TAEMIN and the “Press Your Number” Comeback
On February 23, 2016, TAEMIN released his first full-length album, Press It, along with the music video for “Press Your Number.” The day before the album’s release, the music video for “Drip Drop” was released. The album contains 10 tracks, including “Soldier,” the first track TAEMIN wrote completely by himself, “Already” which was written by his fellow SHINee member and friend Jonghyun, and “Hypnosis,” a track he almost included on his debut mini-album ACE but saved for a later release. Title track “Press Your Number” was originally written by Bruno Mars and was purchased by SM Entertainment, with TAEMIN reworking some of the lyrics to better appeal to the Korean market.
The Music Videos
The music video for “Drip Drop” sees TAEMIN and his background dancers performing the choreography in a dry, mountainous landscape. While it’s not exactly a desert as there are green plants behind them, it still makes it obvious that TAEMIN needs the object of his affection just like this landscape needs water and that they both thrive from the attention.
Like he did with his 2017 follow-up release “MOVE,” TAEMIN released three separate music videos for “Press Your Number.” The first video that was released was the plot-driven music video, followed by the first performance version on February 24 and a second performance version on February 25. The plot-driven video opens with TAEMIN awakening from a crash in the middle of nowhere. Once the music begins and TAEMIN starts singing, the story comes in as TAEMIN exits a car and walks into a convenience store. Armed with a gun in the back of his pants, he holds up the cashier who gives him the money, then he’s off with his friends again. The video continues like this, going back and forth from TAEMIN deserted to TAEMIN with his crime buddies, and showing the cashier tied up before switching to TAEMIN tied up. Plot-wise, there’s a lot going on, but the cinematography, color grading, and choreography are just as stunning.
Both performance versions of “Press Your Number” feature TAEMIN dancing in locations seen in the main music video, with the first being filmed in the Los Angeles river basin (famous for being featured in movies like Grease) while the second performance video was filmed in the ballroom setting from the music video.
The Comeback Performances
TAEMIN’s comeback performance was on M!COUNTDOWN on February 25, 2016, where he performed “Drip Drop” and “Press Your Number.” For “Drip Drop,” TAEMIN performed on a smoky stage with silvery strands and dripping lights behind him. While his outfit from the music video didn’t make a full appearance for the comeback stage, his leather jacket did and was taken off at the same point in the choreography where TAEMIN sheds it in the music video.
TAEMIN’s performance of “Press Your Number” also didn’t feature an exact music video outfit, with TAEMIN instead going with a sleek and shiny black suit with a turtleneck underneath. The stage was set up to resemble the ballroom location from the music video and for the first minute of the performance, TAEMIN was solo on the stage showing off his incredible dancing skills. Throughout the song, TAEMIN showed off his vocals by throwing in some ad libs here and there.
The Legacy
TAEMIN took home four music show wins for “Press Your Number.” His first win for the track was on March 1, 2016 on The Show and the three following days he took home wins on Show Champion, M!COUNTDOWN, and Music Bank.
When it comes to the music charts, Press It and “Press Your Number” did, well, numbers. Press It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard U.S. World Albums Chart, tying with ACE for highest spot on the chart, and at No. 7 on the Billboard U.S. Heatseekers Albums Chart. “Press Your Number” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard U.S. World Digital Song Sales Chart, making it TAEMIN’s highest peaking track on that chart.
As for the Korean market, Press It peaked and debuted at No. 1 on the Gaon Weekly Albums Chart, No. 2 on the Gaon Monthly Albums Chart, and No. 18 on the Gaon Yearly Albums Chart. As for the songs, many of them appeared on both the Gaon Weekly Digital Chart and the Gaon Weekly Downloads Chart. For the Gaon Weekly Digital Chart, “Press Your Number” debuted at No. 15, “Drip Drop” at No. 44, “Soldier” at No. 59, “Already” at No. 82, and “Guess Who” at No. 94.
All 10 tracks appeared on the Gaon Weekly Downloads Chart, with “Press Your Number” peaking at No. 5, “Drip Drop” at No. 23, “Soldier” at No. 31, “Already” at No. 45, “Mystery Lover” at No. 57, “Sexuality” at No. 58, “Hypnosis” at No. 59, “Guess Who” at No. 65, “One By One” at No. 69, and “Until Today” at No. 71.
At the end of year awards, Press It was nominated for “Album of the Year - 1st Quarter” at the Gaon Chart Music Awards and “Disc Bonsang” and “Disc Daesang” at the Golden Disc Awards while “Press Your Number” was nominated for “Song of the Year” and “Best Dance Performance - Solo” at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. TAEMIN took home the “Disc Bonsang” and “Best Dance Performance - Solo” awards.