In the past they would carefully rehearse their introductions, seriously saying "I'm English rapper Andy", now Andy would jokingly introduce himself "I'm Cute Guy Andy". Even with the passage of time, Shinhwa is still Shinhwa. There are still the 6 of them, Eric's still the leader, Shin Hyesung is still the main vocalist. It's hard to find any idol group even in the US and Japan where there hasn't been any change of members.
However, the reason why Shinhwa's 10th anniversary is attracting so much attention isn't just because they've been around for so long. Perhaps there will never be another group that will live through one whole pop era. This doesn't have that much to do with how popular they are or how good their music is. Shinhwa's stronghold is not so much in music, but rather entertainment, they are more of idols than singers.
10 Years of Shinhwa, 10 Years of Fans
Of course H.O.T was earlier than them. But since 2001 when H.O.T disbanded, Shinhwa has been the idol group that has set the benchmark for idol group culture for the 21st century. They are the first idol group to be able to achieve success as a group and individually. They unabashedly share their off-camera anecdotes on variety shows and bring laughter to even viewers who are not fans. Before them, there hasn't been any idol group who would reveal pictures of themselves in pyjamas or playing around in their dormitory, and there hasn't been any idol group members like Eric or Kim Dongwan who would state their point of views via their websites.
Everything that Shinhwa members have done serves only to benefit idol groups in general, and ever since then, many entertainment companies followed suit. Solo activities are part and parcel of all idol groups now, and management companies would reveal their personal photos even before they debut, attempting to narrow the distance between the group and the fans. Super Junior, now under SM Entertainment who first discovered Shinhwa, introduces themselves with "Urineun Super Junior-ieyo". Terms like 5-1=0 and 6-1=0, which fans use to oppose change of members, are also common now. Shinhwa, who began as an idol group of charismatic oppas, to today when fans are able to acknowledge the fact that there will be a day when they will have to split - they have already spent 10 years together.
Thus, Shinhwa and their fans have a relationship that are different from other groups. They made their debut wearing distinctive costumes with distinctive hairstyles, complete with a distinctive dance, singing Hae Gyul Sah. From then until the time when they sang "Once In A Lifetime" with a sophisticated image, Shinhwa fans have witnessed their whole growing-up process. During the whole time when Shinhwa turned from "idols losing their baby fat" to "handsome oppas", becoming oppas that made the fans love and hate at the same time. Shinhwa fans witnessed their successes, as well as failures, and amidst the highs and lows of the group, the fans have become an entity of its own. They loved, and hated, Shinhwa, and even if they didn't like Shinhwa as much as before they would still be affected by Shinhwa one way or another. They would still use terms like "Minsyung", "Mama Bird", and they would still have friends in the Shinhwa fan community. If they attended the concerts, they would meet the fans with whom have spent countless hours chatting about Shinhwa.
Idols with Evil Music and Dance Moves
Shinhwa is always willing to make a joke out of their own fabulous dance moves, turning their dances into spoofs and comic gags, and they are able to adapt to variety shows more easily and more quickly than any other group.
But it's a contradictory relationship between Shinhwa and their fans, that's because Shinhwa is an "evil" group. Shinhwa has never sold more than 1 million copies like H.O.T or G.O.D. If H.O.T has "Candy" and G.O.D has "Lies", Shinhwa doesn't have that one song that could let non-fans sing along easily. Their main tracks are always dance songs with quick beats and powerful rhythms, even when T.O.P was released, the complicated dance was incredibly hard to follow.
Here, member Lee Minwoo's influence on Shinhwa's music and dance is very extensive, and it's Minwoo's personal preferences that makes Shinhwa a more "extreme" group. His own solo work "Bump" is good evidence of that. He likes to use strong but controlled beats in his music, and his dance moves aren't only powerful but require a lot of technique and details in the smaller moves as well.
Just like the complicated dance moves in Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You", Shinhwa similarly used difficult-to-follow moves in "Wedding". "Brand New" featured more than 20 people on one stage with various formations. If one wants to like Shinhwa, she needs to be able to appreciate the adrenaline brought forth by "Wedding", and she needs to feel the spectacularity of the complicated dance choreography in "Wild Eyes". Thus, for fans who are already stuck in Shinhwa's world, chances are that they just get more and more entrenched. But for non-fans, Shinhwa is a group that is hard to relate to.
Although They Have Done Everything An Idol Group Can Do, They Are Still Idols
The 7th album which they realised after they signed with a new company held extraordinary meaning for them. Shinhwa never used the strategy of staying away from fans and the public. They continuously work on getting closer to the fans, and though their fandom didn't expand overnight, it grew steadily and consistently throughout. This is the result of entering the threshold of public acceptance. Though "Brand New" is still a trademark Shinhwa dance song, but it was this song that won Shinhwa its first Daesang.
Fans give Shinhwa the nickname of "gag group", and their individual versatility on variety shows is known to everyone. The nature of the group is as such - the way group activities and individual activities complement each other - that is something that Shinhwa does particularly well, and in a sense Shinhwa can be considered as the most successful group evern. Of course in terms of a meteoric rise in popularity over a short period of time, there hasn't been any group that can surpass Seo Taiji & The Boys and H.O.T. But Shinhwa are still idols in an idol group, or even more than that. There are members who have gained recognition as actors, while others have written for other singers and are acknowledged as prominent songwriters. But at the end of the day, they're still idols, they're still Shinhwa.
A New Era Where No Korean Idol Group Can Surpass Their Achievements
They have spent their entire 20s as idols, and are everything from idol singers to multi-entertainers. The unique thing about Shinhwa is how they are still considered as an idol group when they are consequetively stepping into their 30s, and how their group activities go hand-in-hand with their individual activities. Members who have embarked on individual careers have had a huge push from the Shinhwa brand, and in return their individual careers have further strengthened the Shinhwa brand. But gradually members started to spend more time on their solo careers, and for their 8th album they only had a short promotional period for it, after which there has been almost no group activities in Korea. During this time, members have been acting in dramas or releasing solo albums. Away from the Shinhwa name, Eric can now be considered as the actor Mun Jung Hyuk.
Perhaps the "one and only idol group" SMAP from Japan is the kind of group they'd like to become, but unlike SMAP, they don't have their own variety show where they can get together every week. The poor state of the music industry also doesn't give them too many opportunities to perform together.
If during the SM days, Shinhwa was a group created by the company, then after the switch of companies, Shinhwa is the collective name used by 6 idols. Now the members are all signed to different companies, and everytime they get together it seems like a confirmation of their sense of belonging to each other. Although Shinhwa and their fan community are still active, but the sense of belonging to Shinhwa still remains even as they go about their individual activities.
Now they are about to enlist into the army one after another. For the past 10 years, they have been shouting "Urineun Shinhwa imnida (We are Shinhwa)". Can this line last through 15 or 20 years? At a time where Korean idol groups come and go, they are a legend. And possibly no Korean idol group can ever surpass what they have achieved.
Source: magazinet & oceans6
Chi trans: 打糕@shinhwachina
Eng trans: midnightgirl13@shinhwabiz
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There are so many good articles popping up lately, since it's a BIG thing that Shinhwa's having their 10th anniversary in two days. I wanna copy and post everything here, but obviously it'd be such a bore for all of you. haha.
For your information, I've been busy with school. I realised that I won't be able to survive in this education system if I continue my current lifestyle, so I've decided that I'll cut-off the entertainments from my life. NOT the music though; I love my iPOD and my music too much for that. But I think I can compromise the surfing of forums, savings of pictures, watching of videos, etc etc. I didn't even buy the Best Album - Eternity of FTTS in the end 'cos I'm gonna save all the CDs I wanna buy for later when I have ample time and money to spare. I may take some time out from time to time to post a picture spam of random celebrities to conceal my lack of life, but that's the most I'll be able to do, I think. Even the very long video spam post on Shinhwa is already done; typed over a few days. I'm just waiting for the 24th to click the "publish post" button, lol. But anyway, just to let you know, you won't see me posting here very often. I need to survive too, don't I? Wish me luck, eh? xD
