B-Sides: TAEMIN Edition

Whether he’s shining in SHINee, performing solo, or assembling with SuperM, TAEMIN is known for his incredible range, perfect rhythm, and sensuality. And with his birthday coming up on July 18, it seemed as good a time as any to celebrate TAEMIN in his many forms. 

“Nightmare” by SHINee

Why So Serious? - The Misconception of Me is the second part of SHINee’s third album, repackaged as The Misconceptions of Us. While the first part, Dream Girl - The Misconception of You explored the misconceptions of the world around SHINee, the second part was about the misconception of ideals. This album was a darker turn for SHINee, as seen in the opening track “Nightmare.” The lyrics describe wanting a girl who can chase away the bad, but instead finding a girl who doesn’t care, seemingly destroying them and letting the darkness take over. TAEMIN singing, “If I can’t avoid it, then I close my eyes and dream of you,” only for Jonghyun to come in and call her a vampire that has overcome him further showcases that sometimes the ideal isn’t as perfect as we imagined it to be.

“Don’t Stop” by SHINee

While “Nightmare” is about being trapped in the darker underworld of relationships, “Don’t Stop” off of 1 of 1 is about the alternate universe dream world you would want to be trapped in with the one you love. A sensual song, the beat in the background resembles a racing heart, pumping loudly as the members take in everything around them. TAEMIN singing, “What’s that before my eyes in this upside down world?” gives off Alice In Wonderland vibes as the other members talk about this other world where the “crazy antics create beautiful things.” Adding in Key’s rap where he states, “You know how long we were looking for this, away from familiarity,” it seems that they would rather stay in this new world with the girl they’re singing to instead of remaining trapped in the mundane.

“Heart Stop” by TAEMIN ft. Seulgi

“Heart Stop” is an electronic-esque song off of TAEMIN’s Move featuring Red Velvet’s Seulgi. With instrumentals featuring a whooshing noise, snapping, and occasional guitar lines, TAEMIN and Seulgi take turns singing about a relationship on the verge of collapsing, mentioning how they no longer look forward to or get excited about spending time together. At times, both vocalists mention that time could be turned around or stopped, but that not even messing with time could prevent their feelings from fading away and even if they both know that ending the relationship is for the best, neither of them have the strength to end it. TAEMIN sings, “Let’s not delay this any longer. We are living in vastly different times,” before Seulgi adds, “We are strangers as we walk in different times.” They both sense that the relationship is caging them in and as strings are introduced to close out the song, it feels as if the track is finally celebrating the freedom of ending the relationship.

“Shadow” by TAEMIN

Drums and strings with a poppy overlay give this track from WANT an almost foreboding, ominous vibe, which is incredibly fitting with the lyrics. “Shadow” is about an ex-lover whose memories TAEMIN can’t seem to forget, following him wherever he goes. He compares the bad memories to a shadow, always lurking and there even when he doesn’t want them. The darkness comes to a peak with each chorus, the strings and drums getting heavier as TAEMIN sings, “I remember how I loved you, you follow and tease me every day,” and “Even if I run away, I’m still stuck in place.” The guitar solo during the final chorus adds an extra level of franticness, like TAEMIN has finally had enough with his shadow, before coming to the realization that he’s stuck with these memories plaguing him.

“2 Fast” by SuperM

This B-side from SuperM features TAEMIN, Baekhyun, Mark, and Lucas as they fall “2 Fast” for a girl. Feelings for her develop in the blink of an eye; one second the members are minding their own business and the next they see her. The feelings then begin to grow out of control, too fast, and the members can’t make them stop even though all they did was walk past her. In the chorus, the members sing, “You captivate me before I breathe once, 2 fast, 2 fast, no, 2 fast. You captivate me before our eyes even meet, 2 fast, 2 fast,” recognizing that the way they feel for this girl is unorthodox and sudden. TAEMIN’s ad-libs in the background before the final chorus are an excellent addition to this R&B-based song.

After 12 years in the K-Pop industry, it’s no surprise to say that TAEMIN is a force to be reckoned with. We here at The Kraze wish him a speedy recovery and can’t wait to see what his next comeback brings!