You can forget about ‘Fireworks charisma’ now.

Minho, who debuted as a member of SHINee in 2008 and earned the nickname ‘Fireworks charisma’ for his passionate and energetic appearance, is showing off a new emotional charm that he has never shown before. This is through his first full-length album ‘CALL BACK’, which will be released on the 4th, 16 years after his first full-length album in 2019.

Minho, who is also SHINee‘s last ‘full solo runner’, is releasing a new album for the first time in 1 year and 11 months since his first mini-album ‘CHASE’ in December 2022. With his “determination to properly show my music”, he filled the album with a 10-track list that attempts various genres, including the title song ‘CALL BACK’.

At a press conference held at Fairmont Ambassador Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 4th, Minho said with a laugh, “In order to show a fresh charm, I put aside a lot of my ‘Choi stubbornness’. I accepted 90% of the opinions of my long-time staff members who know me better than I do.”

The reason he suppressed his greed and actively accepted the opinions of those around him was “because I wanted to develop”.
Minho said, “I know that I’ve mainly shown a passionate image so far. It‘s also true that I haven’t been able to show my own solo music world well”. “I wanted to show that I, someone like me, can also pull off this kind of ‘R&B pop’ song.“

For Minho‘s new challenge, his seniors and juniors at SM Entertainment, where he has been for 16 years, also rushed over. Rise’s Sohee featured in the track ‘FIREWORKS, and Espa‘s Ningning featured in ‘Because Of You, matching Minho’s voice.

Despite being in Japan preparing for a tour, TVXQ‘s Changmin hurriedly returned to Korea the day before and grabbed the mic to hold a media press conference for Minho, whom he “really cherishes as a younger brother.

The fact that Minho is “the last SHINee member to release a full-length solo album” also played a role in Minho’s putting more effort into the new album. He said, “It would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel burdened because the members showed us their best (as soloists) ahead of time,” but emphasized, “Our strength and pride is that we can show our individuality through solo activities and come together as one when we do team activities.”

His ‘attempts’ don’t end there. On November 30 and December 1, he will also prepare a “place to show everything about Minho” through his first solo concert in 16 years since his debut at the Hwajung Gymnasium of Korea University in Seoul.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com