There are few - if any- pop groups, Korean or not, that can touch or even come close to SHINee's technical abilities. With what are widely regarded as some of the best live vocals and some of the most challenging and most perfectly executed live choreography in the business, they really are on another level when it comes to professionalism and showmanship. Listening to a SHINee album or watching one of their performances is like going to a ballet- technical perfection is the aim, you know exactly what you're coming into, but there's still always that WOW factor of "I can't believe humans are capable of doing that."
That said, SHINee is a pop group. As high as their skill level is, they run the risk of appearing cold or distant by being too unattainably perfect at what they do. We saw this issue with Part I of the 'Dream Girl' albums- the package was airtight, but the product felt a little too sterile. Part II successfully warmed things up by taking darker, grittier, and more sentimental turns, bringing us skill + personality, which is a killer combo for SHINee.
While the entirety of 'Everybody' is a showcase of all-around technical brilliance, it feels like a bit of a step backwards from 'Dream Girl: Part II'- it's almost too perfect and robotic. This is a tough critique to give, because how do you tell someone that they're too good? It sounds like a sappy it's-not-you-it's-me break-up line. The problem here, however, isn't that the skill level is too high, but that the material lacks personality. SHINee and their songwriters need to make sure to include and promote songs on their albums that have character and personality and life to them so that SHINee doesn't come off as unrelatable and cold as the mechanical dancing machines they portray in their video.
PS - I watched Key and Eunji on 'We Got Married' - can someone please give them a show to host together? They're hilarious!
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