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K-Pop Artists & celebrities

With mini-album Advice, Shinee’s Taemin leaves K-pop – for now – as he prepares to enlist in South Korean military

  • The charismatic K-pop singer’s five-track EP Advice opens with a song addressed to those who would judge others without considering their feelings
  • To the delight of fans, the music video to the mini-album shows the androgynous performer switching from sports bra and fishnets and a suit

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Shinee’s Taemin in a still from the music video for Advice, the solo mini-album he released on Tuesday ahead of enlisting for compulsory military service in South Korea. Photo: SM Entertainment
Tamar Herman

Taemin of the K-pop group Shinee will enlist in South Korea’s military at the end of May to begin his compulsory national service, but ahead of his musical hiatus, the singer this week released the EP “Advice”.

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The title track is a slick trap and R&B dance production that provides a platform for the charismatic performer to explore his creativity and androgynous aesthetic, which are front and centre in the music video for Advice, released alongside the album.

Aside from the single, the EP features four other new songs from the K-pop star, including If I Could Tell You, featuring Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation.
The title song, which emphasises Taemin’s versatility with its aggressive, singsong raps and creeping harmonies, is addressed to those who judge others thoughtlessly without concern for their feelings.  

“You take me apart however you wish/You say things the way you‘d like to,” Taemin sings over ambient piano instrumentals. “Moving around the tip of your tongue, you don’t get it... Show your imagination in a more novel way.”

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“Advice” is the third EP – known as a mini-album in K-pop – Taemin has released since he began issuing solo content in 2014. It follows the release of Never Gonna Dance Again last year.

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