Taemin Mentioned on GQ Korea March 2015

“On the other hand, there were idols who made an upheaval within the world of idols. [* Block B Zico part skipped] SHINee’s Taemin imprinted his excellence as a vocalist and performer, unrelated to writing lyrics and composing songs, through his solo activities. It was a forceful blow that made one reconsider the frame of idol criticism. To these, an idol is not an existence to be criticized for lacking musical capabilities. It is just a position for Zico, and a professional occupation for Taemin. Thus idols are definitely transforming.”

Someone posted this capture of an article on GQ Korea March 2015, which seems to be an overview of changes in the world of K-pop idols. I’m glad to see Taemin is recognized as a strong proof of an idol becoming more than just an idol. ^^b

Comments on Taemin’s Solo Debut Stage at Inkigayo 140817

Gah…I didn’t realize how hard and time-consuming it would be to translate all these comments until it’s too late orz. I wanted to share with you all the responses made by people to Taemin’s performance on his debut stage at Inkigayo. This site may not be some kind of official one to represent people’s responses, but as a site even many idols or reporters or entertainment companies come to check out for feedback and information, I think it can be a good sample. And Taemin made a big splash with his awesome performance on this debut stage and on the following week’s stage at Inkigayo not only here but also at other sites too. For your information, Taemin got 566 comments under this post. Usually even the hottest groups get comments only in the range of 200 or 300 with a lot of trolling comments. I translated even those here but you will see only a few trolls. I read these comments to monitor mainly, but it’s also fun! 🙂 I don’t know when I will gain more energy to translate the next one. Probably I’ll translate selectively next time 😉 Enjoy~

[*what you see on the left is the id and the number on the far right is their ip address.]

ㅇㅇ Wah btw really handsome…wah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ hope he’ll sing live from next week 37.55 *

ㅇㅇ Replying first then watching 9.12 *

12221 Visual really daebak ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wah really damn handsome 9.218 *

ㅇㅇ Sorry that camera is too dizzy but taemin is bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb 30.207 *

ㅇㅇ Huk it’s up thanks!! today’s performance is the best !!!!!!!!!! Taeminie front-view shot kya ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ beautiful the best 98.87 *

dd Ohh it’s up 0.87 *

ㅊㅎ Wah watching it on tv today my heart stopped ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ showing his debut days in Ace was touchingㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 7.68 *

ㅊㄱㅇ Bbambambam the shoulder-shaking dance is cool .242 *

ㅠㅠ Watched holding breath todayㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠCrazy so sexy lee taeminㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 0.140 *

ㄱㄱ Ah reallyㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜtoday watched it mindless ㅜㅜ He seems to have lost weight preparing for solo but that suits the concept. Eat well and get thru first solo healthilyㅜㅜmysterious and ecstatic reallyㅜㅜ 2.182 *

ㅇㅇ Taemin performance was zzang look forward to live next week ㅇㅇ the song is fresh n my style really 20.112 *

ㅇㅇ Taemin’s outfit today is so pretty n good!!!!!!!! Why the song is this good so good huhuhu choreography is awesome dd 98.87 *

ㅇㅇ damn awesome todayㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 5.29 *

ㅇㅇ Taeminahㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠdaebak reallyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠDanger choreography is damn awesome reallyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 149.61 *

ㅇㅇ Damn awesome really..his expression and dance feels bewitching to viewers. His face showing through his hair is really so captivating. I thought his hair isn’t quite good but after watching him dance I think he shouldn’t get it cut zzang zzang 11.211 *

ㅇㅇ Damn cool crazyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 238.92 *

ㅈㄱㅈ Taeminah you were really good. Slash in performing live too~ (Of course I know it’s hard ㅠㅠㅠ) Your stage presence was freaking awesome!!! 136.245 *

ㅇㅇ I can’t breathe…crazy…damn cool…so awesome I can’t breathe Taeminah.. 30.110 *

ㅇㅇ Today he was really best ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ totally awesome ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 84.89 *

ㅇ Watched it mindless ㅠㅠㅠ Doubtful at first listen but I’m living these days on the fun of watching the mvㅠㅜㅠㅠ the stage is cool so looking forward to next week’s live performanceㅜㅜㅜ 142.77 *

[idology] 2014 Summary: the Year’s Best

Taemin’s solo album ACE and title track Danger performance must be the most shining moment in 2014, the year which was wishy-washy watery except for unexpected incidents. I think it wasn’t only a certain group’s fans who felt proud, with a swelling heart, of the mushroom maknae who born on K-soil grew up so well feeding on Hallyu. All the charms from A to Z of the root-less K-pop were in this performance. [written by Kim Yoonha]

The mini album of SHINee Taemin who debuted solo in 2014 was more sexy and challenging than any idol album released recently. This was shown consistently in his performances, and consequently it set a certain high standard for what an idol’s solo debut should be like. I think it may be safely said that it could engross all the titles of 2014 as a masterpiece of idol’s personality, concept, and performance in unity. [written by Delicious Fajita]

Taemin’s solo album ACE was one of the albums I listened to most in 2014. I send unstinted hands to Taemin (and SME) who released an album which one can enjoy by listening even without watching the performance. [by Oyo]

[Source: http://idology.kr/ | trans by juju]

[review] Taemin in Idol Battle Round 2, Vogue Korea 2014 October

Which idol group of SM, YG, JYP do you think was the most remarkable in the first half of the year?

Seo Taemin’s solo album although there’s something wanting. It was an album with the SM style title song matched with tracks  very clear and sophisticated in the generic style within the range of pop.

Kim Taemin’s successful solo debut was in itself like a festival to K-pop fans. The maknae of the group who shouted ‘Noona is so pretty’ at the age of 16 in 2008 stood alone as a wild horse on the charismatic stage. This fairy tale-like growing-up story was most of all supported by the sleek album. Especially the title song ‘Danger’ is a seemingly familiar but strange creature born from a mix-up of English-American pop led by Michael Jackson, J-pop in the 90s, and K-pop in the 21st century.

“No one stands out as much as SHINee’s Taemin.”

Which member is likely to make it big as a soloist like Taeyang or GD?

Mi Taemin showed overwhelming solo performances. SHINee’s good teamwork might be rather a hindrance to him.

Kim No one stands out as much as SHINee’s Taemin.  With his dance skills for which there’s no other explanation but saying he was born with, his stage presence, and his voice which was delicate before (so pointed out as his weakness) but got more powerful now, there’s no fault with him.

[Source: Vogue Korea http://www.vogue.co.kr/content/view_01.asp?menu_id=02050100&c_idx=012404010000043&_C_=11 | trans by jujugal]

*Glad to see Taemin’s achievement recognized in this Vogue Korea review in which four music critics talk about the current state of idol groups. The headline was by me. 🙂

[review] IZE: Taemin, An Idol’s Way of Proving Youth

Three steps forward, backward, left and right. Taemin’s ‘Danger’ choreography moves just within the range. Most of the time he dances standing and moves back after making a few steps. With the narrower stage range, the detail of moves becomes more important. During some part of the refrain, he takes a few forward steps or moves his arms fast to the rhythm while standing. Up and down jumping moves are more highlighted than forward, backward, left or right moves. With his legs solidly set at the center rather than in the walking move, he expresses the song with his arms and face.

In Taemin’s dance practice video released by Mnet, choreographer Ian Eastwood* tells Taemin “Like Michael Jackson.” ‘Danger’ pays homage to Michael Jackson’s unique moves of jumping up with one arm stretched. With his narrower moving range, Taemin should draw attention to dance and show the pace of moves and lines changing to the flow of the melody. The pace getting faster from the opening, it is hard to express with big moves the melodic development of constantly changing rhythm in each block. On the other hand, the song is colorful and dramatic with the changing rhythm — moving small and elaborate but with an explosive feel. This is why ‘Danger’ needed to be a Michael Jackson style. His performance that made audience faint only with small hand moves is the Bible for all solo dance singers.

No one will ever be able to reenact Michael Jackson’s performance until the end of human race. But Taemin seems to understand what Michael Jackson’s performance means. ‘Danger’ shows circling moves like making a full jumping turn or turning slowly with arms stretched while making a half circle with legs. These are followed by short and fast arm moves in contrast. Smooth curves interchanged with short straight lines, Taemin dancing lightly and deftly, bending and unbending constantly, turning and jumping, the body line is highlighted. With good proportions, long and lean arms and legs. The line seemed to be possible only with a manga character mysterious thief kid. The young mysterious thief character with light moves but serious business came to life with Taemin’s performance.

“There were dreams and goals that I had in my mind from the day I dreamt of becoming an artist…” Beginning with the words written on the jacket in English, Taemin’s solo album ACE focuses on his growth. The picture of Taemin with a gun baring his firm upper body or the lyrics of ‘Pretty Boy’ such as “I won’t be a puppet pretending to be innocent for you” are to show the growth of a twenty-two year old man, not SHINee’s maknae. ‘Danger’ trims the image of a 22 year-old man figured forth by ACE more elaborately. The constantly moving body is dynamic, but the line of the 57 kg body is long and slim. A thief roaming around deftly here and there instead of expressing sexiness with erotic gestures. In a glimmering jacket and a streaming long tie and with blond hair and goth style eye lines, Taemin’s visual is neither a boy’s nor a man’s in the common sense. Thus SHINee’s maknae marks the irrevocable moment of growth in the outfit just made for him perfectly in the concept of ‘Danger’ — the short and shining moment between boyhood and manhood.

Probably a coincidence, but ‘Danger’ sounds like a pair with SHINee’s ‘Dream Girl.’ The opening parts of both in which the far-sounding rhythm comes near, or the “In appearing like wind and in disappearing~” in ‘Danger’ and “Your face is still so vivid” in ‘Dream Girl” show similar development. So do the refrain part of ‘Dream Girl’ starting from “Dream Girl~” and that of ‘Danger’ from “Danger~”. However, ‘Danger’ is dark unlike ‘Dream Girl’ while being as showy. It is arranged without the lapping sound of guitar used in ‘Dream Girl’, but what dominates the mood of ‘Danger’ is Taemin’s vocal. Not tender as in the past but not roughened yet, his voice is not tinted with any tone, and the opening part starting dry in that state explains the mood of ‘Danger’ at once. The composition is similar in getting more dynamic, but the elaborate change in arrangement and vocal creates a completely different mood. SM Entertainment gave Taemin the concept ‘between boyhood and manhood’ right for his present state as well as music and choreography dark but not heavy. It is pinpoint control literally. Yet it is Taemin that expresses the image of ‘Danger’ perfectly when it would turn into something else if he were a bit tougher, fatter, or less intense.

It’s not because Taemin is a singer at the peak point. His clean voice and long and lean body are far from the trendy black musicians’ style. He can’t show his strength 100% when he sings in R&B vocal style as in ‘Ace’ or ‘Pretty Boy’ or dances in urban hip hop style. If he wants to try more diverse styles, he’d need more diverse weapons. In ‘Danger’ he can deliver the feel only he can express. It is a point that can be reached only by the boy whose voice has got stronger while maintaining his own vocal tone in SHINee and who admired and tried to copy Michael Jackson to the extent it becomes one of his associated search words in the online portals. ACE is not about how well Taemin can do everything. It is a record of himself by a boy who has been an idol from his mid-teen days, grown up for 7 years, made his own dance style, and been able to own the stage by himself. In other words, this is a youth drama with the narrative of a boy’s growth, a performance embodying a manga character in a real concept, entertainment and business in which the singer expresses himself with the help of the company understanding the singer’s present state. This is how an idol proves his growth.

[Source: http://ize.co.kr/articleView.html?no=2014082422407256295 | trans by juju]

Wow this is a pretty long review =3 It shows a deep understanding of where Taemin stands and what he has achieved with his solo album. This music critic has written nice reviews on SHINee’s albums too (you can see that!). He is one of those who do not have prejudices on idol music, and his review includes a detailed analysis of musical points (which makes it harder to translate 😉 ).

*He wrote Ian Westwood 🙂

[review] Naver Music, Discovery of the Week: Taemin 1st Mini Album ACE

Contemporary Package Showcasing K-Pop Now

It’s an impressive solo debut. Beginning with slow jam style title ‘Ace’ through ‘Danger’ to the last song ‘Play Me’, it’s no exaggeration to say it is hard to find fault with this album in the completeness of song and the singer’s talent and capability. The highlight is ‘Danger’, a song that can match up with SHINee’s representative song ‘Sherlock.’ Sleek, flowing, and even speedy, this  convincingly arranged song can be assessed as a certain climax K-Pop can reach. It makes much of multi-layered tracks, in which you can recognize the composer Thomas Troelsen’s excellent sense. The album is also diverse in genre. Slow jam songs ‘Ace’ and ‘Play Me’ begin and end the album, while it is balanced with electro pop ‘Danger’ and extended with the funky rhythm of ‘Wicked’. Well, this album did its best to give the impression of ‘contemporary’ with the six songs, and did it right once again in image as well as in sound. It is an album that shows what K-Pop is with “catchy tunes, good singing, attractive bodies, cool clothes, mesmerizing movements, and other attractive attributes in a nonthreatening, pleasant package” as defined by Korean Studies scholar John Lie. (Written by BST)

Completing A Boy’s Growing-Up History

Sometimes I look back on SHINee’s career.
Every time, I imagine how pleased old SHINee members would be that when young, they kept getting such good music, singing nice songs and making nice performances. Of all the idol groups I know, SHINee is writing the most remarkable career.
It is the same with this album. Taemin hasn’t been noticed musically as a SHINee member, but this album will become his turning point.  His music and vocal is winning acclaim. It also completes Taemin’s ‘growing-up history’.
Besides, what is noticeable is the name Deez in the credit for high quality slow jam ‘Ace’.
SHINee’s and Taemin’s music, with Jinbo and Deez joining in, is sure to be a nice present to fans of black music. (Written by KBH)

[Source: http://music.naver.com/todayMusic/index.nhn?startDate=20140904 | Trans by juju]

[review] Weekly Weiv: Taemin ACE

Taemin | ACE | SM Entertainment, 2014.08.18

Block: Taemin has become an artist who does everything well on an entirely different level from his debut time. Especially, his vocal capabilities have made striking improvement. If he made a leap in his vocal volume, power, and skills once before this album, he shows growth in his ability to make songs his own and in his way to set a mood in this album. But there’s a limitation in showing something of Taemin’s own because it sets up diverse songs in tracks. This album is an EP but with songs of SME style, not consistent in a particular mood, so it seems not sufficient to build a world of soloist Taemin. In case of Danger, it gathers all the good cliches of Kpop, including the visual, that can come up in your mind, so you may well not expect it. What is important seems to be Taemin’s ability to master and weave those cliches into his own. 6/10

HMR: Danger, a song that showcases the bright sense of Thomas Troelsen good at using multiple tracks, stands out. Most of all, it is a rare song among recent SM songs which doesn’t tire you after many replays. Wicked, a song in which f(x) Red Light composer Kenzie participated, is also made smooth through a transitional melody at 2′ 40”. It is good to make use of multiple tracks and twist a song’s structure, but it is also true that some people are resistant to ‘complication for the sake of complication’ or ‘layering for the sake of layering’. Taemin’s solo album is full of songs you can enjoy without such a burden. 7/10

KYH: ACE is a product of stably-run SM Entertainment’s planning ability and at the same time a great strike to take off the tag “SHINee’s maknae” from Taemin. Taemin does not only master sticky slow jams like Ace and Play Me and charisma-requiring songs such as Danger and Pretty Boy with his voice, which has gained strength from the Sherlock era. His performance adds the finishing stroke to the well-made songs. Taemin in this album sings and dances like a new creature born with hundreds and thousands of layered images from American pop headed by Michael Jackson, J-pop in the 1990s, and current K-pop. One regrettable thing in this project is that the album’s early upswing does not last to the end. However, considering this is a common thing found in most of SME’s mini-albums (Mr.Mr. and Overdose) released this year, this seems not a problem with the musician’s ability but with the company. 7/10

[Source: http://www.weiv.co.kr/archives/18847 | trans by juju]

[review] “ACE Taemin, A Solution for Idol Soloists”

SHINee Taemin spread his wings as an ‘ACE’ on his first solo debut. On the 3rd week of August, Taemin drew attention by topping the weekly album sales chart amidst the onset of new idol groups such as Winner and BTS. Not to speak of his charisma on stage, Taemin showed performance true to what I heard about. Taemin, still 22 years old, belongs to ‘the youngest’ in the k-pop world, but he debuted as SHINee’s maknae when he was only a junior-high senior. A ‘maknae of middle standing’ in his 6th year while so young, Taemin comes up as ‘a noteworthy male soloist’ after G-Dragon and Taeyang.

◆ From ‘Scene-Stealer’ SHINee Maknae To ‘Mysterious Stealer’ of Women’s Hearts

Taemin gained attention as the youngest of SHINee on their debut in 2008. A middle-school boy snatched fans’ attention with his eye-gripping dance moves. If Jonghyun was known for his excellent singing capability in their debut song ‘Noona Is So Pretty,’ Taemin built his maknae position with the image of a shining boy dancing solo at the center.

Taemin strengthened his position as SHINee rose to be an ‘idol major trend’ with the success of ‘Love Like Oxygen’, ‘Amigo,’ ‘Ring Ding Dong,’ and ‘Lucifer.’ Taemin, who used to be a member in charge of dance in their debut year, improved notably in his vocal capability to prove his efforts.

Taemin’s performance and vocal capability seem to have gained momentum through Japanese activities and the ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Dream Girl’ eras. In ‘Everybody’ released in the latter half of last year, Taemin’s vocal capability was as good as main vocalists Jonghyun’s and Onew’s. He showed off his ‘second to none’ talent in vocal as well as in dance.

◆ ′Bling Bling’ SHINee’s Axis, Maknae’s Unexpected Charm

Each member’s charm contributes to SHINee’s gentle but charismatic, cute but manly images. Especially, Taemin’s boyishness drew many noona fans from their debut days.

In fact, Taemin has rarely showed his personality or entertaining sense in other broadcasting programs than music programs. Even on interview videos released once in a while, Taemin had ‘maknae’ images being mild and soft.

Nevertheless, ‘something of Taemin’s own’ shone bright on stage. His stage performance with passion and fighting as if he’d throw off his usual maknae images touched not only female fans’ but also male fans’ hearts. It is no exaggeration to say Taemin made a big contribution to building SHINee’s fandom with more male fans than in other male idol group fandoms.

◆ A Solution in Taemin for the Line of Soloists Shadowed by Idol Groups

It is true that the line of male soloists has been discontinued for a long time. Rain is the only male soloist still active. However, as with Big Bang, a group with super soloists G-dragon, Taeyang, and Top who make hot topics, we can find a solution in Taemin, the first soloist from SHINee.

Through his solo debut album ACE, Taemin showed his skills and talent refined for his 6-year SHINee activities. Transforming as a stealer of women’s hearts with title song ‘Danger,’ Taemin maximized attractions by adding his manly charm to his skills gained as a SHINee member.

As a matter of fact, it is hard for a male soloist to draw attention on his debut. Hence comes the current strategy that one debuts as an idol group to gain recognition and popularity and then launch soloist activities. Nonetheless, a successful soloist member is not common. Big Bang and JYJ members are those rare cases that made it through the strategy. Taemin’s possibilities and achievements as a soloist confirm the agreeable hunch that a super male soloist has appeared since Big Bang. Especially, Taemin set up a position completely different from those of other male soloists from idol groups with his unique image of being on the boundary between cheerful and cute boy and fatal man. I look forward to Taemin who will shine more brightly in his second step.

[Source: http://www.newspim.com/view.jsp?newsId=20140828000159 | trans by juju]

*This is belated, but beginning with this, I plan to translate some important reviews and articles on Taemin and his debut album I wanted to but couldn’t. Hope this will help you get a perspective on his short but intensive solo activities!