After the success following the promotions of Misconceptions of Me, Misconceptions of You, and Boys Meet U, SHINee wakes everybody up with their new mini-album entitled "Everybody". Two albums, a Japanese single, and now another mini-album plus the countless variety show appearances and concerts along with other projects, I think it's fitting to say that 2013 has been a really good year for these five shining boys. Forget about 2009, 2013 is SHINee's "Year of Us."
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for a full-on RnB mini ala rookie days but this group has constantly been innovating itself musically over the years and is known for experimenting with their sounds and exploring different genres. Even if I ended up with false hope, my expectations for this album were pleasantly met and that's why I decided to do a track-by-track album review. If you want to know my personal thoughts, they're under the breakthrough!
Everybody - I initially didn't like the song but as with most SM title tracks, Everybody is a song that eventually grew on me. The more I listen to it, the more I learn to appreciate it. I'm not a big fan of dubstep unless it's used sparingly but I actually found myself tapping along to the electronic beats in this song. I'm really proud of Minho for getting actual singing lines and Jonghyun sounds fantastic as always. I don't really have much to say about Everybody except that I sometimes find it exhausting to listen to but this song is pretty much amazing when performed live. Also, I had really low expectations for this song because I was sneering at the dubstep but it pleasantly surprised me. Still though, if SHINee wasn't the group singing Everybody, I don't think I'd put it in my music player, much less give it a second listen.
Symptoms - THIS. THIS SONG. Best track in the album, hands down. This has been my jam ever since its release. Probably the main reason why I don't really like Everybody is because I'm butthurt that this song wasn't the title track. I understand that they have to choose a strong dance track to promote but I can't wait for the day that SHINee will finally have a song like Symptoms to pioneer their promotions. I've always been a huge enthusiast of RnB and Symptoms is just pure gold. The gem in this album. I love how it starts all mellow and soft tones and then builds itself up effortlessly into chorus that's powerful but not overwhelming. Jonghyun puts so much emotion into this song that listening to him is like sweet honey dripping into your ears. Taemin sounds really good in the chorus and it's amazing how much vocal prowess this kid has nowadays. I feel like Onew is a bit overshadowed here? His voice is amazing as per usual but I think Jonghyun really shines here. The transitions in this song from the stanza to the pre-chorus to the chorus to the bridge and to the chorus again are also great. Also, am I the only one who thinks that the dynamics of Symptoms are somewhat similar to that of Beautiful's? Except that over-all, Symptoms is just tons better. Didn't really dig Beautiful as much as others did but I just noticed the similarity between the two. There's a certain air of familiarity.
Queen of New York - I'll be frank, this song really creeped me out when I first listened to it. I almost choked on the banana fritter that I was eating during the first few lines of the intro. I don't like the stanzas but goddamnit Key sounds amazing and as much as I can't get over how atrocious the first part of Queen of New York sounds, the chorus just makes up for the atrocity. I am so passionately in love with the chorus. It's just a pity that I have to go through a little bit of hell first before I reach heaven. It sounds ala Like a Fire from Misconceptions of You and I fucking love Like a Fire so much. My 70s pop-loving side is showing lol. Taemin is forgettable in this song, you barely notice him here. Sad face for bby. But really though, I'm incredibly thankful that the chorus saved this song from turning into total trash. And I know this is going to sound incredibly biased but I think that only SHINee could've pulled off a song like this. I mean, just imagine EXO singing Queen of New York. IMAGINE IT. *shudders*
One Minute Back - One of the weaker songs in this album if I were to be asked. The tribal sounds are...different (for lack of a better word). There are so many elements here that couldn't have worked but for some reason, they did. There's no SHINee wow factor here but I still think it's a good song nonetheless. I find the transitions in One Minute Back awkward though, especially during the verses after the first chorus. They were messy and all over the place. Heck, 70% of this song is all over the place. I feel like SM could've done better with this one if they didn't make it sound like a jumbled mess. It's half-assed in my honest opinion and I feel like this song could've been stronger and given more chance to shine because the chorus is really great. And maybe it's just me but this sounds more like a Super Junior kind of song, not SHINee.
Destination - This is my second favorite after Symptoms. I immediately liked it after the first listen because I'm a sucker for fast beats and catchy "na na na na na na's". I mean, the main reason why I like listening to Korean pop is because it's fun to listen to and Destination is a really nice song to bop along to and it's so easy to lose yourself in the melody and catchy lyrics. I really enjoyed the rap as well which is unusual because more often than not, I regard the rap parts in songs as useless. Destination is definitely worth a listen.
Close The Door - Ah, a staple in every SHINee album: the inevitable ballad to showcase everyone's vocal abilities and to melt all fangirls' hearts with the boys' melodious voices and sappy lyrics and WOW ONEW SOUNDS REALLY GOOD CAN I USE HIS VOICE AS MY PILLOW BECAUSE IT SOUNDS SO SOFT AND PRECIOUS UGH. I actually really like Close The Door but I won't delve deeper into this because it sounds like every other Kpop ballad out there. This is a nice song to fall asleep to and who wouldn't want to be serenated with a song like this? And maybe I died at Onew's "Baby, please close the door... in your heart." Mushy feelings guuuh
Symptoms - THIS. THIS SONG. Best track in the album, hands down. This has been my jam ever since its release. Probably the main reason why I don't really like Everybody is because I'm butthurt that this song wasn't the title track. I understand that they have to choose a strong dance track to promote but I can't wait for the day that SHINee will finally have a song like Symptoms to pioneer their promotions. I've always been a huge enthusiast of RnB and Symptoms is just pure gold. The gem in this album. I love how it starts all mellow and soft tones and then builds itself up effortlessly into chorus that's powerful but not overwhelming. Jonghyun puts so much emotion into this song that listening to him is like sweet honey dripping into your ears. Taemin sounds really good in the chorus and it's amazing how much vocal prowess this kid has nowadays. I feel like Onew is a bit overshadowed here? His voice is amazing as per usual but I think Jonghyun really shines here. The transitions in this song from the stanza to the pre-chorus to the chorus to the bridge and to the chorus again are also great. Also, am I the only one who thinks that the dynamics of Symptoms are somewhat similar to that of Beautiful's? Except that over-all, Symptoms is just tons better. Didn't really dig Beautiful as much as others did but I just noticed the similarity between the two. There's a certain air of familiarity.
Queen of New York - I'll be frank, this song really creeped me out when I first listened to it. I almost choked on the banana fritter that I was eating during the first few lines of the intro. I don't like the stanzas but goddamnit Key sounds amazing and as much as I can't get over how atrocious the first part of Queen of New York sounds, the chorus just makes up for the atrocity. I am so passionately in love with the chorus. It's just a pity that I have to go through a little bit of hell first before I reach heaven. It sounds ala Like a Fire from Misconceptions of You and I fucking love Like a Fire so much. My 70s pop-loving side is showing lol. Taemin is forgettable in this song, you barely notice him here. Sad face for bby. But really though, I'm incredibly thankful that the chorus saved this song from turning into total trash. And I know this is going to sound incredibly biased but I think that only SHINee could've pulled off a song like this. I mean, just imagine EXO singing Queen of New York. IMAGINE IT. *shudders*
One Minute Back - One of the weaker songs in this album if I were to be asked. The tribal sounds are...different (for lack of a better word). There are so many elements here that couldn't have worked but for some reason, they did. There's no SHINee wow factor here but I still think it's a good song nonetheless. I find the transitions in One Minute Back awkward though, especially during the verses after the first chorus. They were messy and all over the place. Heck, 70% of this song is all over the place. I feel like SM could've done better with this one if they didn't make it sound like a jumbled mess. It's half-assed in my honest opinion and I feel like this song could've been stronger and given more chance to shine because the chorus is really great. And maybe it's just me but this sounds more like a Super Junior kind of song, not SHINee.
Destination - This is my second favorite after Symptoms. I immediately liked it after the first listen because I'm a sucker for fast beats and catchy "na na na na na na's". I mean, the main reason why I like listening to Korean pop is because it's fun to listen to and Destination is a really nice song to bop along to and it's so easy to lose yourself in the melody and catchy lyrics. I really enjoyed the rap as well which is unusual because more often than not, I regard the rap parts in songs as useless. Destination is definitely worth a listen.
Close The Door - Ah, a staple in every SHINee album: the inevitable ballad to showcase everyone's vocal abilities and to melt all fangirls' hearts with the boys' melodious voices and sappy lyrics and WOW ONEW SOUNDS REALLY GOOD CAN I USE HIS VOICE AS MY PILLOW BECAUSE IT SOUNDS SO SOFT AND PRECIOUS UGH. I actually really like Close The Door but I won't delve deeper into this because it sounds like every other Kpop ballad out there. This is a nice song to fall asleep to and who wouldn't want to be serenated with a song like this? And maybe I died at Onew's "Baby, please close the door... in your heart." Mushy feelings guuuh
Colorful - Damn this song gives me so much nostalgia that I instantly loved it upon the first listen. I'm not really one for synth pop but this reminds me so much of the good old kpop days when kpop was all about music you could dance to while having fun and easygoing beats and not all hardcore "ooh let's try to look cool and throw smoldering gazes at the camera so that we'll win all the awards when we make our fans' ovaries explode" because that's what kpop seems to be all about nowadays. Insert sad face. Colorful is the kind of music that I grew up with, that's why I have a somewhat emotional attachment to it. It's not a song that tries too hard so I think it's wonderful in its simplicity. Melody is simple, lyrics are cute, the boys sound good - it's exactly my type of SHINee song. Also, this is the kind of song that would be really good for end-of-the concert performances during encores when the boys have fun on stage and interact with fans. Really though, I think kpop needs more songs like this.
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Favorite track: Symptoms
Deserves a listen: Destination
Special Mention goes to: Colorful
All in all, I like this mini-album tons better than their Sherlock EP. Overall, this mini gets a 4/5 from me! :3
How about you? What do you think of it? ^^
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