Boy band fits formula for success (SHINee interview), Thursday September 18, 2008 Korea
A chorus of young voices light up the room.
"Hi! We're SHINee!"
Bright and bubbly, the brand new five-member boy band shouts and bows in unison.
Here at the S.M. Entertainment headquarters on a Tuesday afternoon for their interview with The Korea Herald, the fledgling pop singers file in eagerly.
The future looks bright for them. After all, they are under the label that brought us top boy bands TVXQ and SuperJunior.
They are young. They are hot. And they are singing their way into pop fans' hearts.
In short, this group of 15 to 18-year olds fits the formula for making it in the Korean pop industry.
And it seems to be working.
Just three months into their career, the group crooned their way into the hearts of older women across the nation with their debut single, "Replay," nabbing a Cyworld Digital Music "Rookie of the Month" Award and a Mnet 20's Choice "Hot New Star" Award with the surefire chorus, "Sister, you're so pretty."
"Love like Oxygen," the first single off of SHINee's full length album, climbed to the number three spot for the first week of September on music download site Soribada (www.soribada.com).
Their first full length album, "The SHINee World," hit the top of the Korean pop charts this week on online music store Hottracks (www.hottracks.co.kr) following its release in late August.
But before they make it big, SHINee wants to let people know who they are and what their new album is all about.
It is just past lunchtime when they roll in. Jong-hyun and Key, the most talkative of the group, introduce themselves first.
Decked out in skinny black jeans and jackets it is hard to tell who is who, save for the youngest member, Tae-min, who is wearing a bowler hat.
Having already been on the interview circuit, the boys act like pros. SHINee leader O-new, in particular, keeps his cool. That is until the band starts talking about their Mnet reality show.
In each episode, a female guest star dates SHINee. At the end of each show, she gets to choose her favorite.
The boys start laughing as they discuss how Key got picked twice and everyone but O-new won once.
The 18-year old singer crosses his arms and pouts: "I haven't been chosen yet because I didn't want to get picked."
As the joking and bantering goes on, it gets easier to tell them apart. The tanned, ambitious one with the strong vocals is Jong-hyun. The kid who never gets picked but always acts with a sense of duty is O-new.
Tae-min is the baby with the hip-hop moves. Key takes the band's energy level up a notch. And Min-ho, who sits shyly in the corner for most of the interview, likes to play soccer and basketball.
So what is it like to be in a boy band?
"We sleep in one room with five beds," answered Key.
"Jong-hyun sings in his sleep," adds O-new.
"I make Tae-min fried dumplings, heat things up for him," Key says proudly.
"Three-minute chef!" The rest of the band teases him.
All the boys laugh as they talk about living together. But they become more serious when it comes to music.
"Everyone wanted to be a performer from early on," said Key, who started preparing for his debut in his second year of middle school. Taemin went to auditions when he was in sixth grade. The other boys also got cast for S.M. Entertainment in 2005 and 2006.
They talk about it as if this was all ages ago, which seems odd, since they is still in their teens and because it serves as a reminder that these are not just your average run-of-the-mill kids. They are full-time singers.
But despite the fact that they are mature when it comes to work, SHINee are still inexperienced when it comes to dating.
"Because we started training early, there was no time to date," Key says. "So when we got 'Replay,' we were really surprised, because we hadn't fallen in love with an older woman before."
"We got some secondhand experience from videos," Jong-hyun points out.
"Music videos," leader O-new clarifies, to make sure there are no misunderstandings.
That secondhand experience must have helped. The group convincingly courts an older girl in the music video for the hit single, while soulfully belting out the lyrics for this R&B song.
Many of the other tracks on their new album also stick to the topic of romance, including Jong-hyun's favorite "Love's Way," and "ROMANTIC," which Min-ho cites as his favorite track.
So while the boys themselves might not be ready for love, it looks like their fans will have a hard time keeping themselves from falling for them.
By Jean Oh
(oh_jean@heraldm.com)
koreaherald
SHINee received over their first #1 position in tears, Thursday September 18, 2008 KoreaSHINee won the #1 position on Mnet M!Countdown on 18th September, it was a tough call between FT Island and SHINee but SHINee won their first #1 position with their latest single ‘Love Like Oxygen’.
They were touched to tears on the spot upon knowing that they have won #1.
Video link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcMRuq49me0&eurl=http://asianfanatics.net/forum/SHINee-received-over-their-first-1-position-in-tears-talk581322.htmlsource: kbites
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