{"id":259637,"date":"2025-12-31T10:16:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T10:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/259637\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T10:16:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T10:16:12","slug":"shinees-key-talks-pragmatic-approach-to-his-first-solo-u-s-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/259637\/","title":{"rendered":"SHINee’s Key Talks Pragmatic Approach to His First Solo U.S. Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSHINee<\/a> member KEY<\/a> may have traveled lighter than usual for his first solo U.S. tour, but the run of KEYLAND: Uncanny Valley shows was no less extravagant than expected from the consummate K-pop<\/a> showman.<\/p>\n

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\n\tWhen KEY makes his grand entrance on stage at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 3 \u2014 albeit accompanied by a smaller dance crew than he utilized in Seoul \u2014 he is wearing, essentially, a suit of armor: silver corset, bedazzled shoulder pauldrons buckled together across his chest, gauntlets with claws. \u201cDressed to the nines,\u201d he sings at the top of the show, making a statement from the very first lines of grungy pop punk opener \u201cStrange.\u201d \u201cYeah, we all got something to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEverything is not what it seems\u2026 which is, of course, exactly how KEY planned it. Raised on glam-rock<\/a>, the Korean star sees the storytelling value in obfuscation; while his elaborate costuming may partially be a form of artistic expression, he notes there\u2019s also a bit of sleight of hand happening. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t wear costumes to show my identity. I cannot say it\u2019s 100% my style,\u201d KEY tells Billboard. \u201cIt\u2019s more like strategy. I\u2019m not always trying to show who I am, what I am. It\u2019s different things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThroughout the night, though, the person behind the larger-than-life front is steadily unmasked. Shedding pieces of the armor, he eventually loses the garb completely, swapping it for a sparkly football uniform. After touring through retro, high-octane hits \u201cBAD LOVE\u201d and \u201cGasoline\u201d from his 2021 and 2022 projects of the same names, the singer peels the veil back further, reemerging in a casual zip-up embellished only with his cuddly rainbow monsters<\/a> to close on the beautifully earnest \u201cLavender Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s that very human version of KEY, now clad in all gray and with the roots of his bleached blonde hair growing out, who greets Billboard in our L.A. office, the day after he kicks off the North American leg of his tour. It\u2019s not just this major career milestone that has KEY buzzing; he\u2019s coincidentally run into<\/a> one of his heroes, Cynthia Erivo<\/a>, just moments ago in the hallway outside the podcast studio where we\u2019ve set up shop.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile known for playing around with otherworldly sci-fi visuals, his head is far from the clouds as he offers refreshingly blunt analysis of the K-pop business, including how he\u2019s created his own brand within the industry after almost two decades as one of its leading players. Below, KEY opens up about adapting the real-world horror of his latest album, HUNTER, to theater stages in the States; battling perfectionist tendencies; and how, when it comes right down to it, he just wants to live his life.<\/p>\n

\n\tBillboard: How did it feel to headline your first solo U.S. show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tKEY:<\/strong> It was the greatest moment of this year. It was amazing. No other word can explain it. I had so much fun last night. I didn\u2019t want it to end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDoes the energy here feel different than in other countries?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThey\u2019re similar, but U.S. fans want to say things louder. Their opinions, too. \u201cWhat did you have for lunch?\u201d That kind of thing. That was very interesting.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did you choose which songs to perform on this leg of the tour?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI sang \u201cNovacane\u201d and \u201cTrap\u201d in Korea, but it\u2019s kind of a gloomy ending. On purpose, of course. [In the U.S., I wanted to say] \u201clet\u2019s go crazy\u201d at the end. That\u2019s why I switched those songs for \u201cImagine\u201d and \u201cGlam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe run of shows here also has a smaller scale than your Korean concerts, so how did you decide which elements to bring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI had to choose between bringing all the dancers or bringing the live band from Korea. For this show, the live band was really, really important for [songs like] \u201cStrange,\u201d \u201cBAD LOVE,\u201d and \u201cGasoline.\u201d I chose to bring the band members because I know what the U.S. thinks [is most important]. All of my friends complimented the band, so I thought I had chosen well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat story are you telling with the show?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI wanted to open like, \u201cI\u2019m not a good kid anymore! Please be shocked!\u201d Because that\u2019s part of my childhood, too. I was so into visual kei and Western rock. I didn\u2019t dance during the opening when I sang \u201cStrange.\u201d I wanted them to be shocked by my gestures, my facial expressions.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd then we wanted to move on to a more familiar chapter. My outfit gets a little bit lighter; I wanted to show [that the progression from] \u201cStrange\u201d to \u201cGood & Great\u201d goes very naturally. And then I change again, and it\u2019s like showing human KEY\u2019s moment with that uniform. [All the stage outfits were] like the bridge between the opener and \u201cLavender Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI wanted to talk about the costuming, especially that first outfit. A trend in K-pop right now seems to be for idols to wear clothes that could seemingly be pulled from their own wardrobe. It\u2019s very naturalistic \u2014 but your costume during the opening set is very much the opposite.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s exactly what I wanted to do when I released \u201cHUNTER.\u201d With my concert, too. Of course, I love trends, and it\u2019s important to learn all the trends. But, as solo artist KEY, there\u2019s something I have to show the audience \u2014 who I am. I have to show how I compare to others, too. That kind of outfit makes me stronger as an artist. It\u2019s my expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIt reminds me of when SHINee released <\/strong>\u201cView\u201d<\/strong><\/a> in 2015. This trend of casual, down-to-earth styling seems like a long-term impact of that, among other things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t[When \u201cView\u201d was released], some fans didn\u2019t like the individual outfits. Because no one had tried that before. We were wearing vintage t-shirts, used pants \u2014 they weren\u2019t used to that in those days. In some ways, I do think people got influenced by us. I can tell, and I\u2019m proud of it.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking of SHINee, last night you mentioned that you want to come back to the U.S. as a group. Can we look forward to that?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI want to. Maybe. I can\u2019t say specifically when we can come or when we\u2019re going to release our album. But we\u2019re preparing something all the time. Organizing is just really hard with timing and all four members. But I promise, we\u2019ll come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m sure there are many parts of the job that you\u2019ve gotten used to in the last 18 years. But is there anything that is just as hard for you as when you were a trainee?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t[Sighs] Practicing. I don\u2019t like learning something new, let me be honest. I like to play on the stage, but if you want to play, you have to practice. I hate practicing. I hate rehearsal. I never get used to it. Without the crowd, all the technical rehearsals\u2026 it\u2019s boring. But you have to do it anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd my fans know this. Creating choreo is really fun, but learning? It\u2019s different. [Laughs] When I\u2019m in the studio, I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t want to do it. I don\u2019t want to do it. But I have to do it. OK, let\u2019s do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI read <\/strong>an interview<\/a><\/strong><\/a> where you mentioned that you never expected to be doing this for so long \u2014 in 2008, idols didn\u2019t tend to have careers that continued well into their thirties. When did you start to realize you might be able to perform for longer than anticipated?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I got out of the army, and I got to keep doing it. My career kept going, and a lot of work came to me. I took so many TV commercials and solo schedules. I was like, \u201cWhat the heck is going on?\u201d I felt like if fans were there, or work came to me, then I should just keep going. I\u2019m 35 [in Korean age] now. And I will do the same thing until I cannot do it anymore.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow have your priorities as an artist changed because of that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWe were 100% produced by a producer [at first]. It was work to find myself as an artist. Like, \u201cWhat do I have to show? What music do I have to sing?\u201d Now it\u2019s different. I was running KEY in SHINee back in the day, but now I\u2019m running KEY as a brand. It\u2019s all about branding \u2014 what I\u2019m going to wear, my cosmetics, perfumes, bags, real life, Instagram, everything.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I spoke to <\/strong>a senior group<\/strong><\/a> recently, they mentioned how much the K-pop industry focuses on producing social media content now. How does that fit into what you\u2019re saying about branding?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI was part of the first generation of Instagram in Korea. I made my account 14 years ago, I think. I made it without my company\u2019s approval. I didn\u2019t have to ask them, because they didn\u2019t know what Instagram was. [Laughs] That was the start of branding myself. Like, \u201cIf you guys don\u2019t put me in magazines, I\u2019ll just shoot and post on my Instagram.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThese days, everyone is doing that. It has become a red ocean. When everybody is doing it, [it becomes harder to stand out]. But it\u2019s also the fastest and easiest way to show yourself.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat kind of advice do you give to junior artists?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYou can compose, you can write lyrics, you can produce yourself, but this generation is all about branding. Just think about who survived in K-pop. They\u2019re still influencing a lot of things, like, \u201cOh, someone is holding that bag. I want that bag.\u201d Or even furniture. It\u2019s all about branding yourself. I think that\u2019s the most important thing. People have to have a reason to like you without your group. That\u2019s what they have to build, step by step.<\/p>\n

\n\tIdols do seem like they\u2019re more encouraged to show their personalities these days, rather than being assigned roles.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIf I look back, SM [Entertainment] was right. They produced me well when I was young. At this age, though, no one knows me better than myself. You have to listen to the agency, of course, and learn from them. Then you develop yourself and your taste. That\u2019s how it worked for me. That wasn\u2019t my strategy, but I just learned from all the experiences.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s really hard to show different sides of yourself, because people are always expecting something from you. Like, \u201cI thought she had a cute character, but now she wants to change.\u201d People feel odd about that. But if you want that, you have to face it. And you can change.<\/p>\n

\n\tEven as a soloist, you have to make compromises when you\u2019re creating an album or planning a tour. How do you approach those conversations with SM now?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt was a long journey to make SM believe me. Now they listen to me, but for my first solo album [2018\u2019s FACE], I kind of let them do everything. I didn\u2019t want to take responsibility for it. But after the army, something has changed within me. That\u2019s why I created BAD LOVE. And I went through a lot of things for Gasoline. Now they believe what I say, but I had to fight a lot back in the day to create something.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe one thing I never forget is that this is business. I trust myself, but I have to prove myself. That\u2019s how it worked with HUNTER, too. I cannot just say, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you guys listen to me?\u201d Or, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you guys put more money into music videos?\u201d I have to be realistic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the main themes of HUNTER is wrestling with yourself, or viewing yourself as the enemy. Is that something you often feel in your real life?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tDoesn\u2019t everyone feel like that? [Laughs] Fighting yourself is the hardest thing. If you overthink, the biggest enemy is yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWould you say that you\u2019re a perfectionist?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI know how to negotiate with myself. I want to be perfect, but I\u2019m not chasing it. If someone gave me a thousand, million, billion dollars and told me to create anything I wanted, then I would make something perfect. But it never works like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDoes working within those kinds of constraints force you to worry about perfection less?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tActually, I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t try to be a perfectionist, but it\u2019s just who I am. It\u2019s my character. I\u2019ve worked really hard on my albums and across my career. Maybe it worked a little bit because I\u2019m trying to do everything with my own hands \u2014 merchandising, marketing, everything. Because I want to be part of my album, of course. It\u2019s my album.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHow do you measure success for yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAs you can see, I don\u2019t chase results. Results aren\u2019t important. I don\u2019t care about them. If it\u2019s small or big, it doesn\u2019t matter. If I can have a show, then it\u2019s OK, right? If you compare everything\u2026 You cannot live like that. And I don\u2019t want to. <\/p>\n

\n\tI always say that if I lose everything tomorrow, it\u2019s OK. I\u2019ve been there. Nothing\u2019s going to change. I have family to go back to, and I enjoyed [my career] well. I think that\u2019s what people can say makes a successful life, even without money or fame.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there something else you want to be asked?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI always tell myself not to dream like a teenager. You don\u2019t have to be the first, the highest, the greatest. If you enjoy your life, it\u2019s fine. <\/p>\n

\n\tSo I guess the question would be, \u201cHow do you want to live the rest of your life?\u201d I\u2019ll just give what I can. If, someday, I can\u2019t do this anymore, I\u2019ll just quit. [Laughs] And I\u2019ll live my life \u2014 as a father, as a friend of someone, just an old man, I don\u2019t know. But I\u2019ll just live, you know?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n