To commemorate SHINee's 15th debut anniversary, music critics, journalists, and staff revealed why SHINee is "still shining" in the K-pop scene even after a long time.

Music Critics, Journalists Describe SHINee: 'Contemporary,' 'One,' 'Only,' MORE!

On May 25, "Princes of K-pop" SHINee (Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Minho and Taemin) celebrates their 15th debut anniversary. 

The group was launched in 2008 by SM Entertainment, and since then, they rose as the irreplaceable "Edges of K-pop" who proved their "limitless" image with numerous hits, such as "Replay," "Sherlock," "Lucifer," "Ring Ding Dong," View" and more.

SHINee also deeply imprinted their "identity" in the K-pop scene while performing "high-quality music" regardless of genre. 

ALSO READ: K-Media Names SHINee Irreplaceable 'Edge of K-pop' — Here Are REASONS

On this day, the Korean media outlet CBS No Cut News interviewed four music critics today to talk about SHINee's "team" and "music."

When asked to describe SHINee using 1 word, Park Hee Ah, a pop culture journalist, said:

"I think SHINee is a 'contemporary band', a group that keeps their identity as they say."

Park continued that SHINee is "irreplaceable" in that sense, and implied that only a few groups are recognized for their vocals and performance, and at the same time, acknowledged for their individuality.

Music Critic Jung Minjae then added:

"SHINee is a team called ONE and ONLY... there has never been a group like SHINee before and it is unlikely to be there after that."

He continued to highlight the "uniqueness" of the team in terms of music and concept.

Music critic Randy Seo also stated the contribution of the quintet as trendsetters, saying:

"If you describe SHINee in a word, it can be called 'QUALITY'. I think SHINee's presence played a huge role in achieving the current qualitative growth of K-pop. Looking at the completeness pursued and implemented by SHINee, I think other companies or teams may have been stimulated or opened their eyes, saying, 'I can also do that.'"

Lastly, music critic Cha Woojin also talked about the group.

"SHINee is also a significant team in Korean music, that even when it is limited to an agency called SM Entertainment, I think I can see how the groups changed before and after.

Before SHINee, SM's music seemed to have traces of the 90s, such as H.O.T. and Shinhwa, that is, "experience of success."

However, SHINee's base was R&B, and it strongly gave the feeling of "something has changed" in terms of look and performance.

SHINee's A&R Staff Explains Group's 'Identity'

In another interview with the same media outlet, Park Mi Ran, the one who's been in charge of SHINee's A&R since 2020, answered questions about the team's growth and identity.

Regarding the term "SHINee-like," Park explained:

"...I think SHINee and the music we are making with them is always a 'new question mark.' 

I also think that the unchanging part of SHINee is its "SHINee-like" as many people feel. No matter what you try, SHINee's own color is captured. The other thing is that the members are the most sincere about the team called "SHINee", so it's SHINee who always does their best from the beginning to now."

(To read the full interview, CLICK Here: 1, 2)

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Written by Eunice Dawson.