Princes of K-POP: SHINee's Stability in an Ever-Changing Industry

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Up to this day, knowing who the real “Kings of KPOP” is still up for a long debate among fandoms. That is why it is a huge honor when the whole entertainment industry unanimously agrees that a certain group should be branded as the “Princes of KPOP”. So, what must it take for them to achieve that deserving title?

Around the year 2007 to 2012, during the second generation of K-pop, also known as the Golden Era, legendary groups rose to fame altogether like BigBang, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girl’s Generation, Wonder Girls, and 2NE1. They were in a friendly competition in taking the spot for the Kings and Queens of K-pop. And in the middle of that heat, SM Entertainment decided to put out a boy group, a trial debut that even the Korean public and media didn’t expect in May 2008. They were named “SHINee“, formed from the word “shine” and the suffix ‘-ee’, which means “the one who receives the light”.

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Successful Entrance to the K-POP Industry

SHINee is composed of members Onew, Key, Minho, Jonghyun, and Taemin. Putting them together might be experimental, but it didn’t restrain the members from presenting their authentic musical identities to the world. In fact, their debut track, “Replay“, was a powerful entrance for the future Princes of K-pop. They were the very first K-pop group that swept all the rookie awards in their first year, which they called the “Rookie Grand Slam“.

After a successful first year, they released “Ring, Ding, Dong“, a song that took the KPOP world by storm. Many would say that this song solidified SHINee’s place in K-pop. They proved that they could be matched with the strongest vocals, choreography, style, image, and music quality in the industry. In the first place, their company has set them to be trendsetters, not just in music but also in fashion and performances. As they continue with their career, they offered more than what is expected of them, releasing more amazing tracks like Lucifer, Juliette, Sherlock, Dream Girl, View, and Love Like Oxygen partnered with great concepts, choreography, and performances.

According to SM Entertainment, they were a contemporary R&B K-pop boy group. But they were never afraid to try something new every time they had a comeback. They released songs experimenting different genres like hip hop, electronic music, rock, dance, and funk rock without losing their group’s identity.

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Keeping "SHINee" a Strong Brand for 13 Years

The landscape of the K-pop industry continues to change really fast every year, so it is an ultimate feat to stay on top for a long time, more so a decade-long one. Like every other K-pop group, it wasn’t a smooth ride for SHINee. Especially when they lost in the tragic passing of their member, Jonghyun. But despite that, they continued to work on their growth with solo projects and took a hiatus to serve in the military. When they came back in 2020 with the song, Don’t Call Me, you know that something is new, but it is still SHINee.

Another thing, SHINee won’t be SHINee without the distinct contributions of its members. Onew took on the ‘leader’ role as early as when they are still teens and helped promote the team as much as he can. Key is a reliable member who can do anything: paint, act in musicals and dramas, and dominate in variety shows. Minho is a passionate member, not just in competitions and being the best, but also in publicly showing his affection to the other members. Jonghyun represented SHINee as one of the best vocalists in K-pop. And lastly, Taemin is the talented maknae who makes his team proud in everything he does.

SHAWOLs, or SHINee World fans, surely have enough reasons to stay and support SHINee until now. Add to that, they are the least controversial or problematic among other K-pop groups. They have kept their stability throughout these years, and they are rolling in it. Having this state, they are perfect for business, for marketability. No wonder big brands like Reebok, Skechers, and Etude House hired them as endorsers for their products.

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Supporting the "SHINee" Brand

One of the best ways to experience K-pop is by purchasing official merchandise. It’s what keeps the industry alive, actually. With this, together with attending concerts and events, you are able to support the group that you love. Like all K-pop groups, SHINee also has its own official merchandise. Here are some of their fan ‘must-haves’:

Shating Star

Yup, this is how SHINee named their fan lightstick. This is a fan ‘must-have’ for concerts and even online events.

Official Albums and DVDs

Being a 13-year-old K-pop boy group, SHINee has a huge collection of albums and DVDs that accumulated throughout these years. Some are not even available in the market anymore. You can start with The SHINEE WORLD up to their latest album, Don’t Call Me.

Accessories

The SHINee brand offers a lot of accessories like keyrings, pouches, bracelets, phone straps, pins, and tapes. You can also include here SHINee bags and hats.

Solo Promotions' Merchandise

SHINee members have their own solo promotions and projects. SM Global also releases individual merchandise for them like albums, accessories, and clothing.

Initially, you should consider buying SHINee’s official merchandise from the official SM Global Shop. But there are also a lot of K-pop stores available online like KPOPTOWN, Cokodive, Gmarket, and Amazon. As mentioned earlier, they’ve accumulated merchandise since 2008, so you can also look for stores that sell rare SHINee goods like Bunjang and eBay.

Buying official merchandise from online stores may be difficult for fans, especially the ones living abroad. So, it would be better to use the services of a package forwarding company. One of the bests out there is DELIVERED KOREA who has served a lot of K-pop fans all over the world already. They offer international shipping, consolidating, and personal shopping services to help you buy official K-pop merchandise conveniently. You can visit our website here.