Review Concert

SHINEE CONCERT SHINEE WORLD II IN SINGAPORE

Singapore Indoor Stadium

Last Saturday

They were here two Fridays ago for SMTown Live World Tour III, and then in Hong Kong last week for the Mnet Asian Music Awards show.

So you would imagine South Korean pop group Shinee showing signs of fatigue.

But they never stopped hamming it up onstage. They burst onto the stage, storming through hits such as electro- pop number Lucifer and infectious ditty Juliette.

At the end, they marked the birthdays of two members - rapper Choi Min Ho, who turned 21 yesterday, and leader Onew (real name Lee Jin Ki), who turns 23 on Friday.

Shinee comprise Choi, Onew, Lee Tae Min, 19, Key, whose real name is Kim Ki Bum, 21, and Kim Jong Hyun, 22.

Building upon their performance last year that featured pyrotechnics, laser beams and harnesses that suspended them in air, Shinee brought their second world tour at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to a whole new level.

There were water features, a circular hydraulic stage with two levels, bubble blowers and dramatic theatrical performances.

For slow pop number Always Love, they appeared as captives held hostage by dancers dressed in tribal-looking garb. That juxtaposition did not necessarily work but was a fun prelude to the other theatrics that followed.

From stylish assassins with guns for Seesaw to channelling angels in their flowy, white robes and the use of the harnesses for their rendition of the hymn Amazing Grace, Shinee did it all. Dancers doubled up as actors too, such as one who dressed up as a robed figure, hobbling across the Y-shaped stage for Amazing Grace.

Jong Hyun, who has been showing off his sculpted body more often since the release of their EP Sherlock this year, was a mess, literally. Halfway through his solo song, Hyeya (Y Si Fuera Ella), a video of him getting shot in dramatic fashion was screened. He reappeared with fake blood on his white shirt, later kneeling in rose petals as he sang in "pain".

And of course there was the sexually charged performance of Internet Wars, that has made its rounds on YouTube, with a topless Jong Hyun pulling Tae Min's face right next to his.

A nice addition to the set-list were various English numbers, with no painful enunciation, and solo performances by each member.

Choi entertained with Chris Brown's Turn Up The Music; Onew went through an onstage transformation from geek- chic to K-pop star, with an acoustic performance of Jason Mraz's I Won't Give Up that segued into Korean number Passionate Goodbye; while Lady Gaga would have approved of Key's mash-up of songs Hair and Judas.

Shinee's fans also outdid themselves as they sang and chanted in perfect unison, especially for the prelude to the group's hit song of the year, Sherlock. There was nary a glitch at Shinee's concert and the boys' vocals were spot-on. You could tell it was a live performance when at one point for pop number A-Yo!, Jong Hyun roared into the microphone like a rock star.

With individuality and playfulness oozing from the band, they showed audiences that these days, it is not enough to be synchronised dancing robots in K-pop land.