TW: mention and discussion of cultural appropriation, racism, and the n-word. Deeper discussion in a separate post.

Here are my credentials (again): uh…none? I can name about three SHINHWA songs off of the top of my head, which is slightly embarrassing. I know of course about their incredible legacy, but similarly to BTS, I’ve been a k-pop fan for half a decade now so I figured it’s time to get to know such an important group better.

(Part One)(Part Three)(Part Four)

Album #4: Hey, Come On!

Hey, Come On! is much more in the vein of you-can-do-it pop, and has a very light, twinkling background synth in the lead, with a driving beat and more spacey electro-pop. It’s not one of my favorites, but I’m not mad at it; the music video is quite weird, but it’s fun, and it gave me some good laughs. The “Hey, come on! Don’t give up!” is honestly very sweet.

Wild Eyes gives off action movie vibes from its very first moments, and draws on some vintage 60’s inspiration and marries it with 80’s synths for what’s a pretty solid combination with their strong voices. There’s some very interesting word choices here, (like “I’ve been rollin’ in the streets”; have you, Junjin? Have you, really? You grew up in Seoul, not South Side Chicago, calm down) and I’m not sure if it’s there because of hip-hop inspiration or what, but it’s…noticeable, especially with a very weird science fiction MV.  

I don’t really understand why they had to be shirtless for this, but whatever. Tragically for them (and their stylists), I happen to be aro ace and thus just end up annoyed. I do not, in fact, want a man like a winner, thanks. It is a really catchy song, though, when I think of it like War Of Hormone by BTS: a little bit ridiculous, but all in good fun. 

From the album, Hey, Come On!, I enjoyed the classical sample in Reminiscence, the slight doo-wop and their especially nice voices in Falling In Love, the excellent driving background beat and oddly…bubbly? instrumentals in Never Can Rewind, the synths in Trippin’, and the soothing “everytime, every night” from Sure I Know. I swear though, if they include “baby girl” in one more song, I will steal a Tardis and travel back to 2002 out of pure cringe.

Album #5: Perfect Man

From the album, Perfect Man, I enjoyed the easy-going flow of Shout, the twinkling background and harmonizing in Free, the catchy beat of Fly High, and . the piano in Reason.  And just when I thought that we were doing well…here comes the n-word again, this time in the very beginning of the song Last Zone. I’ve said all I’ll say, so let’s leave this here.

I was expecting Wedding to be another sentimental, sweet ballad, and I couldn’t have been more wrong. It begins with a hard-hitting hip-hop verse and then the absolute whammy of the line: “why did I have to meet you when you’re the bride at my brother’s wedding?” It’s the mother of all “the one that got away” songs, and I confess that I liked it far more than I expected to. I’m honestly impressed by how dramatic it is, because everyone needs to rhapsodize to the stars while wearing a shirt that’s ~~artfully~~ half unbuttoned at least once in their life, right?

Deep Sorrow is the ballad that I was expecting Wedding to be, and it’s quite sweet, especially the “if only I’m by her side, I could be anything…I would even be a street light, if only I could see you walk home”. Again, I don’t have that much to say, but I appreciate this one more than their other ballads because of the lovely lyrics.

From the album, Wedding, I enjoyed the great harmonizing and springy beat of Hiway, the whispered intro of Lost In Love, the ethereal “maybe you like me, you like me too” from Soulmate, the catchiness of “Get Up” (though I could’ve done without the sound effects), and the harmonizing (ah, my one true love!) in You. I have to say though, this album isn’t really for me, since it’s very ballad heavy, but SHINHWA do have great voices. Sidenote, the AAVE overload has returned in 79, with an amount of swearing that’s just trying too hard to be cool to actually be cool. 

Album #6: Winter Story 2003

Young Gunz had me concerned from the title, but I was surprised to see that the song is actually about the strength that someone close to you gives you to keep going; I admit that went “awww” at the line “everlasting friendship in my life” and felt the urge to call my best friend. Though it’s not a song I see myself replaying often, as the style of slowed-down hip-hop isn’t normally my thing, I do appreciate it, and it was nice to see them have fun together when k-pop videos now are so often highly produced. I do want to point out though that in the English spoken-word sections, the way that they’re speaking is very reminiscent of AAVE (African American Vernacular English), and I’m not certain what to think about that.

From the album, Winter Story 2003, I liked the spoken word intro Let’s Start (and especially the laughter, which was a nice change of tone from the Wedding album), the smooth R & B of Mistake, and the slight electric guitar in The Days. Again, though, like the last album, this is quite ballad-heavy and overall, not for me. I did appreciate the spoken songs though, of which there were many.

Album #7: Brand New

And with Brand New, we arrive at another music video where they’re inconceivably shirtless, though at least this time it starts with such an over-dramatic slow-motion intro complete with an orchestra and very bizarrely dressed female dancers that I could get in some good laughs. As is fitting for 2005, this song felt much more reminiscent of the 2nd gen k-pop I’m familiar with, and is obviously going for attraction both with its styling decisions (or lack thereof), the very…uh, let’s say….hip-thrust heavy choreo, and the way the beat slinks along. Despite all my making fun, though, I did actually quite like this one, and it remained stuck in my head for a good day or so after, especially the cathartic high note.

Angel, though it’s from the same album as Brand New, initially seems as different as possible, with a sunny, relaxed beat that’s at odds with its dark music video. Then, the song slowly gets darker and more desperate, giving the vocals time to shine and blossom into what’s quite an emotionally affecting ballad with the repeated “you’re my girl, you’re my girl, you’re my girl”. I wish it had been so obvious about its style from the outset, though, as I think it would be stronger that way. 

Something I noticed when watching this video especially is how..normal they look? SHINHWA was in their mid to late twenties, and they look pretty normal for being that age. But with k-pop idols that age now, they look practically the same as when they debuted, and I’m not sure if that is due to better quality videos, SHINHWA being a notable exception, or changing beauty standards, but I thought that it was interesting.

From the album, Brand New, I enjoyed the punchy pre-chorus of Shooting Star (though I could’ve done without the quite cringy “I’m a gangsta”), the harmonizing in Crazy, the easy-going beat of Time Machine, the layered vocals in Liar, and the acoustic guitar mixed with the flute in I Want. Side note, I was caught incredibly off-guard by the very religious “My Everything”; not sure what that’s about.

And here’s where we’ll leave part two. Please enjoy the picture above of the SHINHWA members at Eric’s actual wedding in 2018! Let’s hope no one fell in love with their brother’s wife this time. I had a feeling (call it intuition) that this was going to end up being a three parter, so I’m not that surprised.

(Part Three)(Part Four)