for about a year (I deliberately held off until Taemin got out of the military) as I discovered Jonghyun, Taemin, and Key's solo music first and fell in love with it, but didn't look very much into it at first. I personally think Hard is their best album post-2017, and shows their versatility and growth and unique qualities the best. My personal theory is that maybe in the earlier years, you found their music a bit too "SM"/top-down produced and probably a little "cringe" sometimes (Ring ding dong, lucifer, etc.), but I'd be so curious to see you react to the old stuff now, especially Replay, Sherlock, Married to the Music, Juliette, etc. You mentioned being interested in doing a concert reaction and that would be epic, especially one of the Tokyo Dome ones or Shinee World IV (all should be on youtube). I know it might be a long shot, but would you ever be interested in reacting to some Jonghyun solo music? You've said you're a big fan of his songwriting/producing skills, so I guess it wouldn't be a first-listen reaction, but an album listening party like for She Is would be really interesting, and all streams of his music go to his family's foundation for supporting artists struggling with mental health issues.

Anonymous

For me the best way to listen to old SHINee music is to watch the SHINee World IV concert. The Seoul concert was just before the odd album and view comeback. Such a special concert, onew comebacks from a throat surgery and the group really just founds their sound and esthetics. Really the best way to fall in love with them

formoftherapy

I like your theory and reacting to the older stuff would be interesting! It won’t be a detailed video dive but it would be a great way to listen to old stuff! I’ll also keep the Jonghyun LP in mind!!

formoftherapy

Hrm I’m reading on top down producing and this is super interesting! It’s definitely possible the mixing style was a big thing! This album definitely sounds more like their voices are “alive” or noticeable to me than previous albums which felt more “driven by the song’s identity” and now it feels like their vocals drive the song’s identity.

t_k

I'm incredibly happy to finally see you listening to Hard - I really had a feeling you'll enjoy it a lot. I myself got into SHINee and, to be honest, into K-pop as a whole, because of Key's Gasoline, which was a turning point in my musical life - his style, energy and power were overwhelming in a good way, so I felt like I finally found the type of music I love. Then I've listened to Taemin's and Jonghyun's solo discography, which was once again mind-blowing and so-so good! Then, Minho's Chase and Onew's Circle came out, and I realized that there is no turning back. But the thing that really got me into SHINee's music as a group were the concerts I've watched. To this day, Shinee World IV and V, as well as their concert in Tokyo Dome in 2015, are the best concerts I've ever seen, and they really showed what an amazing group of performers SHINee is. It also made me greatly appreciate their old music and anticipate new music as well, so that cemented my path as a Shawol. Hard is my first comeback as their fan, and after listening to it, I thought, wow, what a SOLID album. Like you've said, PD, it's truly an experience. SHINee have 15 years of experience, they just simply know how it needs to be done, yet they never stay in one place, they are always evolving. They are also never pretending to be someone else - they are what they are, which is why it seemed a bit funny to me when some said that Hard is SHINee's attempt to be NCT (which is especially funny since SHINee did hip-hop before, they have B-sides with Minho and Key battling it out, and it's YEARS before NCT was even created). So, if I had to choose the central song of this album, it would be Identity - the song that depicts their journey to self-acceptance and finding the path that won't be easy, but will be fulfilling. They are not afraid to move forward, they are always working hard to improve, and this is what makes them so great and inspiring. All of their releases are great, but every next release is even better than the previous one. And that is why they are better than ever.

Moonlight

Sorry in advance for my long comment To explain SHINee discography, they have like three eras From debut to 2010 they focused on rnb, electronic sound with few songs that they weren’t that into like ringdingdong they were against the heavy auto tune filter on their vocals but it was trendy so they ended up having that song in the end the second era of their music happened from 2012 to 2014; So they didn’t release any Korean music nor had any activities there for almost two years that affected their fanbase especially with the debut of many new groups which they were technically in almost hiatus (coz it was hard to see or keep up with Japanese activities because japan blocked everything it was hard to keep up with them, so while they were very active in japan a lot of these activities didn’t reach majority of the fandom or general public ) so after successful japan debut & tour, they asked for more creative freedom to handle how to have a comeback & people in sm ended up listening to them and allowed them to gain creative control like early album in their first era of their discography and career (they did choose a lot of the songs themselves and both Jonghyun & minho wrote lyrics for the group) but they wanted to be more in control of their own sound & they mentioned it felt like almost a second debut so after they cameback from Japan, sm allowed them to have that ( they were the only group at sm at the time to be allowed that and that early in their careers). Sherlock album and misconception series albums which were extremely successful getting artist of the year awards, smashing charts and basically they started to shape their own sound & vibes, in these albums they experimented a lot, they chose the concepts for the misconception series as well That all led to their third era of music from 2015 till now Odd album ( view era ) when sm saw how well they did in their own terms and creative control in their second era of music ( they were the only artist in the company to get that after BoA & TVXQ) , it was their seventh year and with a new contracts, Minho mentioned they got almost full control, they were the ones who contacting the producers and composers they wanted to work with & choosing their concepts among other things Their albums since misconception series albums and they do it like concept albums in a sense & it increased since odd album they became really committed to the idea of concept albums. Their sound since 2015 and it has been like how their b-sides sound now actually and it’s the sound they are known for I have to say that according to the members themselves and korean music critics agreed on that statement is that their sound is actually how they all sound together rather than certain genres

Moonlight

The album is great I highly recommend. The album is about all the four seasons the first b-side is representing winter and last b-side is representing winter like a circle, each 2/3 b-side represent different season. He was the sole creative director for the comeback and in general it’s very well thought album Speaking of Onew his title tracks mvs are very artistic, you would like them

Moonlight

So there a concert pre- view era & they perform a lot of older songs and the concert has english subs. That concert not only they were in creative control of it, but key designed some outfits and styled another set of outfits. It was also their concert after a year hiatus due to them being overworked, previous tour, and onew went on hiatus for few months back then as well due to vocal cords surgery so this concert is very important point of their career. most of the fandom recommend this concert for anyone who wants to see glimpse of their older songs and introduce them as a group in a way so I highly recommend this concert https://youtu.be/6TknOLesUc4?si=TL-KGY8HMCwWXBem

Flossie

I was thinking more just the whole thing where idols have so little creative control, especially in the first few years, and just have to sing what they're given (although I know they had some input, lyrics etc.). I didn't know top-down mixing was a thing, but it sounds really interesting, I just need to learn more about producing to understand it! But I totally get what you mean about the album feeling more alive or personal and vocal driven. It's less about the concept or even the shock factor of the music and choreo and more of a balance between the song and the vocalists themselves. I love this album and the order of the songs is perfect

juls

I agree! I find myself listening to the live stages/ concert performances A LOT. I also find it uncommon how a lot a shawols would recommend listening to concerts instead of the studio track to newer fans. (We’ve all seen the Excuse me miss performance am i right 😂) That just shows how insane shinee are as performers and vocalists

Brooklyn

SM as a company has really nailed down and refined the best version of their signature sound while crafting out unique identities for each artist. That is partially because of the regular producers (Ryan S. Jun, Adrian Mckinnon, LDN Noise, etc). Idk if you’ve sat down to watch ReacttotheK’s interviews with various SM producers, but if you haven’t I’d highly suggest it to gain some insight and inspo. On the Shinee side of things, I have had a similar journey to you. I started with Don’t Call Me and fell in love. I mean, CODE is one of my top five fave kpop songs of all time. And that opened up the door for me to listen to their solo stuff. Key’s projects are consistently some of my favourites released in that year. The Gasoline album is just kpop perfection. And now Hard. While I think the emotional connection I have with the Don’t Call Me album makes it my fave, I do think that Hard is their most well-executed, clean, yet most ambitious project yet. Every song is just hit after hit. I think my faves are Juice and Like It. They have become one of those groups who I can count on to give me bsides I don’t even have to question if I’ll enjoy or not. So much fun to watch your reaction!

Anna Dora

Hard is my favourite Shinee album; admittedly, I say that with every new album they come out with. This time around though, every time I hear a song from Hard I think - "wow I love this song sooo much", not just simply "I like this song". From how many times I've replayed it, Insomnia seems to have cristalized as my favourite. Something I've recently realised, I like most Shinee songs now more than I did when they first came out. Don't get me wrong, Shinee has always been the group for me but somehow it seems I can fully appreciate lots of their songs now that I'm older. And also, they've aged well - like wine lol.

Anonymous

This was so exciting to watch you fall in love with this group! Can’t wait for the Circle album review!

Alison Renaud

Shinee was my second ever group after tvxq on the same day sometime 13 years ago when I listened to kpop for the first time. However Hard didn't strike me as a 15 year anniversary song, especially for a group like Shinee. The Feeling was by far way more of a 15 year song and gift for me and prob all Shawols who have been here for years. I was trying to explain this to a newer kpop friend of mine but if you havent been a shawol for over 10 im not sure if it'll hit the same. Hard def had to grow on me. The last half of this album is way more classic shinee than the first. With everything shinee has been through and all of them completing their military service finally they deserved an album like this. This album really shows all the newer kpop fans and shinee listeners who Shinee really are as individuals and as a group. The first half is very hype and caters more towards current kpop trends. Then the second have is just purely shinee. Im so greatful they did it this way rather than try to fit in with current kpop. They are shinee and will always be leagues above. I hope people just coming in will go back and listen to their entire discography in order because it's truely a listening experience. With that The Feeling is by far my fave on the album and in my top 5 shinee songs of all time! Also I'm kinda doing the same thing with The Boyz lol. I'm finally appreciating them and learning them because of Watch It!!

Makenzy Groom

welcome to shinee world PD!!

JT

oh PD, Onew's Circle is gonna break you, but like in a good way. Probably similar to how RM's Mono broke you??? But like a happier version of an existential crisis lol

t_k

Still hoping you'll have Onew's Circle LP when you have time and mood - it really is an incredible album that is worth your time. It helped me so much, so I keep wishing for you to listen to it since I think it will be an ultimate healing experience