By: Davonna Gilpin | @DavonnaDarling

SHINee Beyond Live stage

Courtesy of SM Entertainment

K-pop powerhouse boyband SHINee held their first online concert “BEYOND LIVE: SHINee – SHINee WORLD” on Sunday, April 4th, 2021. It marked their first group concert in three years after most of the members have returned to the public eye since finishing their mandatory military service. 

Known in the industry for their strong live performance skills, combining powerful vocals and difficult-to-execute choreography, the members prepared for weeks to give a show that lived up to their reputation. The concert setlist consisted of an array of songs from their 13-year discography with a balanced mix of new and old releases. 

The show started off with the song “Good Evening,” the title track of the group’s sixth album, The Story Of Light Pt. 1. The song holds significance for the group and their fans (aptly named SHINee World or Shawols for short) as it was the group’s first music release as four. 

The members were dressed in exorbitant red and white outfits of tweed blazers, dress shirts, and cuff-legged slacks with ruby and diamond embellishments. The group performed the song, complete with their infamous group chair choreography. They immediately went into the next song, “Dream Girl,” the lead single from their 2013 album The Misconceptions Of You, accompanied by a live band (a first for the Beyond Live concert series) showcasing their mic-stand choreography. 

They followed up with two back-to-back songs from their latest album, Don’t Call Me, first performing “I Really Want You” a disco-esque song with a funky bass line that allowed the band to shine. They then went right into “Heart Attack,” a fan favorite from the release that winds down into a dance break as the band transitions into the next song “Married To The Music.”

The screen faded to black and showed the first AR graphic of the night, a SHINee World globe, to represent their fans from all around the world as the members introduced themselves. The fans appeared onto the audience’s screens and the members looked amazed at seeing all the Shawols holding their Shatting Star lightsticks. The members then did sentimental commentary in different languages, but in typical SHINee fashion, made it awkwardly hilarious. 

Moving back into the performances with a special R&B mix of the 2011 song, “Hello,” the group sat down on stools with the audience screens all around them showcasing a sea of pearl aqua blue, their official fan color.

The group moved into “Attention,” a hybrid of a live and pre-recorded performance alternating between a white hallway filled with pearl aqua blue balloons and the main stage with XR graphics replacing the stage floor. They shifted to one of their signature songs “View,” which took fans on a journey, and kept up with the concert theme as the performance stage reflected SHINee’s own universe with planets floating around in the distance.

A black and white VCR played a performance version of song “Chemistry” with the members dressed up as stylish chemists in tight sportswear and glasses then switched to futuristic shiny (no pun intended) two-piece outfits. The track appeared on their album The Story Of Light Pt. 2 in 2018 and quickly became a fan favorite.

When the group came back onto stage they were dressed in pale, periwinkle bolero style matador suits with black lace, gold detailing and pearl beading. They then gave a 20 minute stretch of nonstop SHINee-esque performances, full of energy and intense choreography for songs “CODE,” “Prism,” “Sherlock,” and “Everybody.” The latter two are staples of any SHINee concert as some of their most popular and well loved songs.  

The members took a breather to talk with fans and read their live commentary with Taemin hilariously reading a comment as “time to SHINee” instead of ‘time to shine.’’ The members continued to joke with each other and chatted about how much they missed concerts and seeing fans. Minho did a recurring gag singing a trot song that all the members joined in on that Key noted as a potential spoiler. The members also took the time to give a shout-out to their style team on the intricacies and details in their outfits. 

The screen cut to a VCR where the presence of late member Jonghyun was especially felt throughout the video of the members performing “Kind.” A slower, more melancholic song that tells the story of someone being there in the most hopeless of moments. The video featured imagery of the moon revolving around the members. The moon is commonly related to Jonghyun as he referenced it often in his music, and has become a symbol of comfort to fans since his passing. 

The members returned to debut a brand new song, “Atlantis,” from their 7th repackage album. A funky, retro-sounding song, with a catchy English chorus repeating “my love goes deep,” referring to loving someone deeper than Atlantis is in the ocean. Minho growled out an intense rap section and the song closed with an addictive bass instrumental.

Going from their newest song to one of their oldest, “Love Like Oxygen,” SHINee brought the live band back and gave all their fans those nostalgic feelings for the song released on their first full album 13 years ago. They even brought back their notorious chair choreography and showed the same energy for the song that they had even when they were rookies.

The group transitioned into the smooth, sensual song “Kiss Kiss,” another from their latest album and a brand new performance never seen before. 

The camera focused on the live band as they jammed in the background and suddenly they began playing “Juliette.” The band gave the song a bit of a rock twist, and after a bit of microphone and sound trouble the SHINee members went full out performing the classic. They members did not sing the chorus, and a backtrack played prominently featuring Jonghyun’s voice. 

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The members went off stage in pairs for the last outfit change of the night. Minho and Onew left first leaving Taemin and Key on stage to joke around with each other and Shawols. At one point they walked down the extended stage hand and hand, which led Taemin on bended knee proposing to Key who fake gushed to the camera.

Onew and Minho came back dressed in white outfits with subtle black trimming and chatted with fans about the songs from the newest album that they did not perform during the concert. Onew sang a bit of one, named “Body Rhythm” while Minho danced around and promised fans they would see it sometime in the future.

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As all four members came back together, they went into a staple of any SHINee concert, the ballad section. Performing signature songs that not only showed off their vocal talent but expressed their genuine feelings towards their fans, they started with “Selene 6.23.” The song was written by Jonghyun for International Shawols so that they could always feel close to the SHINee members. The members gave an emotional performance of the song while sitting down on the main stage with the lighting turned low as smoke billowed beneath their feet.

SHINee closed the show with the ballad “An Encore,” their go-to show closer from previous concerts and tours. The members stood on an elevated platform showered in the blue lights from the LED screens around them. The song, which describes the time that passed after a bitter ending leading to a hopeful new start, holds sentimental meaning for fans and the group.

As the last notes of “An Encore” played, and the LED screens started to close to signify the end of the show, the members were seen hugging each other and declaring their love to the fans before they left the stage.

Over 130,000 fans tuned in from 120 countries across the globe, making SHINee’s Beyond Live concert the second most viewed since the concert series inception one year ago. 

Want more SHINee content? Read about Jonghyun’s achievements as a beloved member that continues to shine.

Thumbnail Courtesy of SM Entertainment

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