신화
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008Another “artist review” from me! Thankyou to everyone who left comments on the post about Drunken Tiger, and I hope those of you who hadn’t heard any of Drunken Tiger’s stuff enjoyed it ^^
This week, I thought that I would do one of my favourite artists. In fact, this is actually my favourite group in the entire world. They are a six member boyband, are fast approaching their 10 year anniversary, and are Korea’s longest lasting boyband. They are… 신화 (Shinhwa)!
신화 consists of six members: Eric, Lee Minwoo (이민우), Kim Dongwan (김동완), Shin Hyesung (신혜성), JunJin (전진) and Andy. Apart from Eric, all members have released solo work, and Eric and Dongwan have side careers as actors. Overall, they are incredibly successful as a group as well as when standing on their own.
They were formed in 1998 by SM Entertainment, one of the biggest labels when it comes to pop music in Korea. In 2003, they left SM Entertainment and signed under Good Entertainment instead.
Their sound during their first few albums ranged from upbeat, bubblegum pop tunes, to a slightly heavier, rockier type of pop music that was very similiar to H.O.T.’s style, one of 신화’s biggest rivals despite being under the same company. In fact, 신화 were actually given several songs that had been originally intended for use by H.O.T. Despite rivalry such as this, the members of the two groups formed and maintained friendships with each other, even to this day.
In recent years, 신화’s sound is more of an R&B influenced pop. Perhaps one of 신화’s main keys to success has been the way that their sound has constantly evolved and changed to fit in with what is most popular at the time while still maintaining their own style.
One of the things that I like most about 신화 is that they aren’t entirely manufactured. Over the years they have had more and more of an input into their music and lyrics, writing some of their own songs, and they are also very heavily involved in choreographing their dances.
신화 are quite popular in Japan, and are incredibly popular in China, Taiwan and Singapore. Hyesung and Minwoo’s solo works have also been very well recieved throughout Asia.
I am however a very sad puppy, because most of the 신화 boys are going to be doing their military service later this year, and I am going to miss them so much.
Now it’s MV time!
으쌰! 으쌰! Now don’t let this song scare you XD This is what I was talking about with bubblegum pop. It’s their second single from their first album.
Hey, Come On! This is from their fourth album, Hey, Come On!.
Wild Eyes This is one of my favourite Shinhwa songs, from their fourth album.
Brand New Another one of my favourite songs, from their seventh album Brand New.
Once In A Lifetime From their eight album, State of the Art.
The Snowy Night I love this song and this MV. It was from their latest release, Winter Story 2007. I think it’s adorable because you get to see them goofing off.
And to wrap it up, a live for you 
This is from late last year, December 30th, at the KBS Song Festival. Part 01, where they perform Brand New and Hey, Come On!, and Part 02 where they perform Perfect Man and T.O.P - and I totally recommend watching them performing T.O.P if nothing else. It’s a song from their second album, and they remixed it and it was awesome (you can watch it on it’s own here if you don’t want to click your way through the other file)
Posted by Taliana in Korean Music |
February 12th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Another great post!!
신화’s 인기(popularity) is incredible.
And the name of their fan club is very interesting too, isn’t it?
“신화 창조”
February 12th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
현우: Yeah the name of their fanclub is cool :3 I so wanna join ;_; 신화 창조 are also one of the nicest fanclubs … ELF (Super Junior), Cassiopeia (TVXQ) and Primmadonna (FT Island) all have a bad rep for being insane and causing trouble, both to members of other fanclubs, other artists, even their OWN artists, but 신화 창조 is pretty well known among fans for being a much more sensible group of people. Maybe it’s because 신화 tends to attract slightly older fans.
February 13th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Military service, eh? I guess it’s an Elvis-like situation, and these guys don’t get an exemption. What happens to other bands who go through a similar situation? Does their popularity seriously dip during their year out of the spotlight, and they have to break up after leaving the army?
February 13th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Daniel: It really depends on the band and how strong their popularity was before, as well as their plans for after military service is over. They generally will push service back as far as they can, not leaving until the very last minute possible. And Korean fans are usually pretty faithful, so if your career was strong before you left, and if you have plans to continue where you left off once you return, then the fans will generally be waiting for you when you come back in 2+ years. But some bands do disband before or after service, of course, for whatever reasons.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
yay! an entry on shinhwa.
i actually tend to avoid “idol” boybands, but my (older) sister is obsessed with them, so i heard/saw alot of them. when they appear on variety shows, it’s soooo funny. they have a great group dynamics.
singing-wise,
they used to have hyesung sing EVERYTHING, but the supporting vocals (m, dongwan, and even junjin who is a rapper/choreographer) have developed their skills over the years and they make a good team. i am actually very impressed with the vocals/live performances.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Yay…you wrote about ‘신화’ the legendary group !!
I’m so sad that they are about to leave us soon .We can’t see them for 2-4 years..sigh*
신화 창조 !! forever !!
February 13th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I love Shinhwa! Especially Minwoo!
February 13th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Not at ALL about 신화…. but it is about KPOP… and I think you’ll be pretty impressed (even if like me, you hate the song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf0hYFZCB5w&feature=related
February 14th, 2008 at 12:32 am
ep.: Yeah, Hyesung did definitely used to be the vocal focus, but in recent releases he’s having a smaller part and the others are being allowed to shine. In fairness to Hyesung, though, I think it was because during the start he did have the best vocals, and a sweet, angelic voice is something that’s always been pretty popular in boybands. When they released their latest mini-album though, Winter Story 2007, I was so surprised at how fewer parts Hyesung had! Surprised but not complaining, because I love to hear the other guys more :3 I’m really impressed with their lives, too
I know that they have backing tracks for many of the songs that require dancing, but they still sing over the top of it and they still nail it so good.
Comet: Hahaha yes! I have been wanting to ever since I joined the blogging team, but I promised myself I wouldn’t give in so easily to my own fangirl demands XD; I’m sad that they’re leaving us soon too ;___; I’m going to miss them so much. I’m especially going to miss Dongwan’s blog entries, since I check his page every day to see if he’s updated.
Jacqueline: I love Minwoo too, isn’t he great? He really knows how to work the crowd, I love watching him perform because he’s just so full of energy. My favourite 신화 boy is Dongwan though
Austin: HAHAHAHAHA that was definitely impressive XD
February 14th, 2008 at 11:59 am
My favourite is Hyesung ~~ Smilling Crab Prince.DW comes second.I love to read his blog too especially when he is being random…and gosh he has a very cute dog named “GUMA” …Shinhwa is too awesome beyond words.
I’ll definitely visit this blog often
February 15th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Comet: Hahah I guessed your favourite was Hyesung XD His Crab Dance is great, isn’t it? And I love Andy’s Heart Dance, it’s the cutest thing on the planet.
Dongwan’s dog is cute ^^ I don’t like small dogs much, I prefer big dogs, but Guma is a really cute little thing even if she has big sad eyes XD;; Did you see his “산책가는 고구마” entry? She was wearing a cute little coat!