The whole reason why SHINee chose "Hard" for their title track is because they wanted to show everyone that SHINee can do any genre, including hip-hop. Although, just to make sure you didn't forget that this was a SHINee song, they couldn't just do straight hip-hop. They had to create this hybride mashup of pop, rock and retro hip-hop, etc. to give this song that SHINee flavor. They killed this!! You can't tell me that you're not singing "hard like a criminal, hard like the beat, hard like ma flow ..." over and over again in your head after hearing this song. LOL We can definitely add "Hard" to SHINee's earworm song list. And the rest of the songs on the album are just as catchy. This is totally an SM/SHINee song. It was wrote by Kenzie, who is an SM songwriter and producer that has wrote a large majority of SM songs. She even has her own studio at SM, that's how much she is involved in SM's sound. However, the SHINee members participate in all aspects of the songwriting and producing, as well. That's why it has that signature SM design, and, yet, it's also very uniquely SHINee. As the SHINee members have said, in the beginning of their career they did whatever they were told to do, however, now that they've been in the industry for more than 15 years, they have learned how to be their own artists, and it has afforded them the opportunity to now make their own decisions about their music, and participate in creating the songs and designing their albums, etc. They are now the ones in control. The fact that this song is nothing like anyone expects, and different than anything out there, is exactly what makes it a SHINee song. SHINee were designed to be SM's experimental boy group, so everything they do is meant to be the first, and they are expected to create the trend. With every new song SHINee produces, it's supposed to be different than the last, so you will never hear the same style or sound from them. But it will somehow always have that SHINee feel. Notice how Key was singing through his clenched teeth in the last part of the song, when they were all dressed in black. And he still sounded perfect, while giving off the "Hard" vibes that the song required. Just one of the many unique elements of this song that only SHINee can pull off. This is really just SHINee going back to their roots. Before debut, SHINee was actually training to be a hip-hop group. However, as Key tells it, they just didn't have the swag to pull off hip-hop full time, so last minute SM decided to change up their style to the contemporary R&B style of their debut song "Replay" that they have now become known for. "Hard" just proves that SM wasn't wrong, and SHINee has no problem in the world of hip-hop. But their destiny and calling was to be a group that never ties themselves down to just one style or genre. They were meant to show the world that they can be diverse and unique and never do the same thing twice. With every release that SHINee has, they intentionally flip the script and change things up in the Kpop industry. That's why, when SHINee makes a comeback, everyone pays attention because they are looking to SHINee to show them what the industry's next song style and dance trend will be. It's actually said that within 3 months of SHINee making a comeback, you will see that same sound and dance style being duplicated across the industry with every comeback to follow, for both boy groups and girl groups. When SHINee does something, the industry takes note and follows suit. If you watch the full "SHINee's - 15m Roadtrip comeback show," you will get to see new performances of some of their classic hits, as well as a mini fan concert where they also perform their new songs, "Hard," "Juice" and "10X" live. And in between it all, we get to see Key, Minho and Taemin on a roadtrip camping excursion as they look back on their 15 year career. It was really fun. I encourage everyone to check it out. And to see them preparing for this comeback, watch Taemin and his manager Nam Eui Soo on The Manager TV show. You will get to see all 4 of the members in the dance studio practicing for their comeback, as well as their SHINee World Concert VI (SWC6) in Seoul. Plus, if you haven't yet, check out their dance practice video for "Hard." Also, if you want to see how this MV was filmed, check out their behind the scenes filming video. They spent 3 days filming this MV. We only see Onew in part of the "Hard" MV because he went on hiatus in the middle of filming due to his health and wasn't able to participate in the rest of the shoot. Unfortunately, he was hospitalized for a short time and he decided to take a doctor recommended rest. Therefore, Onew was on hiatus for almost a year before finally returning a couple of months ago. We finally got to see all 4 members perform "Hard" together live for the first time at a special festival concert recently on Hangout with Yoo, th-cam.com/video/5UoDn3xAe6k/w-d-xo.html.
The look and feel for "Move" is very specific, it's supposed to be androgynous and gender neutral. Early in his career when Taemin was growing up in SHINee he was known for his feminine look. The industry thought it was novel and cute to play up his feminine features. Being recognized for his delicate image, ended up giving him a real complex about the fact that people never saw him as a masculine man. It took him a long time to accept that he was known for his looks and to come to terms with the fact that everyone thought of him as a "pretty boy," etc. So, at this point in his career as a 24-year-old (He is 30 now) he was trying to make a statement about how he has now come to terms with just being himself and not caring what people think. Dancing is art and movement has no gender. "Move" is his title track on his 2nd Korean solo album, which was released in 2017. He debuted as a solo artist in 2014. There are 3 versions of his "Move" MV. Version #1 is the regular MV version, which you watched. Version #2 is his solo performance version that just highlights his dancing. Version #3 is the duo version, which focuses on the choreographer and him dancing together. Fun fact: The blue color you see throughout this MV is supposed to represent the cool, chill vibe of this song, but pearl aqua also is SHINee's fan color, so you will see aqua/blue/green shades with most everything to do with SHINee as a way to represent their connection as a group and their connection to their fans, etc. And just so you know, those background vocals aren't Taemin's. They actually chose to leave the songwriters' vocals in the song from when they recorded the guide track. I have seen interviews with Adien Lewis, one of the original songwriters and he was shocked to hear his voice still in the song. Usually when a Kpop company gets a song from a songwriter, especially a foreign songwriting team, they will translate it into Korean and record all the vocals using the artists' vocals or other Korean artists, etc. Therefore, it's very rare that a songwriter would have their original vocals in a Kpop song, however, this was one of the few times where SM didn't rerecord or change everything. If you're interested, here is a short clip of an interview with Adien Lewis talking about "Move", th-cam.com/video/hTxbaiWyrmA/w-d-xo.html. "Move" features all female dancers because the whole point of the song and dance is supposed to be about crossing gender boundaries and how just because you are male doesn't mean your dance has to be hyper masculine. Taemin uses what is traditionally considered more feminine dance moves to show how you can merge both feminine and masculine styles together to create something that can't be singled out as one gender or the other. This dance allowed a more mainstream audience to start to embrace less traditional gender roles within Kpop. "Move" is one of Taemin's most famous choreographies and it has become the dance he is most recognized for.This dance has inspired what is known as the "Move disease," and it is said that the dance is so catchy that you can't help but try to imitate it. There are literally hundreds of videos online of people attempting cover dances to this song. (It is on the level of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" dance and some of the most famous TiK Tok dance challenges.) However, no matter how good of a dancer they are, it is quickly apparent that there is just something about the way Taemin moves that can't be duplicated. Taemin is Taemin and there is no one else like him. The dance is never as sharp or precise as the way Taemin does it. That is why he is hands down considered one of the top two BEST dancers in the industry. Taemin's "Move" choreography is actually considered by professional dancers to be one of the most difficult dances to pull off because of the amount of control you have to have and the intricate movements. They say that if Taemin's dances look easy then that means they are extremely difficult and if they look difficult then they are almost impossible to pull off unless you are Taemin. There's a reason why EVERYONE looks up to him, even world-famous dancers. As Taemin has said numerous times in interviews and on variety shows, the key point in "Move's" choreography is literally supposed to be to stare into the camera like you are trying to seduce the person who is watching. So, you are right, that is exactly what Taemin is doing. The female dancer who is the featured dancer dancing with Taemin in the MV wasn't just any dancer, she is the choreographer who choreographed "Move". Her name is Sugawara Koharu and she is a Japanese choreographer who has choreographed dances for several Kpop groups, as well as American artists. She has worked with Taemin a lot over the years and she is the one that also choreographed Taemin's dance for his songs "Want," "Flame of Love" and "Sayonara Hitori" and helped choreograph Taemin and her performance on the competition program Hit the Stage -- "Devil" performance, etc., and she was one of 3 or 4 choreographers who helped choreograph Taemin's "Criminal." Taemin and Sugawara are really good friends. She was also the choreographer for SHINee's song "Good Evening," among others. She loves working with Taemin because they are a lot alike, and that is one of the reasons why she has been featured in several of Taemin's projects. Plus, Taemin and all the members of SHINee, are also one of the most famous artists in Japan and they all speak fluent Japanese, so they have no problem communicating through dance or language. :D You should now check out a live performance, as well as his dance practice video, so you can really see why this song is so iconic and discover how it literally changed the Kpop industry. Taemin's choreography is very much influenced by him. Although he has input in almost everything he does, he has choreographers that come up with the choreography for most of his dances and he then infuses it with his own ideas and style and makes it uniquely his. The way Taemin dances is just the way he moves. His movements are effortless. If you watch Taemin dance a lot, you will see that no matter who choreographs the dance, it will always be very Taemin-like. Many choreographers who have worked with him over the years have said that, with Taemin you can't help but allow him to move in whatever way his body takes him. Taemin is art in every sense of the word. :D Taemin's style of dance can't be defined. As he has said, he has worked his entire career to create a style of dance that is unlike anything in the Kpop industry. And I would argue that that now extends to the entire industry of dance. Taemin started out as a self-taught popper and locker without any dance training, and, even then, as a trainee it was clear his skills as a dancer went far beyond the average dancer. Over the years he has infused those popping and locking skills into his now more contemporary style of dance. But, when it comes to dancing, he can do it all and there is no one better at it than him. Taemin has had a solo career for almost 10 years and he has been a member of SHINee for more than 16 years. He has at least 12 solo albums and SHINee currently has 14 full length albums, plus dozens of mini albums, singles, repackaged albums, etc. And he is also a member of SuperM, which debuted in 2019. So, you won't run out of Taemin content to watch for a very long time. ;p Taemin has even held several solo concerts, as well as more than 100 concerts as a member of SHINee and a world tour as a member of SuperM.
If you're interested, I think the storyline in SHINee's "Hard" MV can be interpreted in two ways. If you notice, the whole MV has a piano theme. For example, in the beginning when the scene becomes animated, it showed Taemin being pulled into the piano. And, if you look at the set with the brown walls, you will notice that it looks like the inside of a piano with the wooden hammers that create the sound when the keys are played on the walls behind them. And the lighted white screen is divided like the white keys of the piano with the people's silhouettes representing the black keys, etc. This could represent how music is what controls their lives and it's what has trapped them in this world as artists. Which could be similar to the themes within Taemin's solo Never Gonna Dance Again album trilogy -- "2 Kids", "Criminal" and "Idea" -- and his epilogue "Advice." However, I'm also pretty sure that the whole "Hard" MV storyline is connected to SM's SM Culture Universe. The more I watch it, the more I see that seems to indicate that it's all connected. As you are starting to discover, with all the groups under SM Entertainment, their storylines are all part of a larger concept kind of like a giant graphic novel or action movie series with a twist. SHINee's story, so far, primarily connects to EXO's and SuperM's storylines. Each group has their own individual storyline and concept, but when you put them all together there are threads of connections between the groups. You could sort of think of it like the Marvel franchise. Each of the Marvel characters has their own storyline, merchandise and fans, but the stories and concepts often overlap and connect. And with each new character that is introduced it expands on the whole Marvel universe. To understand how all of SM's groups are connected, keep in mind that it all began with EXO's origin story in 2012. As aliens from Planet Exo, EXO have been sent to Earth on a mission to find and protect the Tree of Life from the Red Force, while also trying to fix all the things that are going wrong in the world, which are believed to be caused by the Red Force. The Red Force is thought to be here on Earth inflicting their evil agenda -- corrupting humanity and causing all the bad things that are happening in the world, such as war, hate and destruction of the environment, etc. And because EXO is trying to undo and prevent the Red Force from accomplishing their goals, the Red Force is also trying to take down EXO by capturing them, corrupting them and standing in their way, etc. With SHINee's "Hard" MV, I think when we first see Taemin in the black sleeveless suit, he looks very similar to what he looked like in his SuperM debut teasers, which might mean that this could be connected to SuperM's storyline. SuperM is the Kpop industry's very first supergroup, which debuted in October 2019, and their concept and storyline is centered around the fact that they are Avengers-like superheros, so SuperM is the group that pretty much connects all of SM's groups together. SuperM is made up of members of SM's other male Kpop groups, such as Taemin from SHINee, Baekhyun and Kai from EXO, Taeyong and Mark from NCT, Ten from WayV and Lucas who is a former member of WayV (now an SM solo artist). This group's storyline is that they are coming together to help EXO battle the Red Force, which is the evil villian or group within EXO's storyline. As "The Avengers," SuperM is taking members from each of SM's groups and joining forces to take down the Red Force. And, just like how the movies "Avengers Identity War" and "Avengers Endgame" eventually had each of the Marvel Avengers members recruiting their whole crew to help in the fight, I think SM is setting it up so that all of its groups' members will eventually be brought into the conflict. I also think the story in "Hard" even could be connected to Taemin's "Advice" storyline. We see him with his hands painted blue in "Hard," similar to his black ink stained hands and body in "Advice," and in both scenes we see him standing in front of/playing a piano. (Technically, Pearl Aqua is SHINee's color. However, before LED lights were invented, creating a wider range of colors -- making way for SHINee's official Pearl Aqua color -- they used blue and green in things to do with SHINee. That's why we still see blue, green and aqua with most things SHINee related.) Some have pointed out, that the scene with the silhouettes behind the screen, reminds them of the scene in Taemin's "Criminal" MV, with the people behind a screen pushing their hands into it. However, in "Hard" Taemin is standing in front of the screen, rather than walking through the middle with the two sides reaching for him like in "Criminal". Although, I also think that scene could be connected to EXO's storyline, because we see in EXO's "Tempo" MV a scene where there are silhouettes behind a lighted white wall that looks very similar to this. In EXO's storyline, the people behind the wall are thought to be EXO's alter ego clones, who were created by the Red Force, or they could be the EXO members who are trapped behind the wall. We also see EXO fighting with their silhouette shadows in their live concert performance of their song "Wolf," which is also thought to be EXO battling X-EXO as they search for the Tree of Life. Ever since SHINee came out with "Don't Call Me," I think the storyline in that MV was supposed to be SM bringing SHINee into the SM Culture Universe. In their "Don't Call Me" MV it looks as though the SHINee members go through some sort of wormhole as they are teleported somewhere and we see them all posing in their black outfits like they are getting ready for battle. This looks very similar to the scene in SuperM's debut "Jopping" MV when the SuperM members are coming together at the beginning of "Jopping." Therefore, because Taemin is a member of SuperM, I think SHINee is supposed to be getting ready to join SuperM in the fight against the Red Force. In "Hard" we also see Taemin standing on a grate as he crouches down and looks through it at the "people" in white trapped below, similar to his scene in SuperM's "Jopping" MV. The scene with Key standing with all the dancers in white -- which I think are supposed to represent the white keys of a piano -- sitting in a circle around him, also seems to be an important part of the story, however, I'm not sure what it all means yet. We see Key remove the mask of one of the guys and we discover the guy has a glowing blue earpiece, which seems to suggest that they are being controlled by outside forces. However, because they are all just sitting there without moving, it seems to indicate that they are currently "shut-down". Either these people are androids or robots, like in EXO's "Lucky One" MV, or they are people who are under mind control. Although, I don't think they are being controlled by the Red Force necessarily because we don't see any trace of red anywhere in that scene. Instead, the color we see is blue, which usually within EXO's storyline means that it represents something to do with EXO, who are the good guys. Plus, as I said, blue with SHINee usually represents SHINee and their connection as a group. Minho standing on the edge of that rock formation looks similar to the scene with Girls' Generation's Taeyeon standing on the rock in the middle of the ocean in Key's solo "Hate That ..." MV, and it also looks a lot like the scene in SHINee's "Don't Call Me" MV, with Key standing on the submerged phone booth. It all has the same feeling. (Notice how they also are all wearing red in all of those scenes. Red usually represents something to do with the Red Force.) In the next animated scene, we see what looks like Minho in the red jacket fighting with the same piano key ropes that pulled Taemin into the piano in the beginning. To me, it looks like its trying to keep him trapped within the piano and under the control of the music. However, in the next scene we see the giant piano has been destroyed behind them. I think this could represent how music no longer controls them, but they now control the music. In the last scene at the end -- after the Hard8 title -- it reminds me of the same menacing red atmosphere as Minho's rap section in their "Don't Call Me" MV, where we see him in an all red room with chairs hovering above him. Therefore, I think the gloved hand is Minho's hand because it looks like the same gloves that Minho is wearing in the scene right before that where they are dressed in black. Although I don't know what that means yet, I am sure it is something to connect the storyline to something within one of SM's MVs in the future or will make more sense when more of the story is revealed as SM releases the next chapter, etc. But you should also know, that no one really knows for sure what is happening in any of the story. There are well known theories and storylines that are accepted within the fandom, which we think might explain what is happening in each MV. And there are theories about how each MV is connected and where each falls within their larger storyline, but nothing is set in stone. Fan theories are constantly evolving and changing with every introduction of a new piece of the puzzle. New things are revealed with every MV release, concert, event, or appearance, etc., which could either add to or change the storyline.
It's so funny that one of you knows SHINee but not much Taemin, and the other knows Taemin but not SHINee 😆 its such a fun dynamic All of SHINee's discography is impeccable and super diverse (including all 5 member solos), I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys react to more, there's just sooo much to enjoy💎 I don't know if you guys react to many live performances, but SHINee live is in another league. They're insanely talented and charismatic performers and they don't mess around with the vocals. Jjong is still my favourite ever vocalist, he's such a king on stage lmaoo. I recommend Excuse Me Miss (SWC4) , Ring Ding Dong + Lucifer (SWC5), Replay (SWC5) and Dynamite (SWC4) if you're interested!
SHINee have been around for a LONG time, but they're not even close to old, they debuted VERY young Onew debuted at 18 (currently 34), Jonghyun just turned 18 at debut (unfortunately, he passed away in 2017), Key and Minho both debuted at 16 (Key will turn 33 this month and Minho will do the same in December) and our baby Taemin was only 14 at debut (he turned 31 in July). They are actually the same ages or YOUNGER than many 3rd gen idols, Taemin especially, he's younger than mst of EXO....
Hey happy girls 😊🌷 How are you? 😊 Thank you so much for your great review on MCND !!! 👍Here is a *V E R Y* - extended - INFO - for you about the happy boys of *MCND* ! 😁 ❄ *MCND* is a most FRIENDLY " so called " *hard hitting , happy hiphop group* , that always want get you in a good mood! They are UNIQUE in this!! And their choreo is awesome (also LIVE SUNG DANCED practices) 😁 ❄They are highschool "Rookies" !! (19- 23 years old ) ❄There are *3 RAPPERS and 2 VOCALS* , but they ALL can do both!! 😊👍 ❄ >>> *MCND* = " * *MUSIC CREATES NEW DREAM* * * "
The whole reason why SHINee chose "Hard" for their title track is because they wanted to show everyone that SHINee can do any genre, including hip-hop. Although, just to make sure you didn't forget that this was a SHINee song, they couldn't just do straight hip-hop. They had to create this hybride mashup of pop, rock and retro hip-hop, etc. to give this song that SHINee flavor. They killed this!!
You can't tell me that you're not singing "hard like a criminal, hard like the beat, hard like ma flow ..." over and over again in your head after hearing this song. LOL We can definitely add "Hard" to SHINee's earworm song list. And the rest of the songs on the album are just as catchy.
This is totally an SM/SHINee song. It was wrote by Kenzie, who is an SM songwriter and producer that has wrote a large majority of SM songs. She even has her own studio at SM, that's how much she is involved in SM's sound. However, the SHINee members participate in all aspects of the songwriting and producing, as well. That's why it has that signature SM design, and, yet, it's also very uniquely SHINee. As the SHINee members have said, in the beginning of their career they did whatever they were told to do, however, now that they've been in the industry for more than 15 years, they have learned how to be their own artists, and it has afforded them the opportunity to now make their own decisions about their music, and participate in creating the songs and designing their albums, etc. They are now the ones in control.
The fact that this song is nothing like anyone expects, and different than anything out there, is exactly what makes it a SHINee song. SHINee were designed to be SM's experimental boy group, so everything they do is meant to be the first, and they are expected to create the trend. With every new song SHINee produces, it's supposed to be different than the last, so you will never hear the same style or sound from them. But it will somehow always have that SHINee feel.
Notice how Key was singing through his clenched teeth in the last part of the song, when they were all dressed in black. And he still sounded perfect, while giving off the "Hard" vibes that the song required. Just one of the many unique elements of this song that only SHINee can pull off.
This is really just SHINee going back to their roots. Before debut, SHINee was actually training to be a hip-hop group. However, as Key tells it, they just didn't have the swag to pull off hip-hop full time, so last minute SM decided to change up their style to the contemporary R&B style of their debut song "Replay" that they have now become known for. "Hard" just proves that SM wasn't wrong, and SHINee has no problem in the world of hip-hop. But their destiny and calling was to be a group that never ties themselves down to just one style or genre. They were meant to show the world that they can be diverse and unique and never do the same thing twice.
With every release that SHINee has, they intentionally flip the script and change things up in the Kpop industry. That's why, when SHINee makes a comeback, everyone pays attention because they are looking to SHINee to show them what the industry's next song style and dance trend will be. It's actually said that within 3 months of SHINee making a comeback, you will see that same sound and dance style being duplicated across the industry with every comeback to follow, for both boy groups and girl groups. When SHINee does something, the industry takes note and follows suit.
If you watch the full "SHINee's - 15m Roadtrip comeback show," you will get to see new performances of some of their classic hits, as well as a mini fan concert where they also perform their new songs, "Hard," "Juice" and "10X" live. And in between it all, we get to see Key, Minho and Taemin on a roadtrip camping excursion as they look back on their 15 year career. It was really fun. I encourage everyone to check it out.
And to see them preparing for this comeback, watch Taemin and his manager Nam Eui Soo on The Manager TV show. You will get to see all 4 of the members in the dance studio practicing for their comeback, as well as their SHINee World Concert VI (SWC6) in Seoul. Plus, if you haven't yet, check out their dance practice video for "Hard."
Also, if you want to see how this MV was filmed, check out their behind the scenes filming video. They spent 3 days filming this MV.
We only see Onew in part of the "Hard" MV because he went on hiatus in the middle of filming due to his health and wasn't able to participate in the rest of the shoot. Unfortunately, he was hospitalized for a short time and he decided to take a doctor recommended rest. Therefore, Onew was on hiatus for almost a year before finally returning a couple of months ago. We finally got to see all 4 members perform "Hard" together live for the first time at a special festival concert recently on Hangout with Yoo, th-cam.com/video/5UoDn3xAe6k/w-d-xo.html.
The voice you liked is the leader Onew. He just had a mini album come out on Tuesday. You should check it out, Best drum MV.
The look and feel for "Move" is very specific, it's supposed to be androgynous and gender neutral. Early in his career when Taemin was growing up in SHINee he was known for his feminine look. The industry thought it was novel and cute to play up his feminine features. Being recognized for his delicate image, ended up giving him a real complex about the fact that people never saw him as a masculine man. It took him a long time to accept that he was known for his looks and to come to terms with the fact that everyone thought of him as a "pretty boy," etc. So, at this point in his career as a 24-year-old (He is 30 now) he was trying to make a statement about how he has now come to terms with just being himself and not caring what people think. Dancing is art and movement has no gender.
"Move" is his title track on his 2nd Korean solo album, which was released in 2017. He debuted as a solo artist in 2014. There are 3 versions of his "Move" MV. Version #1 is the regular MV version, which you watched. Version #2 is his solo performance version that just highlights his dancing. Version #3 is the duo version, which focuses on the choreographer and him dancing together.
Fun fact: The blue color you see throughout this MV is supposed to represent the cool, chill vibe of this song, but pearl aqua also is SHINee's fan color, so you will see aqua/blue/green shades with most everything to do with SHINee as a way to represent their connection as a group and their connection to their fans, etc.
And just so you know, those background vocals aren't Taemin's. They actually chose to leave the songwriters' vocals in the song from when they recorded the guide track. I have seen interviews with Adien Lewis, one of the original songwriters and he was shocked to hear his voice still in the song. Usually when a Kpop company gets a song from a songwriter, especially a foreign songwriting team, they will translate it into Korean and record all the vocals using the artists' vocals or other Korean artists, etc. Therefore, it's very rare that a songwriter would have their original vocals in a Kpop song, however, this was one of the few times where SM didn't rerecord or change everything. If you're interested, here is a short clip of an interview with Adien Lewis talking about "Move", th-cam.com/video/hTxbaiWyrmA/w-d-xo.html.
"Move" features all female dancers because the whole point of the song and dance is supposed to be about crossing gender boundaries and how just because you are male doesn't mean your dance has to be hyper masculine. Taemin uses what is traditionally considered more feminine dance moves to show how you can merge both feminine and masculine styles together to create something that can't be singled out as one gender or the other. This dance allowed a more mainstream audience to start to embrace less traditional gender roles within Kpop.
"Move" is one of Taemin's most famous choreographies and it has become the dance he is most recognized for.This dance has inspired what is known as the "Move disease," and it is said that the dance is so catchy that you can't help but try to imitate it. There are literally hundreds of videos online of people attempting cover dances to this song. (It is on the level of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" dance and some of the most famous TiK Tok dance challenges.) However, no matter how good of a dancer they are, it is quickly apparent that there is just something about the way Taemin moves that can't be duplicated. Taemin is Taemin and there is no one else like him. The dance is never as sharp or precise as the way Taemin does it. That is why he is hands down considered one of the top two BEST dancers in the industry.
Taemin's "Move" choreography is actually considered by professional dancers to be one of the most difficult dances to pull off because of the amount of control you have to have and the intricate movements. They say that if Taemin's dances look easy then that means they are extremely difficult and if they look difficult then they are almost impossible to pull off unless you are Taemin. There's a reason why EVERYONE looks up to him, even world-famous dancers.
As Taemin has said numerous times in interviews and on variety shows, the key point in "Move's" choreography is literally supposed to be to stare into the camera like you are trying to seduce the person who is watching. So, you are right, that is exactly what Taemin is doing.
The female dancer who is the featured dancer dancing with Taemin in the MV wasn't just any dancer, she is the choreographer who choreographed "Move". Her name is Sugawara Koharu and she is a Japanese choreographer who has choreographed dances for several Kpop groups, as well as American artists. She has worked with Taemin a lot over the years and she is the one that also choreographed Taemin's dance for his songs "Want," "Flame of Love" and "Sayonara Hitori" and helped choreograph Taemin and her performance on the competition program Hit the Stage -- "Devil" performance, etc., and she was one of 3 or 4 choreographers who helped choreograph Taemin's "Criminal." Taemin and Sugawara are really good friends. She was also the choreographer for SHINee's song "Good Evening," among others. She loves working with Taemin because they are a lot alike, and that is one of the reasons why she has been featured in several of Taemin's projects. Plus, Taemin and all the members of SHINee, are also one of the most famous artists in Japan and they all speak fluent Japanese, so they have no problem communicating through dance or language. :D
You should now check out a live performance, as well as his dance practice video, so you can really see why this song is so iconic and discover how it literally changed the Kpop industry.
Taemin's choreography is very much influenced by him. Although he has input in almost everything he does, he has choreographers that come up with the choreography for most of his dances and he then infuses it with his own ideas and style and makes it uniquely his. The way Taemin dances is just the way he moves. His movements are effortless. If you watch Taemin dance a lot, you will see that no matter who choreographs the dance, it will always be very Taemin-like. Many choreographers who have worked with him over the years have said that, with Taemin you can't help but allow him to move in whatever way his body takes him. Taemin is art in every sense of the word. :D
Taemin's style of dance can't be defined. As he has said, he has worked his entire career to create a style of dance that is unlike anything in the Kpop industry. And I would argue that that now extends to the entire industry of dance. Taemin started out as a self-taught popper and locker without any dance training, and, even then, as a trainee it was clear his skills as a dancer went far beyond the average dancer. Over the years he has infused those popping and locking skills into his now more contemporary style of dance. But, when it comes to dancing, he can do it all and there is no one better at it than him.
Taemin has had a solo career for almost 10 years and he has been a member of SHINee for more than 16 years. He has at least 12 solo albums and SHINee currently has 14 full length albums, plus dozens of mini albums, singles, repackaged albums, etc. And he is also a member of SuperM, which debuted in 2019. So, you won't run out of Taemin content to watch for a very long time. ;p Taemin has even held several solo concerts, as well as more than 100 concerts as a member of SHINee and a world tour as a member of SuperM.
If you're interested, I think the storyline in SHINee's "Hard" MV can be interpreted in two ways. If you notice, the whole MV has a piano theme. For example, in the beginning when the scene becomes animated, it showed Taemin being pulled into the piano. And, if you look at the set with the brown walls, you will notice that it looks like the inside of a piano with the wooden hammers that create the sound when the keys are played on the walls behind them. And the lighted white screen is divided like the white keys of the piano with the people's silhouettes representing the black keys, etc.
This could represent how music is what controls their lives and it's what has trapped them in this world as artists. Which could be similar to the themes within Taemin's solo Never Gonna Dance Again album trilogy -- "2 Kids", "Criminal" and "Idea" -- and his epilogue "Advice."
However, I'm also pretty sure that the whole "Hard" MV storyline is connected to SM's SM Culture Universe. The more I watch it, the more I see that seems to indicate that it's all connected.
As you are starting to discover, with all the groups under SM Entertainment, their storylines are all part of a larger concept kind of like a giant graphic novel or action movie series with a twist. SHINee's story, so far, primarily connects to EXO's and SuperM's storylines. Each group has their own individual storyline and concept, but when you put them all together there are threads of connections between the groups. You could sort of think of it like the Marvel franchise. Each of the Marvel characters has their own storyline, merchandise and fans, but the stories and concepts often overlap and connect. And with each new character that is introduced it expands on the whole Marvel universe.
To understand how all of SM's groups are connected, keep in mind that it all began with EXO's origin story in 2012. As aliens from Planet Exo, EXO have been sent to Earth on a mission to find and protect the Tree of Life from the Red Force, while also trying to fix all the things that are going wrong in the world, which are believed to be caused by the Red Force. The Red Force is thought to be here on Earth inflicting their evil agenda -- corrupting humanity and causing all the bad things that are happening in the world, such as war, hate and destruction of the environment, etc. And because EXO is trying to undo and prevent the Red Force from accomplishing their goals, the Red Force is also trying to take down EXO by capturing them, corrupting them and standing in their way, etc.
With SHINee's "Hard" MV, I think when we first see Taemin in the black sleeveless suit, he looks very similar to what he looked like in his SuperM debut teasers, which might mean that this could be connected to SuperM's storyline.
SuperM is the Kpop industry's very first supergroup, which debuted in October 2019, and their concept and storyline is centered around the fact that they are Avengers-like superheros, so SuperM is the group that pretty much connects all of SM's groups together. SuperM is made up of members of SM's other male Kpop groups, such as Taemin from SHINee, Baekhyun and Kai from EXO, Taeyong and Mark from NCT, Ten from WayV and Lucas who is a former member of WayV (now an SM solo artist). This group's storyline is that they are coming together to help EXO battle the Red Force, which is the evil villian or group within EXO's storyline.
As "The Avengers," SuperM is taking members from each of SM's groups and joining forces to take down the Red Force. And, just like how the movies "Avengers Identity War" and "Avengers Endgame" eventually had each of the Marvel Avengers members recruiting their whole crew to help in the fight, I think SM is setting it up so that all of its groups' members will eventually be brought into the conflict.
I also think the story in "Hard" even could be connected to Taemin's "Advice" storyline. We see him with his hands painted blue in "Hard," similar to his black ink stained hands and body in "Advice," and in both scenes we see him standing in front of/playing a piano. (Technically, Pearl Aqua is SHINee's color. However, before LED lights were invented, creating a wider range of colors -- making way for SHINee's official Pearl Aqua color -- they used blue and green in things to do with SHINee. That's why we still see blue, green and aqua with most things SHINee related.)
Some have pointed out, that the scene with the silhouettes behind the screen, reminds them of the scene in Taemin's "Criminal" MV, with the people behind a screen pushing their hands into it. However, in "Hard" Taemin is standing in front of the screen, rather than walking through the middle with the two sides reaching for him like in "Criminal". Although, I also think that scene could be connected to EXO's storyline, because we see in EXO's "Tempo" MV a scene where there are silhouettes behind a lighted white wall that looks very similar to this. In EXO's storyline, the people behind the wall are thought to be EXO's alter ego clones, who were created by the Red Force, or they could be the EXO members who are trapped behind the wall. We also see EXO fighting with their silhouette shadows in their live concert performance of their song "Wolf," which is also thought to be EXO battling X-EXO as they search for the Tree of Life.
Ever since SHINee came out with "Don't Call Me," I think the storyline in that MV was supposed to be SM bringing SHINee into the SM Culture Universe. In their "Don't Call Me" MV it looks as though the SHINee members go through some sort of wormhole as they are teleported somewhere and we see them all posing in their black outfits like they are getting ready for battle. This looks very similar to the scene in SuperM's debut "Jopping" MV when the SuperM members are coming together at the beginning of "Jopping." Therefore, because Taemin is a member of SuperM, I think SHINee is supposed to be getting ready to join SuperM in the fight against the Red Force.
In "Hard" we also see Taemin standing on a grate as he crouches down and looks through it at the "people" in white trapped below, similar to his scene in SuperM's "Jopping" MV.
The scene with Key standing with all the dancers in white -- which I think are supposed to represent the white keys of a piano -- sitting in a circle around him, also seems to be an important part of the story, however, I'm not sure what it all means yet. We see Key remove the mask of one of the guys and we discover the guy has a glowing blue earpiece, which seems to suggest that they are being controlled by outside forces. However, because they are all just sitting there without moving, it seems to indicate that they are currently "shut-down". Either these people are androids or robots, like in EXO's "Lucky One" MV, or they are people who are under mind control. Although, I don't think they are being controlled by the Red Force necessarily because we don't see any trace of red anywhere in that scene. Instead, the color we see is blue, which usually within EXO's storyline means that it represents something to do with EXO, who are the good guys. Plus, as I said, blue with SHINee usually represents SHINee and their connection as a group.
Minho standing on the edge of that rock formation looks similar to the scene with Girls' Generation's Taeyeon standing on the rock in the middle of the ocean in Key's solo "Hate That ..." MV, and it also looks a lot like the scene in SHINee's "Don't Call Me" MV, with Key standing on the submerged phone booth. It all has the same feeling. (Notice how they also are all wearing red in all of those scenes. Red usually represents something to do with the Red Force.)
In the next animated scene, we see what looks like Minho in the red jacket fighting with the same piano key ropes that pulled Taemin into the piano in the beginning. To me, it looks like its trying to keep him trapped within the piano and under the control of the music.
However, in the next scene we see the giant piano has been destroyed behind them. I think this could represent how music no longer controls them, but they now control the music.
In the last scene at the end -- after the Hard8 title -- it reminds me of the same menacing red atmosphere as Minho's rap section in their "Don't Call Me" MV, where we see him in an all red room with chairs hovering above him. Therefore, I think the gloved hand is Minho's hand because it looks like the same gloves that Minho is wearing in the scene right before that where they are dressed in black. Although I don't know what that means yet, I am sure it is something to connect the storyline to something within one of SM's MVs in the future or will make more sense when more of the story is revealed as SM releases the next chapter, etc.
But you should also know, that no one really knows for sure what is happening in any of the story. There are well known theories and storylines that are accepted within the fandom, which we think might explain what is happening in each MV. And there are theories about how each MV is connected and where each falls within their larger storyline, but nothing is set in stone. Fan theories are constantly evolving and changing with every introduction of a new piece of the puzzle. New things are revealed with every MV release, concert, event, or appearance, etc., which could either add to or change the storyline.
It's so funny that one of you knows SHINee but not much Taemin, and the other knows Taemin but not SHINee 😆 its such a fun dynamic
All of SHINee's discography is impeccable and super diverse (including all 5 member solos), I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys react to more, there's just sooo much to enjoy💎 I don't know if you guys react to many live performances, but SHINee live is in another league. They're insanely talented and charismatic performers and they don't mess around with the vocals. Jjong is still my favourite ever vocalist, he's such a king on stage lmaoo. I recommend Excuse Me Miss (SWC4) , Ring Ding Dong + Lucifer (SWC5), Replay (SWC5) and Dynamite (SWC4) if you're interested!
SHINee have been around for a LONG time, but they're not even close to old, they debuted VERY young Onew debuted at 18 (currently 34), Jonghyun just turned 18 at debut (unfortunately, he passed away in 2017), Key and Minho both debuted at 16 (Key will turn 33 this month and Minho will do the same in December) and our baby Taemin was only 14 at debut (he turned 31 in July). They are actually the same ages or YOUNGER than many 3rd gen idols, Taemin especially, he's younger than mst of EXO....
The New Six - Love or die, Kick It 4 Now & Fuego 👀
Here for shinee❤
TAEMIN
SHINee
I really like your reaction to tnx they are so underrated i hope you react to love or die it’s my favorite ❤
Hey happy girls 😊🌷 How are you? 😊 Thank you so much for your great review on MCND !!! 👍Here is a *V E R Y* - extended - INFO - for you about the happy boys of *MCND* ! 😁
❄ *MCND* is a most FRIENDLY " so called " *hard hitting , happy hiphop group* , that always want get you in a good mood! They are UNIQUE in this!! And their choreo is awesome (also LIVE SUNG DANCED practices) 😁
❄They are highschool "Rookies" !! (19- 23 years old )
❄There are *3 RAPPERS and 2 VOCALS* , but they ALL can do both!! 😊👍
❄ >>> *MCND* = " * *MUSIC CREATES NEW DREAM* * * "