The Evolution of Taemin - Part I

The "Idol's Idol"

Credit: Tamien-official.com

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Michael Taemin, Taemin Jackson. The star that you are. I’ve lost my fangirl shit over this man's performance caliber for years and genuinely root for him. Never my bias, but always of interest, the majority of the words I’ve screamed for the past decade wouldn’t be sufficient to address Lee Taemin, singer-songwriter and dancer extraordinaire.

Born of (*coughs* Small Motown *cough*) SM Entertainment’s perfectionist loins, Taemin made his debut at the age of 14 with South Korea’s “Princes of K-pop,” SHINee. At the time of this post, he has devoted 17 years to being an entertainer. The royal families of K-pop have always respected that Taemin, almost err’body’s maknae, bears his crown with distinction.

Originally recorded in July 2020.

Owning almost two decades of experience, and debuting in three generations, by one’s early 30s is beyond belief. It’s genuinely unbelievable! Let’s take a look at his time in the spotlight through both his group’s and individual eras.

Debut to Lucifer Era

Picture it. Seoul, 2008. Sophia Petrillo's humor aside, there’s nothing being fabricated or exaggerated here about the debut of SHINee. They are the originators of the “Grand Slam Rookies”/Rookie Grand Slam awards sweep. They created the trend of uploading dance practice videos (this is not to say that no one had ever shared behind-the-scenes content, but they intentionally shared “Replay” on YouTube, and err’body else followed suit because they did it first). They’re fashionable enough to have their style called the “SHINee trend,” educated enough to have a member pursuing a PhD, and are widely respected as some of the best live singers and dancers in the industry. SHINee had no choice but to perform at a level that couldn’t easily be matched upon debut. After all, as a 2nd Generation idol group, they were preceded by H.O.T., S.E.S., SHINHWA, Fly to the Sky, BoA, TVXQ!, Super Junior, and Girls’ Generation.

I don’t know if I’d be ready for that level of expectation — Taemin was 14 after all — with the assumption that I’d be able to endure public interest and judgment. Nonetheless, the group and their baby/maknae endured. Taemin’s age played a huge part in the fanbase wanting to protect him, but his look did quite a bit of lifting, too. He was precious! He looked like the nation’s little brother. He even had a bowl haircut like a kiddo still in school.

Taemin as a teen

Taemin was immediately characterized as androgynous. In front of the cameras, he’d have to laugh about it to be agreeable, but he’s alluded to it being a pain point in his youth at times. Leaning into this, his hair was longer and fuller (by way of extensions) during “Lucifer” and “Sherlock (Clue + Note)” promotions. By the time the “Everybody” era arrived in 2013, he and the entire group had become visual troublemakers. How do you go from this…

And this…

TO “THIS IS AN ACT OF VIOLENCE”?

Let me *pulls up chair* let me ‘splain you something about this time in their careers. I didn’t get heavily into SHINee until late 2014 and saw them at KCON in 2016. Prior to 2014, I knew a few songs but didn’t know all of the members. I distinctly remember dining at a now-closed Korean restaurant in Old Koreatown (Houston), with a couple of friends in early 2014, and they had the album cover in poster form on the wall. I said that it was one of the dopest images I’ve seen, but I still couldn’t tell each person apart. They laughed and kept eating their bibimbap and jjigae! MIND YOU, I AM STILL NEW TO THEM AT THIS POINT, AND NO ONE HAD HAIR SHOWING FROM THE TWO VIDEOS I KNEW BEST. (Never remember an idol by their hair. Never. Just in case you’ve forgotten.)

I could tell EXO by their damn eyeballs at this point in time, but they were my SM Entertainment focus because I got into K-pop when they were in their debut year. All these years later, not only can I look at this pic and instantly recognize who everyone is, but I also instantly understand that this was the moment when Taemin started to lift his leg to drop that foot down on necks. Look back up there at him in the red with the black hat?!? Look at his pose. That’s a f*ckin’ threat!

At this point in his career, he has fully embraced this characterization and terrorizes excites the masses with his evolution. Please wait for the next part for more context…

Genuinely shocked he’s not in a T-pose here…