K-pop’s Shinee thrill fans with long-awaited online concert

It’s been a while, but on Sunday (April 4), K-pop band Shinee held their first concert since 2018.

The group – stylised SHINee – performed at the Shinee World concert hosted on South Korean streaming platform V Live as its latest Beyond Live concert event; the concert was a tie-in to February’s Don’t Call Me album.

During the event, the group previewed their upcoming new single Atlantis, set to drop on April 12 as part of a reissued, extended version of Don’t Call Me.

💎Thank you, SHINee WORLD💎#SHINee #샤이니#BeyondLIVE #비욘드라이브 pic.twitter.com/4Rie0IGXfH

— SHINee (@SHINee) April 4, 2021

The Beyond Live show was Shinee’s first concert in three years, coming after three of the band members finished their national service.

According to Shinee’s label SM Entertainment, 130,000 people from 120 countries tuned in to watch the highly-anticipated show live.

I didn’t expect the first SHINee concert I could go to to be like this but I’ll still cherish every moment. SHINee if you saw the girl crying the moment Selene started all the way through Encore no you didn’t #SHINeeBeyondLive #SHINee pic.twitter.com/VhccKs4oKr

— H 🐉 Atlantis 🔱 (@OffsickOntaem) April 4, 2021

More are expected to watch the event over delayed streams, set up for those who want to relive the experience or couldn’t watch it live.

The delayed streams were previously planned to air on April 6 and April 11, but it was announced after the concert that they will now air on V Live on April 13 and April 18.

"when you're worn out in your busy life and we're not around, i hope you find comfort with us. come back to us, when you feel hurt and exhausted. promise?" i promise ♡ #SHINee_BeyondLIVE pic.twitter.com/uTLlMl4fXD

— 🌙 • atlantis 4/12 🌊🔱 (@jongtaem) April 4, 2021

The event featured a live band and augmented reality (AR) features to enhance the online experience. Shinee’s show also featured XR, or extended reality, elements, creating a more immersive experience for the artists and audience.

The Shinee World show, which draws its name from Shinee’s fandom that is often known as Shawol, featured old and new songs from the band which was formed by SM in 2008.

the way they really included view, juliette, and selene 6.23 in the setlist, these are all jonghyun’s songs 🤍

— triz ✨ | atlantis 4/12 (@forleejinki) April 4, 2021

The set list included performances of early-era Shinee songs like Love Like Oxygen and Juliette to B-sides from the Don’t Call Me album, as well as hits such as View, Sherlock, and Married to the Music.

Fans on social media praised what they perceived to be the inclusion of the voice of Shinee’s vocalist Jonghyun (Kim Jong-hyun), who passed away in December 2017.

After the concert, member Minho posted on his Instagram account a picture from the four members from the Beyond Live stage, reaffirming the band’s intent to keep Jonghyun’s memory and role in the group alive.

“What explanation do you need?” he wrote. “This is Shinee. We are five.”