“If it wasn’t for the members, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
Vocalist Key from the second generation K-Pop group SHINEE opened his doors to the cast, crew and fans of the South Korean variety show ‘Home Alone’ (‘I Live Alone’), and at the same time, his heart, as he talked about late member Jong-hyun.
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Speaking to labelmate Taeyeon (Girls Generation), Key noted the difference without Jong-hyun, who was with the group since it’s inception – through nine years and 12 albums.
“What was most difficult for us while promoting was the absence of our most important voice. We realized it anew. It felt like an entire room had been removed while we were standing still. All the members felt this way. The four of us did a concert in Japan and all the songs had to be divided into four parts and we didn’t think about it then. But we all felt it.”
Recently, Key made reference to the late singer during the groups winning speech at the music show,”M Countdown”. In his speech, Key had said that they’d been holding back on speaking about something they’d been wanting to talk about for a while now. He went on to say that there’s “someone that we really miss and long for lately. The empty space is still big,” before saying that they love him. Talking bout the moment, Key said,
“The words just came out without thinking. Before that, I hated feeling like this was a forbidden topic that we couldn’t talk about. I sincerely want people to know that we miss him and need him.”
Since making their back as a group after two and a half years, Key and the members of SHINee have made subtle nods to their beloved friend. From leaving his part unsung to referring to him as a “good” person when asked by a young girl why there was one less person in the group, SHINee has continued without forgetting about the huge part that Jong-hyun played in their lives.
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Almost four years later, Key says that he’s okay to talk about Jong-hyun now, having initially felt like he had to avoid the topic as people seemed to have been using it to make him cry.
“I don’t think that we need to keep treating it as a topic that’s too difficult to speak about or too sad for words. Is there a reason to avoid the topic? I believe that it’s important for one’s mental health to acknowledge what happened and speak freely about the emotions that arise. Of course, it was a difficult situation, but I don’t want people to pity me too much when they look at me.”
SHINEE, a five-member group consisting of Key, Onew, Mino, Tae-min and Jong-hyun, who debuted in 2008 with the track ‘Replay’, lost Jonghyun in 2017. The groups lead vocalist was a well-respected singer-songwriter, record producer, radio host, and author; he was 27 when he passed.
*Cover image credit: @bumkeyk
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