SHINee is a contemporary R&B South Korean boy band. Formed by SM Entertainment in 2008, they made their debut on May 25, 2008 on SBS's Inkigayo with their promotional single, "Noona Neomu Yeppeo (Replay)", lit. "Noona, You're So Pretty (Replay)"). The group consists of Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Minho and Taemin.
Since their debut, Shinee has released two full-length albums, three mini-albums, and various singles. They have also won many awards, held a concert tour and starred in their own reality shows. Shinee is considered to be a fashion icon having started the "SHINee Trend". They made their Japanese debut on June 22, 2011 by releasing a Japanese version of their single, "Replay".
On May 25, 2008, the group's first mini-album, Replay was released from Label company, SM Entertainment. The mini-album debuted at #10 on the Korean music charts and peaked at #8, selling 17,957 copies in the first half of 2008.
On June 7, 2008, Shinee participated in the Dream Concert in the Seoul Olympic Stadium along with other South Korean singers and groups. The group won their first award, "Rookie of the Month", at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards on June 22, 2008. Shinee took part in SMTown Live '08, which was held on August 18, 2008 at Seoul Olympic Stadium. On August 23, 2008, they attended MNet's 20's Choice Awards 2008, where they won the "Hot New Star" award.
On January 1, 2011, Shinee performed in a concert at Olympic Park Stadium in Seoul as a part of their tour, Shinee World. On January 2, 2011, before the second running of the concert in Seoul, Shinee held a press conference. The group answered many questions related to their future plans, announcing that in March 2011 they will be debuting in Japan, and the members also reflected on their success in 2010. On January 25 and 26, 2011, the group once again participated in the Japan leg of SMTown Live '10 World Tour alongside their fellow labelmates and participated in two concerts at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo.
On May 16, 2011, EMI Music Japan revealed a teaser for the Japanese version of "Replay" through their official YouTube channel. The music video was released through the same channel on May 27, 2011. The single was released in Japan on June 22, 2011 and sold more than 91,000 copies in the first week. It was certified 'Gold' by RIAJ for selling over 100,000 copies in June 2011.
On June 10 and 11, 2011, Shinee once again participated in the France leg of SMTown Live '10 World Tour alongside their fellow labelmates and performed at two concerts in Paris at Zenith de Paris. On June 19, 2011, Shinee had their premium Japanese debut reception in London at the Abbey Road Studios. Their showcase was exclusive only to 130 selected people, most of which were from the press. On July 16, 2011, Shinee performed in a concert at Taipei Arena in Taipei as a part of their Taiwan leg of Shinee World tour. R&B singer and fellow labelmate Zhang Liyin appeared as a special guest and sang a duet with Jonghyun. On July 22, 2011, Shinee started their Japan Debut Premium Reception Tour. They performed at a number of concerts while touring various cities of Japan including Fukuoka on July 22, Kobe on July 23, Tokyo on July 27 and 28, Sapporo on August 8 and Nagoya on August 11, 2011.
On August 8, 2011, EMI Music Japan revealed the music video for the Japanese version of "Juliette" through their official YouTube channel. The single was released in Japan on August 28, 2011. On September 2, 3 and 4, 2011, Shinee participated in the second Japan leg of SMTown Live '10 World Tour and performed in three concerts at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. On September 10, 2011, the group also performed in a concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore as a part of their Singapore leg of Shinee World tour. The production cost for the concert was around $1.7 million.
On September 9, 2011, EMI Music Japan tweeted that Shinee will be releasing their third Japanese single "Lucifer" on October 12, 2011. This news has been confirmed on their official Japanese homepage. The official music video for the Japanese version of "Lucifer" was released on EMI Music Japan's official YouTube channel on September 15, 2011. It was announced on Oricon's website that Shinee was the first foreign artist in the 44 year long history of Oricon ever to have three different singles released in Japan and all three of which ranked in top three on their weekly singles sales chart. These singles were their first three Japanese singles: "Replay", "Juliette" and "Lucifer".
On October 17, 2011, it was announced by EMI Music Japan that Shinee will be releasing their first Japanese studio album, The First on November 23, 2011. However, the Japanese release date has now been delayed to December 7, 2011. The album will feature five new songs in addition to Japanese remakes of seven previously released Korean songs. The regular version of the album will also feature the theme song of the drama Stranger 6, a track called "Stranger" as a bonus.
On October 23, 2011, Shinee participated in the last concert of SMTown Live '11 World Tour alongside their fellow label mates. They performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City. On October 27, 2011, the group also performed in a concert at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya as part of the Japanese leg of their Shinee World tour. Later, the group was invited to be the opening act at sixth London’s Korean Film Festival to take place at Odeon West End Theater on November 3, 2011. They also performed in their ‘Shinee in London‘ one-hour long gala concert, the tickets for which sold out within a minute after going on sale at 1:00 pm on the October 27, 2011. This also marked the first time that a Korean artist held an independent concert in London.
