If you’re like me and are fairly new to K-pop, you would think that this genre is more about dance music, noise music, upbeat, bubbly and maybe sometimes even too cute for your taste. At least, that’s what I thought for years before I found out about the group called SHINee. The group is known for their incredible live performances, and their difficult and intricate choreographies, but did you know that their ballads and slow songs are also highly acclaimed? Here… let me give you an example. This is probably one of my most favorite ballads from the group:
I can write a lot about the group itself, but that’s a story for another day. Aside from their very flourishing group discography, another special thing about SHINee is that each member is a highly capable soloist. Their individual discography is as colorful as the rainbow – with their direction being as different from each other as possible; each having different kinds of stories to tell with their music. We won’t be going through each member’s solo discography here, but we’ll focus on Onew – SHINee’s leader.
In Korea’s music industry, Onew is known for his “honey vocals” which will surely have your heart melting in just one note. Surely, he will only do well with ballads, right? Wrong… you will be surprised to know that his solo discography is actually as wide as the SHINee group discography is. But, before we dive into it, here’s a clip of his honey vocals in action:
The clip above is from his recent appearance in a show called “Song Stealer” where, as the name implies, singers steal each other’s songs, and the original singers need to defend their songs. At the end of the two-episode, SHINee’s leader was able to defend two of their group’s songs and was successfully able to steal the song December 32 Days from Byul.
Back in 2022, after his military enlistment, Onew surprised everyone by releasing DICE. A mini-album which really showcased his vocal prowess and technique. The title track itself was a dance song which went against everyone’s expectations. Then, in 2023, he followed up with the release of his 1st full album called CIRCLE which was named as Billboard’s #1 Kpop album of 2023 (source: https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-k-pop-albums-2023/ ).
Last year, Onew went on a hiatus for health reasons, but he has now come back to us in full health and with a stage presence as big as ever; and he is coming to Manila for the first time as a soloist to meet his fans he fondly calls “Jinggus.”
His first ever Philippine fanmeeting will be happening on Thursday, July 4th at the New Frontier Theater, brought to us by LSquared Productions. Limited tickets are still available at https://www.ticketnet.com.ph/event-detail/ONEW-FAN-MEETING-2024. Grab yours now, and experience a night you will never forget!
