New K-Pop fans may recognize T.O.P as a member of Big Bang, but may not realize that T.O.P was the name of an album released by the iconic male group Shinhwa.

Shinhwa is considered the longest continuing group in the history of K-Pop. The six member male group debuted in March1998 under SM Entertainment and have performed under their own label, entitled Shinhwa Company since 2011.

Shinhwa are contemporaries of iconic groups such as H.O.T and S.E.S. When compared to other groups from the late nineties, Shinhwa has maintained longevity by evolving along with the ever changing sound scape of Korean pop.

T.O.P was the second album Shinhwa, which saw greater commercial success than their debut release Resolver.

Like many nineties band names, the album title “T.O.P” was an acronym for “Twinkling of Paradise”.

The lyrics to “T.O.P” also shared in some of the awkward English that was present in K-Pop at the time and often can be seen, today. One of the most notorious lines is, “My love is D.R.C”,  While this has no visual meaning, the phrase was most likely inserted because D.R.C rhymes with T.O.P.

With their second album, Shinhwa transitioned from a softer boy band sound and style to an edgier concept. This was consistent with other male groups in the late nineties.

The success of “T.O.P” was aided by the breakup of H.O.T, with the album maintaining a place on charts for twenty-four weeks.

“T.O.P” featured a fantasy concept which may look dated due to rudimentary special effects. However, the song and music video for “T.O.P” helped to set the course for Shinhwa to maintain a dominant position within Korean pop music.