Shinee ( ; ; ; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group consists of four members: Onew, Key, Choi Min-ho, and Taemin. It was a five-member band until Jonghyun died on December 18, 2017. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and the title "Princes of K-pop", and their music has been listed among the greatest boy band songs of all time.
Shinee debuted in May 2008 with their first extended play (EP), Replay, fronted by the single of the same name. The group gained attention for starting a fashion trend amongst students, which the media dubbed the "Shinee Trend". In August 2008, the group released their first Korean studio album, The Shinee World, which won Newcomer Album of the Year at the 23rd Golden Disc Awards. Shinee further consolidated their popularity on the South Korean music scene with follow-up singles "Ring Ding Dong" and "Lucifer". "Ring Ding Dong" charted on top of several Korean music charts and gained popularity all over Asia. "Lucifer" was nominated for the Best Dance Performance Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in 2010 for its outstanding choreography. In 2012, the group released Sherlock, which became the fifth best-selling album of the year with over 180,000 copies sold. Subsequent albums included The Misconceptions of Us (2013), Odd (2015), 1 of 1 (2016), The Story of Light (2018), Don't Call Me (2021), and Hard (2023). The group has also been included in the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 twice (2014, 2016).
In mid-2011, Shinee signed with EMI Music Japan to venture into the Japanese music scene. Their Japanese version of their single "Replay" sold over 100,000 copies, the highest number of sales for a Japanese debut single recorded by Oricon for a South Korean group at the time. It was followed by their first Japanese studio album, The First, on December 7, 2011 – both were certified Gold by RIAJ for selling over 100,000 copies. In 2011, the group also held their Japan Debut Premium Reception at Abbey Road Studios in London, making them the first Asian artists to perform there. Two years later, they released their second Japanese album Boys Meet U (2013), followed by I'm Your Boy (2014), D×D×D (2016), and Five (2017).
Shinee is considered to be one of the best live vocal groups in K-pop and is known for their highly synchronized and complex dance routines, having been awarded the Best Dance Performance Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards three times in a row for their dance performances to "Sherlock (Clue + Note)", "Dream Girl" and "View". Shinee's signature musical style is contemporary R&B, but the group is known for their experimental sound, incorporating various genres including funk rock, hip hop, and EDM.
In June 2008, the group won their first award, Rookie of the Month, at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards, and were also awarded with the Hot New Star award at the Mnet 20's Choice Awards in August 2008. In the same month, Shinee subsequently released their first full-length album, The Shinee World, which debuted at number three, selling 30,000 copies. Its lead single "Love Like Oxygen" is a cover of "Show the World" by Martin Hoberg Hedegaard, originally written by the Danish songwriting and production team of Thomas Troelsen, Remee, and Lucas Secon. On September 18, 2008, the song won first place on M Countdown, making it the group's first win on a South Korean music show since debut.
Shinee participated in the 5th Asia Song Festival, where they received the Best New Artist award along with Japanese girl group Berryz Kobo. The group attended the Style Icon Awards on October 30, 2008, where they received the Best Style Icon Award. On the same day, a repackaged version of The Shinee World, titled Amigo, was released, which includes three new songs: "Forever or Never", a remix of "Love Should Go On", and the title track "Amigo". "Amigo" is a shortened version of the Korean phrase " areumdaun minyeoreul joahamyeon gosaenghanda", which can be translated to "The heart aches when you fall in love with a beauty".
In November 2008, Shinee won the Best New Male Group award at the 2008 Mnet KM Music Festival, beating fellow newcomers U-KISS, 2PM, 2AM and Mighty Mouth. In addition, the group also won the award for Newcomer Album of the Year at the 23rd Golden Disc Awards.
Shinee released the digital version of their third extended play, 2009, Year of Us, on October 19, 2009, with a physical release on October 22. The lead single, "Ring Ding Dong", was released digitally on October 14 and charted atop of several Korean music charts and gained popularity all over Asia. In early December 2009, the group won the Popularity Award along with Super Junior at the 24th Golden Disc Awards.
On July 19, 2010, the group released their second full-length studio album, Lucifer, which topped various physical and digital sales charts in South Korea. The songs on the album "were more carefully selected than ever", and the album is said to "give listeners a great chance to experience the diverse musical characters and more mature vocal skills of the members." The group made their comeback on July 23, 2010, at KBS' Music Bank. For its outstanding choreography, "Lucifer" was nominated for the Best Dance Performance Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. Lucifer became the sixth best-selling album of 2010 in South Korea, selling over 120,000 copies. In October 2010, the album was re-released under the title Hello. Amidst their promotional activities for the second studio album, the group also participated in the SM Town Live '10 World Tour on August 21, 2010. On December 26, 2010, Shinee commenced their first concert tour, Shinee World, at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. The event was attended by approximately 24,000 people.
On June 19, Shinee became the first Asian artists to perform at Abbey Road Studios in London, holding their Japan Debut Premium Reception there. On July 22, 2011, Shinee started their Japan Debut Premium Reception Tour and held several concerts in various cities across Japan. On August 28 and October 12, 2011, two Japanese remakes, "Juliette" and "Lucifer", were released, respectively. On August 9, 2011, Shinee took part in an effort to help African children. The groups were joined by the United Nations' Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, in the "Help African Children" project co-organized by the Korean Red Cross Society and the Korean UNICEF committee. In November 2011, Shinee were invited to be the opening act of the 6th London Korean Film Festival, which took place at the Odeon West End Theater. The group held an hour-long gala concert to open the festival with tickets selling out within minutes. This marked the first time that any Korean artist(s) had held an independent concert in London.
The group's first Japanese studio album, The First, was released in December 2011. It featured five new songs in addition to Japanese remakes of seven previously released Korean songs. The regular version of the album also featured the theme song of the drama Strangers 6, entitled "Stranger", as a bonus. The album was certified Gold by RIAJ for selling over 100,000 copies. On December 8, Lee Tae-min, Onew, and Key debuted as writers and released a travelogue, Children of the Sun, containing stories from their trip to Barcelona, Spain. The members shot the photos and wrote the commentaries themselves. Shinee also participated in the album with a cover of the song "Last Christmas". The compilation album by SM artists was released on December 13, 2011.
Shinee held a commemorative concert in honor of the successful release of their first Japanese album, The First, at the Tokyo International Forum Hall A on December 24, 2011. The live concert took place three times in order to accommodate the 15,000 fans that won a lottery to attend. They performed a total of six songs including their Japanese debut singles, "Replay (Kimi wa Boku no Everything)" and "Lucifer", and "To Your Heart". On December 28, 2011, Tower Records Japan announced that Shinee had won the Artist of the Year award at the 2011 K-Pop Lovers! Awards. Shinee's fourth Korean extended play, Sherlock, was released digitally on March 19 and physically on March 21. Sherlock became the fifth best-selling album of the year in South Korea with over 180,000 copies sold. On March 26, 2012, Shinee, alongside their labelmates, became stockholders of SM Entertainment. They received 340 shares each (value of around $13,600 for each member).
Japanese remake of "Sherlock" was released in Japan on May 16. The group started their first Japan nationwide concert tour, Shinee World 2012, on April 25, 2012. The tour had a total of 20 concerts in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo and Hiroshima. Their tour set a record for the most people in attendance for a Korean act's first Japan tour with a total of 200,000 people. On May 20, 2012, Shinee participated in the SM Town Live World Tour III alongside their label-mates at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Shinee held their second solo concert, Shinee World II, beginning in Seoul on July 21 and 22 at Olympic Gymnastics Arena.
Shinee released an original Japanese single, "Dazzling Girl", on October 10, 2012. The single sold 97,111 copies in its first week and was chosen to be the theme song for the Japanese TV series Sukkiri. On November 19, 2012, along with actor Kim Soo-hyun, Shinee won the Ministry of Culture Award at South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Creative Content Agency's (KOCCA) annual award show, the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards, at Seoul Olympic Hall. Shinee attended the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards in November 2012, which was held in Hong Kong, winning Best Dance Performance – Male Group for their latest Korean single, "Sherlock (Clue + Note)". Shinee released their first Japanese ballad single (sixth overall), "1000-nen, Zutto Soba ni Ite...", and the concert video album for their Shinee World 2012 arena tour on December 12, 2012.
Shinee's third Korean album consisted of two versions: the first part, Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You, being released on February 19 and the second part, Why So Serious? – The Misconceptions of Me, being released on April 29. The lead single of part one, "Dream Girl", is an Acid house electro funk track and was produced by Hyuk Shin and Joombas Music Factory, while the lead single of part two, "Why So Serious?", is a funk rock dance track written and produced by Kenzie. A compilation album was subsequently released, The Misconceptions of Us, with two new songs: "Selene 6.23" and "Better Off". On March 13, Shinee released the Japanese single "Fire". On June 26, the group released their second Japanese album, Boys Meet U, and on August 21, a single with the same name was released, including the Japanese version of "Dream Girl". On June 28, 2013, Shinee started their second Japan nationwide concert tour, Shinee World 2013, in Saitama.
September 29, SM Entertainment announced that Shinee's fifth EP, Everybody, would be released on October 14. In November 2013, Shinee won Artist of the Year at the Melon Music Awards, one of the biggest award ceremonies in the country, which awards prizes based on digital sales and online votes. It was the first time the group won the prize. SM Entertainment announced its week-long music festival called SM Town Week. Shinee's concert, titled The Wizard, opened the event on December 21 at the Kintex in Ilsan.
On January 29, 2014, it was announced that Shinee would hold their third Korean solo concert, Shinee World III, in March, with shows added in Latin America. On February 24, the mayor of Gangnam District, Shin Yeon-hee, announced that Shinee had been appointed honorary ambassadors of the district. On April 2, Shinee released a live concert album from their second solo concert. On June 25, Universal Music Japan released Shinee's tenth Japanese single, "Lucky Star", as their first release under EMI Records. On September 24, Universal Music Japan released the group's third Japanese album, I'm Your Boy, preceded by the singles "Boys Meet U", "3 2 1", and "Lucky Star". From September till December 2014 Shinee embarked on their third Japan tour. It started off at Chiba on September 28, with 30 scheduled performances around the country.
On December 11, 2014, the group released their third live concert album, from Shinee World III, held in Olympic Gymnastics Arena on March 8 and 9 the same year. It contained two CDs with a total of 33 tracks. SM Entertainment stated on December 15 that Shinee sold out the World Memorial Hall in Kobe, Japan, with 16,000 fans attending between December 13 and 14. With that, Shinee successfully completed their 20-city, 30-concert tour, gathering 200,000 audience members overall. Furthermore, Shinee held a solo concert in Tokyo Dome, the first time since their Japanese debut, on March 14 and 15, 2015. The Tokyo Dome concert was the finale and encore for their Japanese tour. Forbes listed Shinee among Korea Power Celebrity in 2014.
Shinee held a three-day long concert, Shinee World IV, at Seoul's Olympic Park Gymnastics Gymnasium between May 15 and 17, where the group premiered the new songs off their upcoming album. Their fourth studio album, Odd, was released on May 18, and the following day the music video to the lead single, "View", was released. The track was written and produced by LDN Noise and Jonghyun. The music video for "View" was the most watched K-pop music video in the world for the month of May. Odd debuted at number nine on Billboards Top Heatseekers chart as well as number one on Billboards World Albums chart and sold over 2,000 copies in the US. The repackaged album, Married to the Music, was released on August 3, 2015, with four additional songs.
They released their eleventh and twelfth Japanese singles, "Sing Your Song" and "D×D×D", on October 25, 2015, and December 13, 2015, respectively, the latter being the lead single for their fourth Japanese album of the same name. On January 1, 2016, Shinee released their fourth full-length Japanese album, D×D×D, which included the group's previously released singles and the Japanese version of "View". The album topped the Oricon charts. To promote the album, they launched their fourth nationwide Japanese stadium tour, Shinee World 2016, starting in Fukuoka's Marine Messe on January 30, 2016, and ending at the Tokyo Dome on May 19, 2016, with a total of 20 concerts in nine cities. Their agency estimated that the concert could have gathered up to 350,000 people, which would bring the cumulative total of visitors to all of Shinee's Japanese tours to 1.12 million. The tour marked their second time headlining Tokyo Dome, which they did on May 18 and 19, and first time headlining Kyocera Dome, on May 14 and 15. They released their 13th Japanese single, "Kimi no Sei de", on May 18, which sold over 69,000 copies in Japan.
In February 2016, Forbes released their top forty of Forbes Korea Power Celebrity, Shinee being included once again. In March, Shinee won the Asia's Best Group Award at the 23rd DongFang Music Awards in Shanghai, one of the biggest annual award ceremonies in China. The group was the only K-pop act invited to attend and perform at the ceremony.
On September 4, 2016, Shinee held their fifth solo concert, titled Shinee World V, in Seoul. Four of the 34 songs performed were songs from the group's new album, which was released on October 5, 2016, under the title 1 of 1. The album "spins a hyper-modernized twist on the retro genre", inspired by the 1980–1990 period. The repackaged version, titled 1 and 1, was released on November 15, 2016, with five new songs. On December 21, 2016, Shinee released their fourteenth Japanese single, "Winter Wonderland", which debuted at number two on the Oricon Charts and sold over 80,000 copies in one week. Shinee also had the sixth biggest audience numbers for their concerts in Japan in 2016, with an estimated 510,000 people across 28 concerts.
On December 18, 2017, Jonghyun died from suicide. His funeral was held on December 21 with the rest of Shinee and numerous artists in attendance, including Girls' Generation, IU, Super Junior, and more. Shinee was slated to have a series of concerts in Japan in February 2018, and after entering into discussions on whether to postpone them, they decided to continue promoting as a four-member group and proceed with their Japanese tour as scheduled. On March 26, Shinee released their Japanese single, "From Now On", posthumously featuring Jonghyun, and shortly after, the group released their first Japanese compilation, Shinee The Best From Now On.
On May 15, 2018, SM Entertainment revealed teasers for a three-part Korean album, titled The Story of Light. The first part of the album was released on May 28 with the single "Good Evening", and the second part of the trilogy was released on June 11 with the single "I Want You". According to the group, the second part of the album represents the group's view of themselves, while the first part reflected what others think of them. The third and last part of the album is fronted by the single "Our Page" and was released on June 25. On August 1, 2018, the Japanese versions of "Good Evening" and "I Want You" were released on Shinee's 15th Japanese single "Sunny Side", alongside the track of the same name, which was written by the group members. On September 10, 2018, Shinee released their sixth album repackage, The Story of Light Epilogue, consisting of all tracks from the previous three albums, and one new song, titled "Countless".
Onew applied and enlisted for his mandatory military service in December 2018. It was announced in early 2019 that both Key and Minho would be enlisting in the first half of the year. Key applied for military band service and enlisted on March 4, 2019. Minho enlisted in the Marines on April 15, 2019.
On May 23, 2021, Shinee held an online fan meeting titled Bistro de Shinee to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their debut in Japan. They premiered their new Japanese single "Superstar" at the event, which was released on digital music platforms the following day. Taemin enlisted as part of the military band on May 31, becoming the final member of the group to enlist. On June 28, 2021, Shinee released the digital version of their new Japanese extended play Superstar, featuring five songs, their first Japanese release since 2018. The physical version was released on July 28, 2021. The EP became Shinee's fourth release to top the Oricon Albums Chart and was certified Gold by RIAJ for selling over 100,000 copies.
On April 4, 2023, Taemin was discharged from military service. On May 27–28, 2023, Shinee held a fan meeting titled Piece of Shine celebrating their 15th anniversary at the Jamsil Arena. The sold-out fan meeting was the first offline event for the group as a full unit since 2018. The second day of the fan meeting was live-streamed globally via Beyond Live and was simultaneously watched in 102 different regions. At the event, they revealed a new unreleased song called "The Feeling". Soon after, the band announced their sixth Asian concert tour, , starting with three shows held at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul on June 23–25. They released their eighth studio album, Hard, on June 26, alongside the lead single of the same name. They continued touring in Japan from September. However, Onew was unable to participate in the tour and in promotional activities for their album due to health issues.
Shinee released a documentary film titled My Shinee World in November. The film, which commemorates their 15th anniversary, contains unseen footage from throughout their career. Following Onew's return, the tour was extended with three encore concerts, titled , which were held at the Inspire Arena in Incheon on May 24–26, 2024, to celebrate their 16th debut anniversary. They held concerts in Seoul on May 23–25, 2025, titled Shinee World VII: E.S.S.A.Y, to mark their 17th anniversary. They also released a single album titled Poet Artist; the album's title references Jonghyun's 2018 studio album Poet Artist, while the lead single was written by Jonghyun.
Former
Shinee have worked with top choreographers such as Rino Nakasone, who choreographed Shinee's early songs like "Replay" and "Love Like Oxygen" in 2008, "Juliette" in 2009, and the group's hit single "Lucifer" in 2010, which was nominated for the Best Dance Performance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in 2010. Misha Gabriel choreographed the songs "Amigo" (2008) and "Ring Ding Dong" (2009). Tony Testa worked on Shinee's later hit songs like "Sherlock (Clue + Note)" (2012) and "Dream Girl" (2013), which are characterized by a unique and distinctive style, while Ian Eastwood worked on "View" (2015) – breaking away from the group's usual powerful and precise choreography and working instead with a groove style that showcases the teamwork of the group. All three songs were awarded with the Best Dance Performance Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards: in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
Shinee as a group is known for their experimental sound and ability to execute a wide range of genres. An example of this is the group's fifth extended play, Everybody, whose title song is classified under the complextro genre. Jakob Dorof of Tiny Mix Tapes stated that " Everybody is proof positive that, even in a culture industry designed to minimize the role of real musicianship, talent will find its way to the top." He also remarked that "Close the Door" highlights the experimental and versatile nature of Shinee's music which frequently charts into unfamiliar territories.
With the release of their fourth Korean album, Odd, Shinee returned to their old sound while experimenting with new genres like deep house. According to Key, Odd marked the first time the group had direct involvement in the album production process, including the decision over picking the lead single as well as the album's concept. The costumes were based on Key's ideas – a vintage, old-school aesthetic, during a time when other groups mostly wore uniforms. The album spanned a variety of styles including the two singles – the deep house "View" and Rocky Horror-inspired funk track "Married to the Music". Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum of MTV praised the lead single, "View", describing it as a "great, laid back summer jam" even though "the song fools us into thinking it's an uptempo ballad before reaching its techno peak at the chorus." Jeff Benjamin, on the other hand, praised "Odd Eye", which is written and composed by member Jonghyun. Benjamin states the group's "return to the R&B side of Shinee with feathery vocals, tight harmonies and member Onew's falsetto howls acting a centerpiece to this grooving opener" but he also adds, "despite initially debuting with a R&B sound, Shinee is arguably most exciting when experimenting".
Companies whose products are promoted by the Shinee label often see increased revenue; for example, "Shinee's Sparkling Water", a carbonated bottled water sold by E-mart, boasted a combined sales of 67 million won over a one-month period.
Japanese albums
Reality shows
2020–present: Don't Call Me, Superstar and Hard
Members
Timeline
Artistry
Public image
Vocals and choreography
Musical style and themes
Endorsements
Discography
Tours
Asia tours
World tours
Japan tours
Concerts
Online concerts
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Publications
External links
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