It was fun to hear both of your thoughts on the HARD, thank you for sharing! Hard as a song definitely took a while for me to grow to like, but Gravity, Sweet Misery, and Insomnia became quick favorites. I was also a little aghast at The Feeling MV, when they decided to have all of those plastic bags and confetti 🤣😅 I'm interpreting it as like symbolic of feelings, like how any feeling can build up without release and how important it is to move forward and celebrate what you can? Idk. It makes me feel a little bit better hahaha.
As a SHAWOL, I had absolutely no problem with either "Hard" or "Juice". SHINee was originally supposed to be a Hip-Hop group and some of their earlier songs were 90s Hip-Hop inspired: "Get Down" (2009); "Up & Down" (2010); "Alive" & "Trigger" (2015); "Don't Call Me" (2021). So to say that this isn't them, is not understanding their background. As an experimental group, "Hard" is classic SHINee. Minho even stated that when they first listened to "Hard", they hated the melody, so they did what SHINee does--they rewrote it. The song contains upwards of 5 different genres stitched together to form a cohesive song, a signature and specialty of SHINee. This is in keeping with the experimental sound of 2021's "Don't Call Me", which was a mix of Hip-Hop, R&B, and Musical Theater. Two producers in one of the only serious SHINee interviews I've seen, lauded SHINee for their experimentation and for creating a "NEW" genre. In fact, those producers came up with a name for said new genre. You can watch the interview by searching for "What Makes SHINee Scared." So what makes a song a SHINee song? The actual brothers themselves, specifically their unique vocals, heavenly harmonies and experimentation. That is what differentiates SHINee from the rest of Kpop. I find it extremely ironic that Kpop fans are constantly bemoaning the lack of originality in Kpop these days, claiming it is becoming all the same, but when they hear SHINee present something totally new, then they complain that it sounds too different or not SHINee enough. Which is it? My teen daughter introduced me to Kpop through Taemin, who then lead me to SHINee. I don't listen much to any other Kpop group, and my daughter, now in her 20s, has moved on from most of Kpop because of the lack of originality I mentioned above. However, when I tell her that SHINee or Taemin have come out with a new album, she listens to it and usually really likes it. She recognizes that SHINee will comeback with something new and fresh. That is a testament to the what the SHINee sound is. When it comes to music, I've found that SHINee as a group, or as soloists have no fear. They go beyond what's deemed popular, required, or marketable, to explore new genres or actually create them in their bid to make music they love and enjoy performing. That's the sign of true artists in a world of the same old, same old -- that's SHINee World!
I appreciate your thoughts and love that your teen daughter got you into SHINee and K-Pop! I will definitely check out that "What Makes SHINee Scared" video that you mentioned. As a note though, we are also Shawols - and as I said in the show, I acknowledge that they have done more hip-hop influenced songs in the past. At the same time - this is a sound that other groups have since taken on as their own, so comparison is natural. "HARD" is NOT totally new - it sounds like a lot of current K-Pop songs. I appreciate the experimentation, but at the end of the day, if a new fan heard this song, there is nothing about it (in my opinion) that makes it stand out as uniquely SHINee. I can't say the same for most of their title tracks, from "Replay" through to "Don't Call Me" and "Atlantis". We are both huge Shawols and will support them forever - but it's OK as fans to not love everything. Part of what makes the experimentation interesting is that it's divisive and creates discussion just like this! Thanks for checking out our review - would love to know what your favorites from the whole album are! - Chris
Je suis d'accord à 💯 avec tout ce que vous avec dit sur ce qui fait le groupe SHINee et particulièrement sur ça "La chanson contient plus de 5 genres différents assemblés pour former une chanson cohérente, une signature et une spécialité de SHINee ". Personnellement je cherche jamais à faire de comparaison entre différents artistes, surtout s'ils s'impliquent autant que le fait SHINee dans tous leurs titres. Chez eux tout est réfléchi de A à Z et rien n'est laissé au hasard et entendre dire que SHINee fait dans le style d'un autre groupe (plus jeune) je trouve cela totalement injustifié et c'est rabaissé leurs implications. C'est aussi bien mal connaitre le groupe au final. Je tiens quand même à rappeler qu'ils font parti de la 2ème générations, c'est plutôt eux qui donnent la tendance et non le contraire, ils ne cherchent pas à être dans le mouvement, mais plutôt à le créer. Ils n'ont plus rien à prouver depuis longtemps, ils ont justement le privilège de pouvoir faire tous les styles de musiques qu'ils veulent et ça c'est justement la patte des vrais Artistes.
Diehard Shawol here! My feelings were VERY similar to y’all. Pardon the length. I know Taemin has said that he’s wanted to do a hip-hop concept, and, while I appreciate what they’ve done, I wish that there was a more uniquely SHINee spin on it. Yes, they’ve done hip-hop over the years, but when everyone keeps saying “it sounds like an NCT 127 song” it means they’ve missed the mark of that special SHINee uniqueness a bit. Don’t ask me what that sounds like, but I wanted a bit more. I preferred Juice to Hard, which makes me sad that I sided with SM and not the guys. I’m glad we got an almost MV level performance video of it as well. My thoughts about the rest of the album are very similar to yours. Sweet Misery is gorgeous, dreamy, and gloomy, which totally tracks with Taemin, my ult Dark Prince. I think it’s my favorite song. And I’m a sucker for the anthemic stadium yell part. The Feeling is my other favorite of the album. It’s so exhilarating and joyful and free and just makes me feel good. Pure serotonin! Yes, Identity was the accidental/we can always hope intentional Pride anthem we needed! I also agree that 10X is the weakest on the album. It’s a bit of a repetitive snooze-fest for me. I was tickled by Taemin rapping and was glad they let the members try new things. There’s a behind the scenes video where they talk about Kenzie telling him his rapping is cute, and for the most part, I agree. My mouth literally dropped when I heard him start Juice and I had to double-check it was him. Minho has really ascended this comeback. I was stuck anew by how solid a performer he is and how good, warm and soothing his voice is. He really adds a different dimension but also blends so well when needed. I think I’d give it an 8.5. I thought it was solid, but I think there’s room for improvement. I’m sure this comeback was quite rushed, which probably contributed to some of it. I appreciate your SHINee content and I hope to see more! I’d love to see your top 10 title tracks ranking!
Love this review, thanks so much for checking us out! Taemin's rapping is quite divisive I think, but I am also a fan, haha! I love that Kenzie told him it was cute. And noted - lots more SHINee content to come!! Thanks again for the support! - Chris
![YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Catch Me [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KxwEXXFQMTY/mqdefault.jpg)
It was fun to hear both of your thoughts on the HARD, thank you for sharing! Hard as a song definitely took a while for me to grow to like, but Gravity, Sweet Misery, and Insomnia became quick favorites. I was also a little aghast at The Feeling MV, when they decided to have all of those plastic bags and confetti 🤣😅 I'm interpreting it as like symbolic of feelings, like how any feeling can build up without release and how important it is to move forward and celebrate what you can? Idk. It makes me feel a little bit better hahaha.
Thanks so much for watching!! That explanation makes sense but it's just hilarious that they chose to do that...
I actually went to the first day of the concert. It was extremely amazing.
Ahhh, so jealous!! Hope they tour in the US soon!
I’m planning to see them at Tokyo dome in Feb 2024 since there’s strong chance it will be a full group concert.
Awesome love to see it!
Thanks so much for watching!
As a SHAWOL, I had absolutely no problem with either "Hard" or "Juice". SHINee was originally supposed to be a Hip-Hop group and some of their earlier songs were 90s Hip-Hop inspired: "Get Down" (2009); "Up & Down" (2010); "Alive" & "Trigger" (2015); "Don't Call Me" (2021). So to say that this isn't them, is not understanding their background.
As an experimental group, "Hard" is classic SHINee. Minho even stated that when they first listened to "Hard", they hated the melody, so they did what SHINee does--they rewrote it. The song contains upwards of 5 different genres stitched together to form a cohesive song, a signature and specialty of SHINee. This is in keeping with the experimental sound of 2021's "Don't Call Me", which was a mix of Hip-Hop, R&B, and Musical Theater. Two producers in one of the only serious SHINee interviews I've seen, lauded SHINee for their experimentation and for creating a "NEW" genre. In fact, those producers came up with a name for said new genre. You can watch the interview by searching for "What Makes SHINee Scared."
So what makes a song a SHINee song? The actual brothers themselves, specifically their unique vocals, heavenly harmonies and experimentation. That is what differentiates SHINee from the rest of Kpop. I find it extremely ironic that Kpop fans are constantly bemoaning the lack of originality in Kpop these days, claiming it is becoming all the same, but when they hear SHINee present something totally new, then they complain that it sounds too different or not SHINee enough. Which is it?
My teen daughter introduced me to Kpop through Taemin, who then lead me to SHINee. I don't listen much to any other Kpop group, and my daughter, now in her 20s, has moved on from most of Kpop because of the lack of originality I mentioned above. However, when I tell her that SHINee or Taemin have come out with a new album, she listens to it and usually really likes it. She recognizes that SHINee will comeback with something new and fresh. That is a testament to the what the SHINee sound is.
When it comes to music, I've found that SHINee as a group, or as soloists have no fear. They go beyond what's deemed popular, required, or marketable, to explore new genres or actually create them in their bid to make music they love and enjoy performing. That's the sign of true artists in a world of the same old, same old -- that's SHINee World!
I appreciate your thoughts and love that your teen daughter got you into SHINee and K-Pop! I will definitely check out that "What Makes SHINee Scared" video that you mentioned.
As a note though, we are also Shawols - and as I said in the show, I acknowledge that they have done more hip-hop influenced songs in the past. At the same time - this is a sound that other groups have since taken on as their own, so comparison is natural.
"HARD" is NOT totally new - it sounds like a lot of current K-Pop songs. I appreciate the experimentation, but at the end of the day, if a new fan heard this song, there is nothing about it (in my opinion) that makes it stand out as uniquely SHINee. I can't say the same for most of their title tracks, from "Replay" through to "Don't Call Me" and "Atlantis".
We are both huge Shawols and will support them forever - but it's OK as fans to not love everything. Part of what makes the experimentation interesting is that it's divisive and creates discussion just like this!
Thanks for checking out our review - would love to know what your favorites from the whole album are!
- Chris
Je suis d'accord à 💯 avec tout ce que vous avec dit sur ce qui fait le groupe SHINee et particulièrement sur ça "La chanson contient plus de 5 genres différents assemblés pour former une chanson cohérente, une signature et une spécialité de SHINee ". Personnellement je cherche jamais à faire de comparaison entre différents artistes, surtout s'ils s'impliquent autant que le fait SHINee dans tous leurs titres. Chez eux tout est réfléchi de A à Z et rien n'est laissé au hasard et entendre dire que SHINee fait dans le style d'un autre groupe (plus jeune) je trouve cela totalement injustifié et c'est rabaissé leurs implications. C'est aussi bien mal connaitre le groupe au final. Je tiens quand même à rappeler qu'ils font parti de la 2ème générations, c'est plutôt eux qui donnent la tendance et non le contraire, ils ne cherchent pas à être dans le mouvement, mais plutôt à le créer. Ils n'ont plus rien à prouver depuis longtemps, ils ont justement le privilège de pouvoir faire tous les styles de musiques qu'ils veulent et ça c'est justement la patte des vrais Artistes.
Diehard Shawol here! My feelings were VERY similar to y’all. Pardon the length.
I know Taemin has said that he’s wanted to do a hip-hop concept, and, while I appreciate what they’ve done, I wish that there was a more uniquely SHINee spin on it. Yes, they’ve done hip-hop over the years, but when everyone keeps saying “it sounds like an NCT 127 song” it means they’ve missed the mark of that special SHINee uniqueness a bit. Don’t ask me what that sounds like, but I wanted a bit more. I preferred Juice to Hard, which makes me sad that I sided with SM and not the guys. I’m glad we got an almost MV level performance video of it as well.
My thoughts about the rest of the album are very similar to yours. Sweet Misery is gorgeous, dreamy, and gloomy, which totally tracks with Taemin, my ult Dark Prince. I think it’s my favorite song. And I’m a sucker for the anthemic stadium yell part.
The Feeling is my other favorite of the album. It’s so exhilarating and joyful and free and just makes me feel good. Pure serotonin!
Yes, Identity was the accidental/we can always hope intentional Pride anthem we needed!
I also agree that 10X is the weakest on the album. It’s a bit of a repetitive snooze-fest for me.
I was tickled by Taemin rapping and was glad they let the members try new things. There’s a behind the scenes video where they talk about Kenzie telling him his rapping is cute, and for the most part, I agree. My mouth literally dropped when I heard him start Juice and I had to double-check it was him.
Minho has really ascended this comeback. I was stuck anew by how solid a performer he is and how good, warm and soothing his voice is. He really adds a different dimension but also blends so well when needed.
I think I’d give it an 8.5. I thought it was solid, but I think there’s room for improvement. I’m sure this comeback was quite rushed, which probably contributed to some of it.
I appreciate your SHINee content and I hope to see more! I’d love to see your top 10 title tracks ranking!
Love this review, thanks so much for checking us out!
Taemin's rapping is quite divisive I think, but I am also a fan, haha! I love that Kenzie told him it was cute.
And noted - lots more SHINee content to come!! Thanks again for the support!
- Chris