A Shining night with SHINee

I’m slightly behind in some of my reviews due to work commitments and the deluge of the K Pop concerts/ showcases etc. So I’ve decided to start with the last K Pop concert of 2012 first (the 2013 countdown with Skarf and MIB doesn’t count as it isn’t a K Pop concert).

Shawols had a double treat this year when SHINee performed first at SM Town Live in Singapore and then again at the Singapore leg of their World Tour, SHINee World II.

Running Into the Sun brought the boys back to Singapore again after their succsessful first concert held here last year. Spanning a good 3 hours, the boys gave their very best to their very supportive fans.

Starting off with one of their hits, Lucifer, the boys quickly warmed the crowd up with their other hits like Amigo and Juliette. Though judging from the energy level, the crowd in the full house stadium needed very little help to get into the mood.

The boys sang the only Japanese song for the night- Always Love, from their first Japanese album. It added a nice variety to the repertoire and was good to hear them singing a ballad. I just wish they didn’t have the silly Red Indian setting as it was rather distracting.

I was pleased to hear them singing Hello as I really like this song and feel that it hadn’t received as much attention as it should. And I love the little boxes with the boys inside. SM/ RITS really put alot of effort in their production.

As in most concerts nowadays, all the boys had their own solo acts. However, I found Taemin’s song way too loud or rather I should say the music way too loud. Jonghyun has a good voice, but seriously, after listening to Internet War first at SM Town Live in Singapore and again at this concert, I still can’t make out what they are singing. But I must say the ‘kiss’ between Taemin and Jonghyun was rather explosive and the latter has one great body. (ajuma here droooling).

There was slightly less”flying’ this year thankfully but the special effects were still as good, especially the water aspect.

And I do like the rockish rendition of Ring Ding Dong.

There wasn’t much talking, which isn’t necessary a bad thing as most of the fans really want to see the boys perform. Just the usual what they had/ going to have for dinner. How much they love Singapore etc. There was also a short clip of their first debut. A friend commented later they looked rather nerdy. They did actually, but then, so did every single K Pop artistes (yes, including Big Bang and Super Junior).

I really like the boys in casual wear, especially their signature colourful, skinny pants. ^^

The concert eneded with an early celebration for Minho and Onew, whose birthday fell on the 9 December and 14 December respectively. The fans sang happy birthday (in Korean of course) to the 2 boys and group photos with the dancers were taken. And then, suprising both the rest of the members and fans, both Onew and Minho had the cakes smashed in their faces and a cake fight followed. ^^ It was funny seeing Onew being ‘washed’ with cake. But what gave me a warm feeling was their closeness with each other and their willingness to be crazy in front of fans. (Side note: I think the fans were going to do something for the birthday boys but somehow it didn’t quite materialise)

Here’s a little fancam to whet your appetitie.

The concert ended on a high note with the boys promising to be back next year. I’m sure the fans are very happy to hear that.

Thoughts:
I’m not a SHINee fan. But then, I’m not a fan of most K Pop groups/ artistes. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate their songs or talents. I watched SHINee World Tour I last year and I wasn’t really impressed to be honest. The production was good and the performance was slick enough. But they were roookies in terms of doing a live concert. A live, full-scale concert requires more than just singing and dancing. You need to engage the audience. They didn’t managed to do it last year.

But they were better this year. Although they could still do with more ‘talking’ with the audience instead of ‘to’ the audience, the boys were definitely more polished and expereinced. More importantly, they were more relax and it showed. They were livelier and funnier and the whole show was more enjoyable. The whole production was well done (which apparently costs a cool 1.8 million). They might want to cut down on the pyrotechnics though. It was also good to see the stadium filled. I’m sure the boys must have really pleased to see a sea of green. And oh… I enjoyed the performance for ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon round the Old Oak Tree’. I’m not sure if most of those in the audience really know the lyrics though. Throwing paper money notes reminded me very much of Kim Hyun Joong’s showcase/ fanmeet.

I look forward to seeing a even more matured SHINee next year.