Best take Taemin’s advice.
Lee Taemin better known as the Idol's idol or my favourite title “The King of K-pop”, is in my opinion the best thing to ever happen to the K-pop industry alongside Hwasa and the whole K-pop industry seems to agree that Taemin is indeed a gem, from his smooth soft vocals to his bold concepts and unique dance pop sound.
SHINee’s Instagram
My most favourite thing about him as an artist is how he dares to challenge gender norms in the industry, I was first intrigued when he released Danger in 2014, he rocked that dark eyeliner and eyeshadow along with that fishnet vest and that veil on his hat like proper rock star, iconic to say the least.
“Taemin during the Danger era”
Advice is Taemin’s 3rd mini album which he released before his military service began and I must say he left us with yet another masterpiece in its own right and swiftly made it clear that nobody is capable of taking his place in the industry.
Photo credit: Pinterest, Taemin during the Advice Era, 2021
One thing I took from Advice is that this is Taemin’s way of slowing letting us into his little world, from him fully embracing his androgynous look by rocking a crop top with a sports bra underneath in his Advice music video to him rocking a long hair do which makes him look more feminine and let me not forget the part where he reveals his beautiful tattoo on his torso.
Advise is different from Taemin’s previous work, there’s a shift here both personally and creative wise, I love how he chose songs that go well with his voice, it’s smooth and soft but he makes it work everytime, that’s his strength and Taemin always sticks by his strengths. Another strength of his I admire is his dancing skills, he always goes beyond and above with his choreography which explains why he’s so respected and valued within industry.
Photo credit: Pinterest
I can not ignore how Advise sounds different from Taemin’s previous work, Advice gives out more chilled RnB and dance vibes which I think Taemin does well in, songs such as If I Could Tell you featuring Taeyeon, Strings and Sad Kids give off an RnB feel which makes the whole album stand out on it’s own amongst the other albums while Lights and Advise have that familiar Taemin dance tone which I’m used to.
SHINee’s Instagram
Recommended songs on the album are:
· Advise
· Lights
· If I Could Tell you
This album only marked Taemin as a pioneer in my eyes, he’s on a league of his own.
SHINee’s Instagram
SHINee’s Instagram
He rebuild his image as an androgynous figure in the industry and is taking control of his image and art, his absence is felt in the K-pop industry, that to me shows how much of an impact he has made in this industry, which gives this album a rating of 8/10, long reign the king of K-pop.
Photo credits: Pinterest
Photo credits: Pinterest, behind the scenes for the Advise music video
Photo credits: Pinterest, behind the scenes for the Advise music video
Review by: Thabiso Malumane
