Key first debuted with SHINee (which also includes Taemin, Minho, Onew, and the late Jonghyun) in 2008, and debuted as a soloist around their 10th anniversary in 2018, with Forever Yours.

Here are my credentials: As I’ve made abundantly clear on this blog, I’m a Shawol, and SHINee are my ult group. I’m a huge fan of Key, and he’s one of my favorite members. Despite that, though, I don’t know his solo discography very well, besides a handful of tracks (a couple titles and a couple b-sides), so I’m looking forward to hearing more.

Album #1: FACE / I Wanna Be

Forever Yours is a pre-release for the first album, and surprisingly makes the choice to start not with Key but with Soyou, the feature for this song, whose softer, more muted tone goes so well with Key’s slightly more nasal one. The song has a pulsing beat from the outset, and though its chorus is quite simple at first, it soon blossoms into something far more fleshed out and dancy in the post-chorus. I also liked the very 80’s space movie inspired MV, and I can’t decide whether I love or hate that orange jumpsuit.

One Of These Nights is also minimalistic at its start, though it goes with a more Latin-pop acoustic guitar and handclapping before returning to synthpop. I also enjoyed Crush’s feature here, as I thought his voice works well with Key’s too, though in a different way to Soyou’s. Though I liked this one, I think that the choruses felt a little too understated to me, besides the last one. I will say, I do adore that bridge, and I could absolutely see this one growing on me.

I Wanna Be is another collab, this time with Soyeon of (G)I-DLE, which is a surprising collaboration that, as a Neverland (a (G)I-DLE fan), I’m completely in favor of. I appreciate that Soyeon’s incorporated throughout the entire song and doesn’t just appear for a verse (though of course she does have a rap) and then leave like many features, and their voices work well together. I liked this one! Normally I dislike heavily-instrumental choruses, but this one really fits the vibe of the song and its minimalistic, synthy production. It also feels more like the Key songs I’ve heard before.

From the album, I Wanna Be (a repackage of FACE), though I enjoyed the electro buildups in Chemicals, the easygoing beat of Easy To Love, the call-and-response and catchy beat of The Duty Of Love, and the chanty confidence in Show Me, my hidden gem would have to be I Will Fight. Key’s voice is as sharp as ever, but now it has a distinctly melancholy, piercing quality to it that feels deeper than his other tracks, and for good reason: it’s a song about Jonghyun, first and foremost, and the grief that comes with a loved one’s death when you’re wrapped up in your guilt. This is one of my favorite k-pop b-sides, purely because of that heartbreaking honesty. The lines “I will live my life for you, you are my red line [red string of fate] and now, without a word, goodbye” never fail to touch me.

Single #1: Cold

Cold is part of SM Station’s special project, but it was still a single, so I’m featuring it here. It’s definitely a ballad, and gives a very wintery feeling, so I wasn’t surprised to find out that it was released around Valentines’ Day. This one didn’t strike me very much, though I did enjoy hearing Key’s voice in a more subdued environment. I didn’t understand the choice to have a feature here, though, as this is a song that doesn’t need a rap and feels like it suffers for it.

EP #1: Bad Love

Hate That is a single, and marks Key’s return from military service with his longtime friend, Taeyeon. Like Cold, it’s more of a ballad than his other tracks, but unlike Cold, which felt very average, it puts more of Key’s own spin on it. Though the vocals are melancholy and the song is understated, the slight synths give it more personality, and their voices meld so well, forming what’s much more of a duet than most k-pop tracks are. It’s also very catchy!

Bad Love is both the first title that doesn’t have a featured artist and the first to truly feel like Key. It’s over-the-top, serving drama in spades, with vocal flourishes, hints of disco in its pulsing synths, and of course, clothes that are either fantastic or horrifying but I can’t decide. This was my favorite so far, without a doubt, especially the “don’t need that kind of love” hook in the post-chorus. With this, it feels like he’s truly found his sound.

There wasn’t a single song I didn’t enjoy on this EP! There’s the catchy beat and the “take my breath away, take my breath away” hook from Yellow Tape, and the super-dramatic delivery in all-English Helium (which made me laugh out loud, truth be told), for starters. And then there’s the crying-on-the-dancefloor feeling of Saturday Night (let’s all take a moment to appreciate the “Hey Zachary play that song”/”Hey Stacy, give me something on the rocks”, please) and my hidden gem, the sweet, reassuring message from Key to his 18-year-old self in Eighteen (End Of My World).

Album #2: Gasoline / Killer

Gasoline announces itself in true Key-fashion (is that a world? Eh.) with a marching-band-esque parade of brass and then struts forward for its next few minutes with an astounding amount of confidence. It reminds me a little of (G)I-DLE’s Queencard in that, though its lyrics are nonsensical, it’s incredibly dramatic, and it takes itself way too seriously, it’s honestly a very fun time if you turn off your brain and just enjoy yourself. I wish that the brass was more of a feature in this song, as I think it adds a great sense of depth.

Killer, the second single from the album, goes full-on 80’s action movie with its glittering sound, disco-inspired beat, and Key’s electro-tinged high voice, not to mention the cars on fire and motorcycles cruising through a city at night. Its chorus shoots for the stars, rushing forward with excellent energy that has the (not unwelcome) side effect of making you want to get up and just dance. Needless to say, I liked this one a lot.

From the album, Killer (a repackage of Gasoline), I enjoyed the gritter rock drive of Heartless, the tense beat reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in Bound, Jeno’s feature in Villain, the very Taemin-esque delivery with Key’s great vocals in Burn, and the infectious confidence in Proud. My hidden gem was definitely the drowsy citypop ballad I Can’t Sleep, though, with its incredibly relatable lyrics on insomnia and repetitive chorus that, as of now, is still stuck in my head. Though, I think that’s my own fault for replaying it four times.

EP #2: Good & Great

Though Good and Great is set in an office, the “I’m good, I’m great, I work, get paid” line has me cackling wondering how he convinced SM Entertainment it wasn’t about them. The entire song is an exercise in tip-toeing very close to that line, and I couldn’t stop laughing, especially since I was working at the time. It’s not as dramatic as Bad Love or Killer, but instead stays in a more understated but still catchy synth arena. So I liked this one too.

From the EP, Good & Great, I enjoyed the glitzy synths of Can’t Say Goodbye, the back-and-forth disco rush of Live Without You, and the vulnerable discussion of low self-esteem in Mirror, Mirror.

EP #3: Pleasure Shop

Pleasure Shop is bound to raise eyebrows just from the name, but it’s more of a commentary on AI, greed, and escaping reality. It has an airy, light footed sound based on the synths Key is so fond of, but I wish its chorus was a little more distinct and punchy, perhaps with a more disco-y instrumental or more dramatic vocals. I did like how well the raps flowed in with the rest of the song, because it’s a pet peeve of mine when they don’t. I think it’s squarely in the middle of Key’s discography for me, not his best or worst by a long shot, just good.

From the EP, I enjoyed the fast-paced, choppy beat of Golden and the messy tell-all style lyrics of Novacaine. My hidden gem was I Know, which is minimalist in a different way from Pleasure Shop, instead putting the emphasis on Key’s voice and some snappy, intermittent percussion that would be perfect for a runway show.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! I really shouldn’t be surprised by how much fun I had with this one since I love SHINee so much, but I was anyway. I had a good time watching behind the videos for his comebacks, because is always a delight to watch. Plus, he writes a lot of his own tracks, which I always love! I hope he has another comeback soon.

My Top 5 songs are Bad Love, I Will Fight, Eighteen, Killer, and Good & Great, with I Can’t Sleep and Easy To Love as honorable mentions. Key gets an 8.75 out of 10 from me, which is higher than I expected, but feels fitting. His discography is right up my alley, with its preference for synth, disco, citypop, and more personal ballads. I didn’t really have many songs I disliked; the reason this discography is ranked here is because only a handful of tracks really drive home that emotional connection, but when they do, they really hit. I really grew to appreciate Key’s talents through this, and his creative direction too, even if it occasionally veers into style over substance.

Next time, we’ll be starting a HUGE deep dive, with some supplementals. Tschüss!

(SHINee Deep Dive)