THIS ONE WAS AWESOME! TAEMIN 'Criminal' REACTION

[@user.43752]

Taemin the idol of idols✨️

[@Saddlemomma]

Taemin is the legendary King of Kpop, the ACE of SM Entertainment, the "Idols Idol" because so many other idols refer to him as their inspiration for becoming idols themselves, and he's sometimes referred to as the MJ of Kpop. In other words, HE'S A BIG DEAL, and a bona fide legend in the industry, just as his group, SHINee (pronounced "shiny"), are the 2nd gen legendary Princes of Kpop. They are the true trendsetters who transformed Kpop into what it is today. So, welcome to SHINee World! Taemin debuted with SHINee, the 5-member group, in 2008 at the tender age of 14. He is their self-taught main dancer who started out as a street dancer. Due to immature vocal cords, he couldn't sing at debut, but with intense hard work and the tutelage of two of his member brothers, Jonghyun and Onew (two of the best vocalists in Kpop), Taemin has excelled to the point that he even became the very first SM soloist from an active boy group in 2014. This man can do it all and do it exceptionally. As with all the SHINee brothers, Taemin is an all-rounder. He is the consummate performer, a beast onstage, and yet extremely funny, personable and kind offstage. One friend described Taemin as tofu with a core of iron -- a perfect description for a young man (now 30) who is a dedicated, self-admitted workaholic but takes time to help out his juniors, give advice, enthusiastically encourage them to cover his songs when asked, and maintain an extremely close familial, brotherly relationship with his group, SHINee, who have been together for over 15 years and still making fantastic music together (they just have their 15th anniversary comeback in June). Here are some things to keep in mind when deciphering Taemin's music: 1) The simplest explanation is NOT the true meaning of the lyrics (opposite from the philosophical argument of Occam's razor). 2) Taemin is deeply into philosophy and regularly explores various world philosophies. 3) Many of Taemin's lyrics are directed inward to his psyche and history, spilling across a storyline illustrating different philosophies for his concepts for each song. 4) Using those philosophies, along with religious symbolism, metaphors, and allusions, to illustrate their conflict with his Christian faith. He will often incorporate the sign of the Cross into his choreographies to illustrate this point. In addition, his iconic "T-Pose" at the beginning, ending, or at some point in the choreo is a reflection of Christ's pose on the Cross. Taemin has been battling the duality of his identity for a while. Debuting so very young, he was considered extremely "pretty" for a boy. SM and variety show hosts thought it was fun and adorable to dress him up as a girl for skits and performances. He also always had hosts talk about his girlishness in the early days. SM also gave him hair extensions and many commented on how he was prettier than most girls in girl groups. This messed with Taemin's head and self-esteem. He was constantly asserting that he was a "MAN". The struggle was so real, even his SHINee brothers got upset. Jonghyun, SHINee's main vocal at the time, said enough was enough and wrote a song specifically for Taemin called "Pretty Boy", in which one of the lines reads...."I am more than the imaginations in your head." It was a direct slam to those wanting to make Taemin something he wasn't. In 2015, the MV for his song, "Press Your Number" was, again, depicting images of Taemin being both a "criminal" and victim. In 2019, he gave us his Japanese MV, "Famous" where he speaks about how being "famous" is fabulous but also dangerous, as it lures him away from his faith-based morals to become more self-aggrandizing, avaricious, selfish, and all the deadly vices directly opposed to his worldview. This brings us to his 2020, 2-part full length album, "Never Gonna Dance Again" (NGDA). Taemin built a storyline based upon this struggle which runs throughout the 2-part album (Acts 1 & 2). Each song references this theme, but the most demonstrative is contained within three songs. "2 Kids" (Act 1-NGDA) is the prologue of the story which introduces the schism of Taemin's ego into two separate identities and portrayed through the song as the break-up of a loving relationship. "Criminal" is the resulting love/hate relationship where the "criminal" ego wants to burn away all those restrictions and indulge in the decadence of the world. Meanwhile, the victim ego wants to remain true to who he is in his faith. Christian themes running through this MV are seen right from the beginning. Taemin in a fiery pit - Hell. Themes of heaven and hell are often represented in Taemin's videos, as it directly tells us there is a Christian message hidden here, pay attention. While he is in Hell because he is a criminal (dark suit & eye patch), he is also bound like a victim. A red scarf covers his head to hide the criminal like his mind trying to hide or suppress those dark thoughts. The resemblance to the "Ex Nihilo" sculpture behind the dancers in the opening harkens to Taemin's victim ego being absorbed into the "criminal" ego and completely taken over. Then we see the victim ego being suffocated with crows flapping around him -- signifying death and a stone statue with Taemin in the pose of the sign of the Cross imbedded in the rock, frozen and sealed off, seemingly to never be free again. However, we then see Taemin, still suffocating, but surrounded by butterflies - a sign of metamorphosis and resurrection. The hourglass is both a symbol of death and resurrection as well. When it empties, it's a sign of the end of time on earth, however it can then be turned upside down to start anew -- a symbol of resurrection or rebirth. As far as the "Destroy me more" line, any Christian understands that through this life we are constantly being "refined by fire" according to the Bible. We go through trials and tribulations, but those very trials refine us and get us ready for our lives with Christ in Heaven. After all, Christ went through the ultimate trial, tribulation, and sacrifice on the Cross. In short, our old selves must be destroyed in order to be perfected. Taemin understands this. The third installment, "IDEA" (Act 2-NGDA title song), reveals the climactic battle and resolution through the concept of Plato's Theory of Forms" which states that any created being (form) cannot create itself. Only an outside power/being can be the creator and only that creator can make perfection -- a Messiah. This philosophy fits in perfectly with Taemin's Christian worldview and can also answer the question tormenting him: who is the real Taemin -- the criminal or the victim. "Advice", we thought, was the epilogue to this story and reveals the new and perfected Taemin to the world telling his haters, the industry, and anyone who wants to hear, that he is done taking their advice and will now take control of his career, confident in who he is and in his faith as he once again pays homage to his Messiah in his iconic representation of the sign of the Cross. However, there is his new comeback of two weeks ago with his MV "Guilty" which is a continuation of this theme exploring how guilt plays into the entire scenario and tortures him. It's a stunning song/MV. Taemin is a genius when it comes to interweaving layers of meanings into his lyrics and leaving us spellbound, trying to arrive at the deepest look into his psyche. This is why he is the ultimate artist for me. Yes, I love his dancing, but it's his lyrical and musical prowess that truly spellbinds me, while also gratifying my desire for deeper, meaningful Christian messaging that is lacking in regular Christian music. Thank you for checking out his music.

[@Savage-Reactions]

Wow! That is a lot of great information! Thank you for taking the time to share it all with us.

[@allysonwolf5721]

I have heard him being called the MJ of Kpop but I have been into Kpop since 2008 when Shinee was born and I have never heard of Taemin being called the King of KPOP?

[@TheHekateris]

​​@@allysonwolf5721Korean media commonly refer to him as God-Taem and the MJ of kpop, amongst other things. SHINee, too, are known as the Princes of Kpop in Korea. And one other thing, Taemin is a devout Catholic, which may give more info re: religion.

[@llllIIIIIIIIlllll]

대한민국에서 태민 실력 가지고 까는 사람도 없고 아이돌들의 롤 모델이고 요즘 4세대 5세대 아이돌들이 해외진출 많이해서 누가 최고니 어떤 그룹이 최고니 해도 그 그룹안에 소속된 애들도 태민 무대는 각잡고 직접 나와 볼 정도로 k팝 제왕맞다. 제왕이란 수식어를 아무나 붙여 주는것도 아니고 미디어에서 제왕 붙인것도 맞고

[@milindawilson9175]

"Criminal" is the second part of Taemin's Never Gonna Dance Again album that came out in 2021. It's part of a trilogy, which started with his prologue "2 Kids," and continued with "Criminal," which is part of Act 1 of the album. And it was followed up by "Idea," which is part of Act 2 of the album and it brings the whole concept full circle. And now his follow up release, "Advice," has become the epilogue to the story. Taemin said in an interview: "The two acts put together tell a story. '2 Kids’ is about growing pains and depicts the story prior to the story in the album. You can think of '2 Kids' as a teaser before the movie called 'Never Gonna Dance Again.' Act 1 shows a new side of me. I think it’ll be something you’ve never seen in K-pop before. And Act 2 is the end-all-be-all. It’s the ultimate level of intensity. Never Gonna Dance Again’ was originally the name of the concept. Because it doesn’t make sense for me to stop dancing. But I wanted to give a sense of rebellion with the irony of the title.” Just so you know, the Taemin you see is NOT really the criminal in the song. He is the victim who is being held captive by the criminal. The criminal is his lover (i.e. the other side of him) that he is singing about, which is a metaphor for the pressure he feels under as a Kpop idol. The song is about living in a toxic relationship and being brainwashed by a lover. He has now fallen in love with the person (or thing -- i.e. his career) who is inflicting all the pain and suffering on him, so now he accepts the abuse as a normal part of the relationship. Even though he is being abused by that person -- possibly a metaphor for the pressure he is creating for himself with the need to always be the best in everything he does -- he can't help but love them and allow them to continue to hurt him, etc. All the abuse is happening to him, he is not hurting anyone else or doing anything criminal himself. Therefore, the story isn't about Taemin being a criminal. Notice, the S.W.A.T. team isn't arresting him. They pretty much walk right past Taemin and ignore him as they search for the criminal. The "boss" vibe is a facade he puts on to make people believe he is in control, but as you see in the choreography, he is being manipulated by all the outside forces around him. For example, we see him lying across the backup dancers backs and they pick him up and manipulate him to do what they want him to do at that moment. A lot of his dance moves are designed to make him look like a marionette puppet that is being pulled around by strings and being told what to do. Which is what you see when he is crouched down and he creates that wiggly, wave movement in the dance, etc. As part of the story, he has been held captive for so long that, as it says in the lyrics of the song, he is now suffering from Stockholm syndrome, so he is no longer fighting the abuse and that is why you see him throw his bindings away. The criminal -- which is a metaphor for the pressure he has felt in his career -- no longer has to tie him up to keep him there. (Because he has fallen in love with the pain and suffering he inflicts on himself as an artist, etc.) The backup dancers represent the forces he is struggling against as he fights with his mind over whether to stay or go, etc. Fun fact: It was Taemin's idea to include the police blotter/news clips in that part of the song. If you notice, the sound bites are from all over the world and they are speaking multiple languages. This album's whole concept is a metaphor for his life and career. With every release from this album, the concept was designed to be darker then the last. In "2 Kids" he was emotionally and physically beating himself up with regrets. In "Criminal" he was living in a toxic relationship. In "Idea" he takes the theme one step further, and says that even though it was my idea and my plan to live this life, nothing comes without a price, and because of that need for perfection, any chance of being average or living a regular life is pretty much dead. Taemin has sacrificed everything to become the magnificent and unique performer and person that we know him as today. But there really is no one that pushes him or holds him to a higher standard then himself. Taemin has said that he really has never taken a true vacation since he was a trainee -- he started with SM Entertainment when he was around 11 years old -- and he doesn't know what to do if he isn't constantly working and training. As he has said, there has never been anything that has come easy to him and he has only gotten to where he is today because he has worked hard to accomplish everything. He is constantly pushing himself to become the best of the best in everything he does. All of Taemin's dances tell a story. As he has said, he specifically designs his choreography to be a part of the story within the song and MV. So, "Criminal" is supposed to be slightly creepy, as well as sexy. He is literally being abused and asking you to please "destroy me more." As a member of SHINee, Taemin has trained his entire career to be able to pull off this type of intense and intricate dancing while singing live and always sounding flawless the whole time. (SHINee debuted in 2008 when Taemin was only 14 years old.) That is what SHINee are known for. So not only is Taemin an amazing dancer, but he is also one of the best singers in the industry, and the 5 members of SHINee make up one of the top groups, that everyone looks up to and dreams of even coming close to being as good as. If you are impressed with Taemin's dancing, not only should you see his dance practice video for "Criminal," but just wait until you see a live performance. You will be even more blown away. And if you want to see Taemin explain the concept behind his dance moves, watch a tutorial video he did where he explains the dance to Jeno and Mark from NCT.

[@Savage-Reactions]

Wow! Thank you so much for the amazing and thorough explanation! The song and video are really much deeper than at first watch. I appreciate you taking the time to type everything out!

[@samia399]

Michael Jackson is his role model and he has been his fan since he was young and MJ has influenced his artistry

[@helenas7948]

LOL, there was nothing wrong with Taemin's eye at that time :) He made a ton of behind the scenes content, where he definitely had healthy eyes :) The eyepatch was just for concept reasons.

[@thespianoge]

Yeah, that’s hilarious! I’ve never heard that tidbit before and it’s definitely false. It’s always related to the concept. (And it just so happens there’s a lot of concepts that work with eye patches….) With the reasoning of “because they wear makeup all the time” reasoning, models, theater actors, just…people who wear a lot of makeup in general…would be going out with eye patches all the time!

[@whoisshepard]

I recommend his last MV " Guilty " ❤

[@Savage-Reactions]

It's on our list! 🙂

[@careyv]

Thank you so much for taking this recommendation. I thought you would enjoy his dancing. Sayonara Hitori is absolutely gorgeous. Danger and Guilty would also be great to watch if you’d like. Hopefully you’ll jump into some SHINee ( pronounced shine - eeee {like the letter E}, maybe Lucifer or Everybody. Or Taemin’s band mate Key. You may really enjoy Gasoline or Killer by him. He has an 80s vibe to his solo music. He also has a few full English songs. Helium and CoolAs.

[@Savage-Reactions]

Thank YOU! Made sure these are all on our request list! Appreciate the recommendations!

[@nikole4042]

@@Savage-Reactions I was going to recommend both Sayonara Hitori and Danger, if I didn't see them in comments already, so I'm very happy to see that you've got them on the list. Danger is probably the one that has the most MJ feel to me, personally.

[@lagartixaseca3548]

I love your reactions, please more Taemin ❤

[@Savage-Reactions]

Thank you! Will do!

[@sirdromos2769]

If Michael Jackson was making music in our time. It would be taemin. Taemin is a legend in the K-pop industry. He is the ace of K-pop and the idol of Idols. You should check move, want advice, idea and his new song is gulty.

[@Savage-Reactions]

Made sure those are on our list! Thank you!

[@dheu]

Yeah… the eyepatch isn’t to cover an eye infected by a sty but is a symbol of self-mutilation as expressed in the lyrics of the song. The MV represents a kind of Stockholm syndrome in which Taemin simultaneously loves and hates his idol image. At one point you can see his bound self contemplating a sharp object when he has both his eyes and then later he is wearing an eyepatch. Perhaps this represents his attempt to blind himself to the truth: that he is allowing his real self to be sublimated by his idol person. He literally turns a blind eye to it because he wants to be destroyed by it even while realizing he is being destroyed by it. Generally Taemin’s MVs are very heavy with symbolism and meaning. He is really an artist with his releases. Thanks for the reaction.

[@Savage-Reactions]

Thank YOU! Very interesting information!

[@Syfirr]

If you liked this one I would highly recommend checking out Move as that was his first solo song that really took off. It is considered to be one of the most well known kpop songs in the kpop industry. Also I was trying to find a kpop song to recommend that was more rock for Angie, and I think you would enjoy Freedom by iKON. Unfortunately its not in english but the overall sound is really good. I don't have much to share about the group itself as I'm not too familiar with their history, just a big fan of their music. And also 1 of my favourite Japanese artists is Miyavi and he is fabulous I would highly recommend starting with Horizon. Great song and great video too. Thanks again for taking the time to react to kpop/jrock

[@Savage-Reactions]

Thanks for watching and the recommendations! Added them all to our list! We're so happy to have you here!

[@veronicahernandez5266]

For your Subs who don't understand Arizona Time... 3pm Arizona Time = 2pm Pacific, 3pm Mountain, 4pm Central, 5pm Eastern.

[@Savage-Reactions]

Thanks, Veronica! I'm so used to asking the echo, or googling times in other places, I didn't think to have it written out on here. That probably makes things easier. I appreciate your help! ❤️

[@veronicahernandez5266]

​@@Savage-Reactions No worries! With my job, my co-workers are all over the USA and they are always confused about what time it is here. The minute you said Arizona time, I was on autopilot and started typing it up. 🤣

[@ninawilliams5676]

Subbed, liked and hit that bell for the God of kpop taemin. Please check out taemins guilty the beat, theme, vocals are true sinfully crazy great.

[@Savage-Reactions]

Welcome! Thank you! We're so happy to have you! Added it to our request list!

[@xxdekuxxfox5268]

More Taemin

[@Savage-Reactions]

We'll definitely do more!

[@leydarachadey465]

Pliss reacciona a TAEMIN GUILTY

[@Savage-Reactions]

It's on our request list! 😁

[@lissa5296]

Please react to jungkook(from BTS) "STANDING NEXT TO YOU" official MV(Coreography Ver.) I think you will really like it!! 🧡✨

[@Savage-Reactions]

It's on our list! Thank you! 🖤

[@joy30232]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😊💜🙏👍😘😍

[@ssmininu]

Literally love all of Taemin‘s releases, would love to see more. Could you also react to “Like Crazy“ by Jimin? He is a member of BTS who has had his solo debut earlier this year. the song has a 80s synth vibe which is just great!!

[@Savage-Reactions]

We love the 80's! It's on our list! Thank you!