Happy 200th post 🥳🥂🎉
The further along I get in writing for ATK, the less organized and planned out it becomes, lol. I’ve talked about “She Is” in an old music video fashion post. But, like my recent Red Velvet article, I’ve talked about everything but the song in most of those fashion review posts.
Now, I try to have more of a mix when talking about these songs and music videos. Not that I don’t like those earlier articles, they just had different intent to the way I structure them now.
So I’ve been on an SM artist kick this year, and now it’s time to get back to one of the artist who continues to inspire me and keep pushing forward with my dreams, Jonghyun.
Going back to my lack of structure, which is just a quirky character trait at this point, I didn’t plan on this 200th article to be about him. My 100th was on BASE, his debut solo album. So for 200 to be on his debut studio album is pretty funny. A nice coincidence.
Maybe we keep the tradtion going at 300 and make it on Artist | Poet. We’ll see. This was almost the July favorite songs, lol. But I moved it to 201. I’m very excited about that article, btw. A tooon of good releases this month.
So let’s get into Mr. Jonghyun’s debut studio album, She Is.
She Is
For my thoughts on the fashion and visuals of “She Is”, read up on that here. It’s a pretty short article. It’s so different from “Crazy”. There’s something about a good refreshing era. I’ve been thinking about this more after writing all those EXO articles.
It’s nothing new to Kpop or an SM exclusive, but a good album roll out has you hyped and ecstatic about the next era for a group or artist.
She Is released about four months before my favorite SHINee album, 1 of 1. I never outright call it my favorite album. I think I was still debating between it and Odd. Odd is definitely my favorite era, but 1 of 1 is definitely my favorite album, start to finish.
And the similarities between She Is and 1 of 1 are so prevalent in hindsight. I loved that She Is continued on the R&B heavy sound Jonghyun introduced in BASE. And it’s a genre so ingrained in SHINee’s catalog anyway. So it works.
This album and title track are so bright and upbeat. It’s a perfect transition into SHINee’s next album and for Jonghyun’s solo career. Killing two birds with one stone here.
So let’s talk “She Is” as a song. First off, this man has writing credits on all nine songs on this album. Iconic. I’ve talked about this more in the SHINee articles, but it wasn’t until about 2015 SHINee members finally started getting more writing and production credits on their music. And when Jonghyun started participating, mans really went all out.
So we got Jonghyun listed on here, but I had NO IDEA Crush is on here too. It makes sense, considering R&B music is all Crush makes. But…HELLO? How did I miss that at the time? Love that for us.
We also have Philtre and Wefreaky listed on here too. Get used to seeing Wefreaky on here, because they are alllll over this album. On Discogs they’re credited under “Playboy” by EXO, and now I’m curious if this was connected to Jonghyun, and yes. After a quick google search and OG fyjjong coming thru again, he’s a close friend of Jonghyun’s and also a composer.
Discogs has a better breakdown of everyone who worked on She Is than Wiki. But I’m referencing both of them in this article.
I can’t talk about “She Is” without talking about the original title and lyrics, “Oh shit“. Still cracks me up. The fact that this is still a thing with SM cracks me up. The most recent being “2 Baddies“.
Sound wise, it’s described as, “electric-funk with future bass”. Idk what future bass is, but I funk and SHINee solos seem to go hand in hand. I love the “ooo waaah ooo” adlibs Jonghyun does in the chorus. It’s so catchy and easy to dance to.
White T-Shirt
I don’t think I ever watched this live stage performance before. I forgot how light pink cotton candy his hair was. And we love when the styling is on theme.
“White T-Shirt” is probably my second favorite song on She Is. It’s one I go back to regularly. I love the piano…score? You know what I’m talking about, it’s in the first 10 seconds of the song, lol.
When I first was looking at the Wiki page, it didn’t list Jonghyun on this track for song credits. But on Discogs it does, so I’m not sure why there’s a disconnect there with that. It only has the Western creators listed on Wiki.
The Tropical House elements on this one are strong. I never noticed how much Tropical House even in the lightest form is in most of the music I listen to 2016 onwards.
Orbit
If there’s one thing about me, is that I love Jonghyun in a suit. I must not have watched any of these performances, or just forgot that I did at the time. I feel like I’d remember this fit. But I don’t. So I must have just listening to the songs on Spotify and reblogged stuff on Tumblr.
“Orbit” isn’t one I listen to a lot, but when the vibes are right, maaaaan this song goes off.
It’s very jazzy and I love a space theme. On Wiki they say Jonghyun, “describes himself orbiting his lover like a celestial object” and that’s one of my favorite tropes. Kinda like LOONA’s fandom name being Orbits, it’s a similar thing, you’re that into LOONA and follow everything they do. It’s chef’s kiss.
So Jonghyun also using this analogy is also chef’s kiss. I just love how he sets the scene in his songs.
Moon
So, admittedly I don’t listen to “Moon” as much as I used to either, but let me explain. I love “Moon” but it isn’t as upbeat and dancey as “White-T Shirt” so I don’t reach for “Moon” much.
But it’s fantastic! Another song I didn’t know LDN Noise was a part of. Adrian McKinnon is also back and a fave artist on ATK.
“Moon” is so dramatic and mature. That’s another thing I love about Jonghyun’s solo music. It always had a more mature vibe to it. Different from SHINee, but nothing outright explicit. A lot of innuendos done creatively.
This is the first song on the album that leans more towards R&B. It’s body roll central.
Aurora
This one is totally for the BASE supremacist. Wiki describes it as Neo Soul, which is like R&B but make it contemporary and more exploratory.
“Aurora” is another song I love, but don’t listen to as much as I used to. Another sensual song too. You’re vibing to this one.
Deez is on the track. I never knew how many gems Deez makes I love too. Shout out to him.
Dress Up
I’ve been most excited to talk about “Dress Up”. It also reminds me of something from BASE. It ties with “White T-Shirt” as my second favorite song from She Is.
And I was today years old when I learned LDN Noise strikes AGAIN with a banger. They always catch me off guard. But they are never slippin.
The Wiki describes “Dress Up” as, “an uptempo EDM track that contains distorted vocals, synths, and thumping electro-hip-hop beats”. And yeah, perfect description. I love the distortion during the “watching me, come on, watching me” parts.
Jonghyun also does this thing in his song with adlibs that are always entertaining. You never really know what he’s gonna say, like is it gonna be conversational, some oooo or ahhh, or just random high notes.
But in “Dress Up” it’s more conversational, and it gets me every time. I try to sing all the parts, of course.
“Dress Up” is not only another jam but so entertaining in its production. It feels like something new is discovered in the background on every listen.
Cocktail
Imma be honest with ya chief, I don’t listen to this song, ever. I like the concept of the song, but the execution isn’t for me. It’s a slow burn, and it’s not my favorite type of Jonghyun song.
It feels like a direct follow-up to “Hallelujah”, but minus the gospel choir vocals.
So if you like the Jonghyun songs with very dramatic powerhouse vocals, this is up your alley.
Red
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
My favorite song on She Is and one of my fave Jjong songs in general. This is a masterpiece. Everything I love about Jonghyun and his music can be found here. The storytelling, vocals, lyrics, instrumentals, and of course it’s a R&B track.
It gets me dancing every time it comes on. I have to stop myself from replaying it multiple times in a row.
Wefreaky is back, we also have Ryan Kim (who worked on my second favorite Taeyeon song, “Night“), Chase (also worked on “Night”), and Im Kwangok (also worked on “Night” and my favorite TTS song, “Whisper“). What a lineup.
Suit Up
And now we’ve reached our last song on the album. I never listen to “Suit Up” either. Another sensual, mature track. Not why I don’t listen to it. I just can’t dance to it like the other songs on here, lol.
It’s also listed as a future bass song. Wiki also describes this song as, “Downtempo R&B”.
Fun fact, there’s someone named Score on the credits. Apparently they’re a part of KQ Entertainment, home of ATEEZ. HELLO??? Talent recognizing talent, love to see it.
Wasn’t expecting a KQ connection today. We also have Wefreaky back on the track. I’m not sure why there are people missing on the Wiki.
Discogs has more people listed like sound engineer Gu jongpil whose worked on a ton of SM group’s music. An interesting read to check out later. So I recommend checking that out if you’re curious about other people who worked on this album.
Even though I don’t listen to this track, it’s still a great way to end the album. The flow of this album is great. I can’t think of a different way I’d order the tracks or remove songs from it.
Even the songs I don’t revisit are still good songs, and you can tell there is care in how they were crafted. Nothing feels half-assed. Phenomenal album.
Billboard listed it as one of the best Kpop albums of the 2010s, and I highly agree. Truly 1 of 1.
I wish SM would re-release it, so I didn’t have to budget $75-$100 in finding one online from someone 😭. Hate it here.
This article ended up being a bit shorter than I expected it to be. But I’m happy with it. I’ve been wanting to talk about She Is for a few years now. It was fun looking at all the different producers and arrangers who worked on this album, I have so much love for.
I don’t remember if I linked the She Is Wikipedia page or not, so here it is if you want to read more about this album and era. I didn’t get into charts or music show/award show wins.
I’m gonna shout out fyjjong again on Tumblr for being the best Jonghyun fandom archivist. They have things tagged by era, so just looking at She Is, you’ll find a toooon of cool stuff. Like some pictures from the SHINee 11th anniversary where they have clothes from She Is and the picture from the thumbnail in this article. But you can find more here.
What are your favorite songs from She Is? Let me know in the comments! Next up is July faves.
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (no I’m not calling it X app or whatever lol) and Instagram.
Take care!
Ash🚜