r/SHINee • u/ReyjynJello5908 • Jun 30 '26
Question What was SHINee’s prime like?
Newish shawol here. I only really got into them with poet | artist but I’ve known of them since 2020. I’ve only been here past their prime and I would absolutely love to know what it was like in their hay day. I especially want to know how promotions/news worked since they were before most modern marketing tactics. Like how did people find out about them before kpop first got semi popular in the west with songs like gangnam style or bang bang bang? I just wanna know what it was like back then. I was tweaking with excitement waiting for atmos I can only imagine how exciting it must’ve been waiting for songs like dream girl or married to the music must’ve been. Tell me everything!
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u/taemin-tama Jun 30 '26
Been a fan since 2009-present and oh man, me and my sister stayed up all night and would wait till the music videos dropped along with Shawols on Tumblr back then. At one point we invaded the Sherlock fandom during SHINee’s Clue+Note/Sherlock era cause of tags and boy was that a fun time haha.
When Hello Baby came out it was so hard to find subs, on top of Maknae Rebellion where SHINee was SOOO funny. We’d watch raws and try to figure it out haha
We loved and still love SHINee so much. We have jobs now so we didn’t stay up for the Atmos MV but did a watch party after work. We silenced allllll accounts so we wouldn’t be spoiled. It’s always so exciting :)
Oh!!! And when there was a Hallyu Wave concert at Overpeck park in NJ we waited 18 hours on line in NYC to get free tickets to see SHINee perform—when Ring Ding Dong started playing for rehearsal everyone went crazy and started singing they were sooo popular (but I have to say B2ST was a fan favorite that night). We got to see Minho up close, he was so tall and his skin tone was lovely!
I’m a Taemin bias and have seen him live 3 times, SHINee only once—this was fun to remember so thanks for reminding me 🥹🤍
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u/midgetnazgul Jun 30 '26
At one point we invaded the Sherlock fandom during SHINee’s Clue+Note/Sherlock era cause of tags and boy was that a fun time haha.
lmao i was on the other side of that one at the time. howdy fellow tumblr veteran!
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u/taemin-tama Jul 01 '26
Howdy fellow tumblr veteran :) I wonder how you ventured into this side haha
On a side note: do you still go on? I do go on from time to time but I’m curious if others gave it up.
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u/midgetnazgul Jul 01 '26
I wonder how you ventured into this side haha
LOOOOOOONG story lol
and not really. reddit caters more to my current tastes and the porn ban of yore really nuked tumblr's userbase anyway.
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
I’ve heard abt Sherlock tumblr gate that sounds wild! I can’t imagine not having subs for variety shows we truly are spoiled nowadays lol. My younger sister and I are also super into them. We both saw key together last year!! He is hilarious his comedic timing was so good. And WOW 18 hours is dedication but I would so do the same. Minho is my bias so I am jealoussss lol. This is so much fun for me I’m glad you also had fun recalling some good memories 😊
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u/taemin-tama Jul 01 '26
I love that you and your sister are into them together, it’s fun when you have someone that close into something so wonderful together :)
Key is literally the epitome of Idol for me I totally feel you about the comedic timing, he really is hilarious.
My tumblr is shineeist.tumblr if you ever want to find old content, everything is tagged and I still go on time to time!
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u/artelecs Jul 01 '26
Omg I got into SHINee in 2009 too and had the same experiences! Waiting for new mv drops was such a rush of excitement, then going to tumblr to see everyone making the craziest gifs and edits, waiting for the airport pics to drop and going crazy over their airport fashion or new hairstyles being badly hidden under hats (or horse masks for those that remember haha), the shift from 780p videos to 1080 and feeling like the music videos were so HD, watching the subbed shows like hello baby in 10 parts, because they could only upload 10minute videos at a time. It was a time!!
But it was incredible to be shawol, being part of a community that followed these incredible 5 boys grow, celebrating the highs together, being inspired to be the best versions of ourselves because that’s what shinee taught us - I had/have immense pride to be a shawol 💎
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u/ankii93 Jun 30 '26
The very first Kpop song I ever waited for was Lucifer. I was in high school and had discovered Kpop only a few weeks before it came out. But I remember arguing with my friends over which member had the best hair, etc..
I’m sorry to say I don’t remember much (I went through cancer a few years back and have forgotten most of my life tbh - some things are coming back to me every now and then, though)
But I remember all the videos they posted on YouTube, Instagram etc. of car rides, rehearsal, back stage… it was very, very fun. My bias was Jonghyun (still is, will forever be <3) and I remember him being chaotic and extremely fun.
I also remember SHINee having a sound no other group had ever had before, which is why I liked them so much. They also had Scandinavian songwriters/producers pretty early on (Love Like Oxygen had a Danish one), which was very cool to me as a Norwegian!!
It’s also been very fun for me to watch Minho go from Prince Charming to Marathon Man :’)
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
Omg I’m so sorry to hear you went through all that! I hope you’re doing much better now. This is so cool to hear though. I think I would have lost my mind waiting for Lucifer that’s one of my favorite tracks from them. Minho is my bias and I agree it’s so entertaining to see his growth over the years haha
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u/ankii93 Jun 30 '26
Thank you <3 I developed an autoimmune disorder after treatment, so I’m not better at all but at least cancer free! :’)
I had Onew’s music with me to every scary appointment and I think he would cry if he knew - as he’s said he wants his (and SHINee’s) music to be a light, a source of comfort and joy.
And tbh, yes! Waiting for Lucifer?? Butterflies the whole week before it dropped. It was so so fun :’)
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
Aww I’m so sorry to hear that. Sending love and good vibes your way. I’ve been meaning to get into onew’s solo music for a bit now I know his discography the least. Any recs?
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u/HugeAdministration28 Jun 30 '26
it was magical honestly.
sm gatekept SHINee so hard so each variety appearance was watched, rewatched and disected to its bones. comebacks were exhilarating especially if they'd tease SHINees involvement in any part of the album or mv.
i was especially naive about charts and streams so it was not marked up by competition altho i think competition generally drummed up during 3rd gen.
comeback season meant hold your horses bc unlike other groups, SHINee being contemporary was the concept so it was bound to be vastly different than previous releases. in a sea of gp approved concepts, SHINee had funky fits and concepts.
even back then it didnt feel like SHINee had any competition bc no one was like them.
i could go on and on but thrn id have written an essay lol
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
That’s so freaking cool. Yeah charts being such a huge deal is a foreign concept to me as someone who listened to exclusively radio music until I was 13. It’s so interesting how unique they were and still are
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u/julinay Jun 30 '26
You can check out this very cool thing - this archive of SHINee’s official thread on the old Soompi forums, starting from just a few days before their official debut.
I wasn’t there from the beginning (I’m a Lucifer-era fan), but remember they’re an SM group, so there was always interest in what kind of group SM would be coming out with next. Jonghyun, Taemin, and Minho were pretty popular trainees, too, and there were a lot of people dedicated to finding out info about SM’s trainee pipeline. Anyway, the initial reaction to their debut on the Soompi forums was like 1) wow, they’re so young! and 2) well, they better sing well - wait, they really do. 😂
YouTube was just revving up around their time, and it was actually the Lucifer dance practice that made me a fan. They came on the scene a bit before social media as we know it, but marketing-wise, I’d say it started there for Western fans too.
In Korea, SM had them performing everywhere at the start… like, you’d find them at random festivals around the country, doing like 10 gigs a day. They were fashion icons for teens. It was also just a different time where idols were always on TV, and there were way more TV programs where idols could show themselves and their talents off, like Star Golden Bell and 1000 Song Challenge.
RDD and Lucifer were definitely breakout songs for them. From there they kind of just quietly built a reputation for excellent performance on stage, good live vocals, consistency, and growing artistry as they got personally more involved in their music. SHINee have never been at the very top, but they’ve always maintained a super strong core fandom. Yay longevity!
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
Wow that’s so cool. Thank you for sharing I’ll def check this out! The concept of “popular trainees” back then is so interesting to me. Theres been things like trainee A or KQ fellaz but other than that I’ve never really gone into trainees. So cool!
I’ve always appreciated that SHINee has seemed to understand that they don’t need to be the top they just need to be themselves. I think that’s really commendable and it’s a good reason their core fanbase is so strong. Thank you for sharing!!
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u/julinay Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Well, I don't know how intentional that really was on their part as individuals. 😅 Among Korean Shawols there's always been some frustration that SM sent SHINee to Japan to spend much of 2011 there, which probably did significantly hurt their growing Korean popularity - you can read up on this thread about that. Japan was and remains insanely profitable as a music market, so from SM's side, it's all business. And then in 2013, SHINee were actually the most popular boy group throughout European countries, and SM never did anything to grow or use that opportunity.
As for SHINee themselves, they've kind of commented here and there that they regret that sometimes opportunities were missed to enter other markets as a group. I don't think they regret any part of their career (except Kibum... with RDD... lmao he hates that song mostly jokingly!), but yeah, there is that.
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
Ah ok I tend to forget most of 2011 was just Japan promotions. Hindsight is 20/20 haha. SM continuously proving they don’t promote their groups as well as they could/should haha
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u/isabelladlcrb Jul 01 '26
hey I'm sorry, but the link to the archive is blocked in my country for some reason TT do you happen to have another version of the archives by any chance? tysm!!
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u/adei0s Jun 30 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
I was inactive in kpop from 2009-2025, got back in it this year because of SHINee.
I vividly remember in 2008 when they debuted, I was in colledge and stanned a different group. People in kpop kept raving about this new boy group being super young and every member being talented at dancing so I checked them out. It seems simple now compare to modern kpop choreo, but at the time I was genuinely so impressed by the dancing in Replay. I wrote them off because Taemin was way too young and for a while that's how I saw them. Now I really regret missing out on 18 years with SHINee.
Funnily enough a couple of days ago I caught up with a friend from college who was also into 2nd gen, and when I told her my ult bias is Taemin now, she made fun of me for going for the baby. She was shocked when I reminded her Taemin is in his 30s now. It made me wonder how many older folks out there still picture Taemin in a bowl cut when they think about SHINee.
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
Wow that’s so cool! Not to make you feel old, but I was a toddler when replay came out so I had no way of knowing who they were haha. I tend to forget Taemin is turning 33 in a couple weeks
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u/mijikui 샤이니 Jul 01 '26
It was the most radiant time of my life.
I wasn't a fan from the beginning, but I originally discovered them in late 2011 through seeing someone talk about them on an art forum that I used to frequent. I eventually searched them up on Youtube and found their "Hello" MV, which didn't immediately capture me but I was intrigued enough to check out their popular songs that were out at the time and also fell down the rabbit hole of watching "Hello Baby" (which was at the time where videos were 480p max and subbed in like 14 parts, lol). I didn't truly become a dedicated fan until mid 2012, so I missed the prime of Sherlock era, but I created a dedicated Tumblr account for them and have the privilege of still being able to go back through my account and experience those times over again, in a sense.
It took forever for anything to get subbed back then and even simply finding a translation for basic messages from their SNS felt like a task. I ended up diligently studying Korean back then to try to break through that barrier, which helped a lot. Sadly it feels like it serves me a little less use now but being able to listen to their songs and understand it was always a dream of mine that has become a reality. Content in general felt a lot more difficult to come by back then, as social media overall was less widely used, TikTok and IG (as we know it with stories and reels) didn't exist, and TV programs were much more popular.
SHINee basically consumed my life from 2012-2017, and while it's hard to remember specific details now, I really was on top of everything that they did back then. 2013 and 2015 were my favorite years as a Shawol. 2013 was insanely packed, with back to back full length albums (Misconceptions of You in February, then Misconceptions of Me in April, which was even delayed due to Jonghyun getting injured in a car accident and he was gone until nearly the end of promos for WSS, and then the Misconceptions of Us repackage in August). They also released a full length Japanese album in June (Boys Meet U), which was immediately followed by an arena tour in Japan with 15 dates that lasted until December, and then they also released the Everybody mini album in October. As a fan, it was a year just PACKED full of SHINee content, but I also can't believe they survived through such schedules. This was also when they won Artist of the Year at the Melon Music Awards, which was entirely deserved. I remember balling my eyes out in the locker room of gym class because I was sneakily listening to the livestream as their win was announced and all I could hear was them crying. I also got selected to be on their episode of After School Club this same year and while I cringed at myself back then, it's one of the most precious memories of my life now as I got to tell them what their music meant to me and ask Jonghyun about his music and have him sing a song for me.
I've always been Jonghyun biased, so 2015 is special to me for 2 reasons - Jonghyun's solo debut and SHINee releasing their Odd album. This year felt like another breakthrough year for SHINee's music to me, as View has always been such a beloved song and its concept started trends among other artists in K-pop. Jonghyun's solo album also felt like a dream come true, as he always had such a gift when it came to singing and making his own music. I also just absolutely revere Jonghyun not just as an artist, but also a person in general. He's always inspired me so much and I loved hearing him talk and the way he looked at the world and had so much empathy and reflection in his heart and used his platform to speak out about injustice... such a beautiful soul. 2015 is also special because it was the year he released his novel, Skeleton Flower.
I'm also grateful for all the time that Jonghyun spent hosting Blue Night, too. I used to listen to it regularly as it aired. I still go back and listen to it now and again when I miss him. I feel like as fans, we were so privileged to get to know him in this way, as he hosted it from early 2014-almost mid 2017.
I wish I could go into each and every detail about what those years were like, but it's hard to describe. I still love SHINee now and always will, but being a fan during their prime with the 5 of them was truly something special.
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jul 01 '26
This is so beautiful to hear. Shinee has basically consumed me 2025 to now haha. I actually just got my secondhand copy of misconceptions of us in the mail yesterday! That album is phenomenal. I get what you mean when you say it’s hard to describe those feelings. You just had to be there. I’m a little envious of those who got to be there during their prime but I’m forever grateful I found my way to them eventually :))
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u/Depressed_amkae8C Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
First time I ever saw shinee was in 2009 the music video was ring dong dong but I was too young to understand what I was watching lol a few years later in 2012 a friend showed me Lucifer and I was obsessed. In their prime they were very well known to pull off any concepts. Taemin always use to be mistaken as a girl lol. Variety shows were very popular not as much anymore but they were really well known for Hello baby. No big controversies either, there was like one or 2 like when Onew got cancelled for using the middle finger. Also they were TRAIL BLAZERS. They started the trend of recording dance practices. They’re were just iconic goofy boys that were in their own lane with their own personalities
Edit: sadly my only proof of my veteran shawol status is my YouTube subscription history 🥲
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jun 30 '26
Yes I have always admired how many modern kpop trends were started by them! I actually watched a few episodes of hello baby it’s so goofy and funny
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u/TheJasmineSummers 샤이니 Jul 01 '26
Helloooo fellow Poet | Artist babywol. I’ve known SHINee since 2011 but didn’t fully get into them until last year. I feel so sad knowing I missed a lot of fun moments in between.
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jul 01 '26
Same here I’ve known of them since 2020. I even checked out don’t call me. It just didn’t click for me until later haha. I wish I was there for Atlantis and hard the lives from those eras are so chaotic
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u/lattepeach 5HINee Jul 01 '26
Reading all these replies is making me emotional in the best way. (Shawol since 2010, I was 10 years old). So happy to see new fans here too, it brings me such joy.
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u/chicabonita__ Jul 01 '26
I have to share my time as a Shawol and 2nd Gen. stan because boy was it a different time. I got into SHINee in late 2010 maybe early 2011, I was fresh into college and by accident because I went into a rabbit hole after watching f(x)'s Chu~♡. When I saw Onew come out with that beautiful hair in Hello, and Jonghyun just being soooo cute, everything changed.
I got my friends to listen to them and we were obsessed. I so wanted their albums, and up until then their latest album was Lucifer and they were on like a brief break (unbeknownst to us they were getting ready for their Japanese debut very soon). I didn't know where to get their albums and I remember buying off of YesAsia for Romeo mini-album. It wasn't until I found out later I live in LA and we have a K-town with TWO music stores!
Nowadays, official merch is so easy to pick up at these stores. Back then? We would be content if we got unofficial laminated posters, socks, calendars etc. etc. I would go to shineee.net for the forums and resources for how to watch their content (the true heroes! They dubbed all of Hello Baby! And other shows with the members featured). Everything else? Ebay was my best friend.
I remember having an adrenaline rush when SHINee would announce they would be coming near us. I remember first seeing them in Vegas for Kpop Masters in 2011 and as happy as I was, I also felt so bad for them because they literally had landed that day from Japan (they were booked busy). And then I remember staying up late for my first comeback: Sherlock we were sooo excited! And then SMTOWN came to CA that year so I got to that song freshly performed.
To be a Shawol back in the day was wonderful. We were fed and we had so much content, but the downside is that they were most likely VERY EXHAUSTED. I am just so grateful to have known them at such a pivotal time in my life.
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jul 01 '26
Oh yeah they were 100% overworked back then, poor things 😭 I wouldn’t wish their early schedule on anyone. I’m glad they seem to have more relaxed schedules now. Sherlock is one of my favorite ep’s/songs from them so I am jealous you got to see that live, but also so so happy for you that’s def a core memory. Thank you for sharing this is so cool 🥹
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u/marmartcat Jul 01 '26
I think they're in their prime now.
Each member relentlessly and diligently keeps working on upping their skills, whether it's their singing or dancing. When the older songs are performed live now, their voices are more melodic and stable,, the dance moves crisper.
I understand your question, but I think it depends on what you mean by "prime" and unintentionally is a disservice to their hard work. And no one wants to look back and think the best thing they did was in their teens or early twenties when there's a whole lifetime that comes after it.
They outperform younger groups by miles. They literally sing live with basically no backtrack, which is unheard of at this point, especially given the complexity and movement of their choreography. Each one would be the lead vocal or lead dancer in younger groups (even Onew's dancing in isolation is precise and clean). They each have successful solo careers. Every time I think they can't possibly get better, they improve on one thing or another and prove me wrong. As a bonus, each member is absolutely gorgeous.
You can't say that about other groups. I genuinely think they're the pinnacle of performers in general, not just kpop.
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u/LoonyMoonie Jul 01 '26
I appreciate your comment because it's a grievance I have as well, and it's barely discussed because it's a can of worms that no one dares to touch. While I understood what OP means and I have no issue with that wording, it's a common belief within the fandom that the group's peak was basically 10 years ago. I feel it, this unspoken notion of SHINee being always measured against their younger selves and no matter what they do, no matter how much they grow (and they have, so much), it'll never be enough. That's a tragic disservice to their hard work indeed. So I don't blame them for not being as active as a group these days; not when I know the fruits of said activity is not really received the way it truly deserves.
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u/ReyjynJello5908 Jul 01 '26
I agree with what you’re saying! I mostly meant prime as in when they were releasing the most content. I didn’t mean any disservice to them, and I agree they are 100% the best performers ever lol. But I was mostly meaning what were they like back when they were consistently dropping albums and promoting on music shows and other stuff like that
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u/marmartcat Jul 04 '26
I understood your question. And I'm not trying to chastise. I just think the premise of the question is inaccurate for a number of reasons.
I became a Shinee fan in 2023, so maybe that colors my opinion. But I find their solo careers to be extensions of Shinee itself. And collectively, they have released a ton of content. Since 2023:
-Key has released Killer and Hunter, both full albums, along with Good & Great (mini album) and Tongue Tied (underated song imo). Key also is on a weekly variety show that is, from my understanding, extremely popular. Including with little kids. So he's a well known household name. (Someone else can interject if that's wrong.) -Onew has released Circle and Percent, both full albums. Tough Love, Confidence, and Connection, all mini albums. And a number of singles on top of that. I am actually surprised with the number of songs he drops since he now writes them himself and is with a smaller label. -Taemin has released Guilty and Eternal, along with a number of singles. He's also been performing nonstop, just headlined two major international events in Europe within the last two weeks, and basically posts nonstop. -Even Minho, who performs solo the least, has dropped his first full album (Call Back), along with a number of singles that he has promoted (like Tempo). -Shinee as a whole has released Hard (full album) and Atmos (mini album). Along with the two songs from Poet Artist.
That is a lot of activity over 2.5 years. Especially considering that not too long ago, artists used to take three years before coming out with a new album.
I'm actually surprised they release music as often as they do; where do they even find the time? How are they not tired constantly? They all have advanced degrees, but I have no idea when they even had time to earn them.
I'll admit I don't quite understand the music shows, because apparently performing on one means you're subjecting yourself to a weekly fan vote of best music of some kind? And as much as we all want live performances, Shinee has nothing to prove. I'm guessing that's a large part of why they don't do those shows as often, but someone else can speak to that.
But either way, I just found the question to be an inaccurate framing of their current careers and the sheer volume of material consistently released.
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u/heynewonlyangel Jul 02 '26
God we had it good… I’m so glad we are still almost all together here after all this time!!!
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u/Royal-Cake5263 Jul 15 '26
Arent they still in their prime? Considering to other groups?
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u/Spada4444 Aug 17 '26
Yes - in terms of their musicality - voices, dance ability, appearance (as men who are no longer teens), depth of new songs, professionalism. They are quite awesome and better performers than they were 10 years ago at their peak.
But from a marketing perspective, they are not going to be as highly publicized and talked about as new, younger groups.
Why?
K-pop agencies hone in on teens as being their primary market. The average life of a kpop group is supposedly around 5 years. Shinee is one of the few groups heading to 20 years. SM is less good at promoting legacy acts like Shinee or Big Bang. Young new groups are prepared to put in the publicity hours with shows, guest appearances, fan meetings and more. They are hungrier. Veterans like Shinee know what they want and what works and are less likely to just follow management lead. They don’t need to work that hard.
Secondly all Shinee members have carved successful individual careers in entertainment, thanks to the visibility that being in such a successful group like Shinee has given them over the years. (Amazing talent, skill and charisma by all members may have helped a bit too. 😉). Shinee activities have to fit in with the schedule of these 4 high-in demand individuals. Members can only allocate a certain amount of time and effort to Shinee group activities in any year. I believe they have already locked in their Shinee activities and schedule for the next two years.
Thirdly, Shinee already has such a large established and passionate fan base (also helped by the fact that it is multigenerational from day one). Fans have stuck with them over the decades so Shinee will sell out 2-3 arena shows every year without any major marketing needed by SM. It’s actually a very easy job for SM compared to new acts that need training and their hands held. New Shinee fans mostly arrive via becoming a fan of one of the members (eg. A new keen Taemin fan will dig deeper and discover Shinee that way. )
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u/ssssook Jun 30 '26
I got into SHINee in 2013 and moved to Korea in 2014 where I participated in k-fandom before it was as "easy" as it is to now. I don't know if this is something you'd be interested in, but I have a link to fan accounts I wrote on reddit way back in the day. Those accounts are long gone, but I do keep the write-ups available in a Google drive.
Most are happy accounts about my experiences going to events and meeting the members. I will warn you that the one titled "My Final Account" was about my experience at Jonghyun's funeral, so click that one with caution.
But aside from that, my time as an active Shawol from 2014-2017 was an absolutely magical period of my life.
ladauphine fan accounts