Old But Gold: K-pop Group SHINee Celebrates 15 Years of SHINeeing

It’s been 15 years since Kpop Icons, SHINee debuted on stage.
Merely counting the years and lasting relevance, there is no doubt that SHINee has solidified
themselves as the blueprint for stability and longevity in the ever-evolving K-pop industry.
SHINee (“Replay” MV set)

If you are new to the Princes of Kpop, here is a quick introduction for you.

SHINee is a K-pop group formed by SM Entertainment. The 5-member boy band consisting
of Lee Jinki (Onew), Kim Jonghyun, Kim Kibum(Key), Choi Minho, and Lee Taemin, debuted
on May 25 2008 with the Pop-RnB track – Replay.

From being the first recipient of the Rookie Grand Slam award — a prestigious Award given
to a new Kpop artiste winning all 5 major music Awards in 2008, to releasing hit songs, to
being unanimously labelled by the Korean media as the ‘Princes of Kpop’, SHINee’s 15-
year-old career has enjoyed attention and praise from the general public.

The group’s discography, incredibly hard and perhaps impossible to define, is what would be
rightly regarded as “SHINee-esque”. A SHINee-essence created by their experimental
approach to music. This essence, many have said, is hard to point out, but undeniably
recognisable. And so it has been through the years.

If there are narratives that SHINee is “not shining anymore”, the most recent title – the
irreplaceable “Edge of Kpop ” conferred on the group by the Korean media and music critics
as a testament to their consistent and undiminished quality, is a great reason to refuse and
reject those narratives.

In its 15 years of debut, SHINee has witnessed the rise and peak of two generations, yet
even at the dawn of the 5th generation K-pop, this 2nd generation boy group continues to
maintain relevance in the K-pop scene, representing its generation as well as inspiring new
ones.

As SHINee and SHINee World celebrate this grand milestone today, both idols and fans are
certainly looking forward to a SHINee-ier chapter. Perhaps, for another 15 years!??
Nevertheless anticipating fans and the public are full of expectations that this old-but-gold
group will continue its legacy of trendsetting creativity with their 8th album due for release in June.