By Pen Fang
Taemin is the youngest member of the K-Pop group SHINee. He is acclaimed for both his dance skill and vocal ability. Metamorph, Taemin’s first solo concert since his return from military enlistment in April 2023, kicked off December 16 and 17, 2023, at the Incheon Inspire Arena — making Taemin the first K-Pop act to headline a concert there. This is Taemin’s first concert with a live audience since T1001101 in 2019 (due to the pandemic). Metamorph will continue in Japan from March 7-9 at the Nippon Budokan stadium, the site of Taemin’s first ever solo concert in 2016.
Metamorph opens with “The Rizzness,” a song off of his most recent mini-album Guilty. Taemin is initially clothed in all-black, including a cap, masking his facial expressions. Around the second verse of the song, the stage begins to rotate. When the second pre-chorus begins, amid flashing red lights, Taemin is fully upside-down, suspended from the platform. The upside stage orientation technically impressive, but is meaningful in terms of message as well: in “The Rizzness,” Taemin conveys that “one should listen to one’s own voice and not be easily swayed by the distorted words of the world.” Taemin opens Metamorph as a symbol of death — an upside down cross, wearing all-black, face masked by his hat. The bold opening allows Taemin’s distinctive identity as a performer to shine.
This introductory sequence, consisting of “The Rizzness, “Advice,” “Black Rose,” and “Criminal” exemplifies Taemin’s performance ability. Each song features stunning choreography and technical moments alike. The signature flower move in “Black Rose,” for example, changes how it utilizes his backup dancers to have a ripple effect. The blooming effect feels wilder, more haunting. And each of these four songs also carries a theme of dramatic flair. This is demonstrated by the changes made to the choreography and stage: the simple yet brilliant lighting effects during “Black Rose,” the darker, moodier piano segment and dance break for “Advice,” being upside-down during “The Rizzness,” and the transformation of “Criminal.”
For many, “Criminal” is quintessential Taemin. Released in 2020 amidst the pandemic and unsure circumstances, “Criminal” redefined Taemin’s voice as an artist and performer in the industry. It carries lofty aesthetics, an exploration of innocence and destruction, and a distinct choreography that is hard, if not impossible, to replicate the way Taemin can perform it. This iteration of “Criminal” for Metamorph features rock-inspired motifs in its instrumentation. The performance is an upgrade to an already breathtaking piece of choreography, with Taemin moving so fast at times the camera cannot keep up.
In many ways, “Criminal” is a song about breaking free from restraint. Taemin starts with his hands tied, biting free the restraints at the turn of the first chorus. The choreography grows less restrained throughout the song; the last chorus feels much freer and cathartic compared to the controlled movements of the opening. The lyrics embrace the ruination of self.
“I tried to make the flow and the composition of the performances feel even freer,” Taemin said about the concert. “I’m sure certain things come to your mind when you think of Taemin as an artist. And in the concert, you were able to see sides that are deeper within me.”
Through this first sequence, his outfit tells as much of a story as his movements do, with a jacket that loses detachable pieces in a way that feels like molting or shedding. At the end of “Criminal,” Taemin sheds his jacket entirely. The first time his dancers remove the jacket. The second time, it is he who takes it off. When the song finishes, he stands amidst the circle formation of choreography, having shed the jacket, the second skin of the cocoon.
“It’s an evolving process. That’s the meaning of the title [Metamorph].”
There is a quick outfit change; Taemin adorns a white top on stage following a short talk break, marking the second sequence of songs.This sequence begins with “Impressionable,” choreographed by Kim Haeun, who is also on the stage with him. Though the lyrics tell a story of a predator through spider-like imagery, the choreography tells more of a story of prey. Taemin also likens himself to a female spider in the lyrics of “Impressionable.” This power through femininity is consistent with his reclamation of sexuality in his Guilty comeback. Another parallel to his Guilty era — this time the styling (specifically the Inkigayo school outfits). On Day 2, his pants feature slits around the thigh area, which match the outfits his female backup dancers, who are wearing shorts and leg warmers allowing a gap of skin between them.
Taemin brings back the classic sloped stage rendition of “Heaven” before debuting the performance for “Strings” and “Not Over You.” Through these performances, he is undeniably sensual, but his sexuality is characterized through its subtlety. A user on X (formerly Twitter) commented on the departure from “Shadow / Guess Who / Sexuality,” which has typically been featured in Taemin concerts — and how Taemin’s performance of sexuality has evolved over time, as he pairs erotic intimacy with longing masterfully in what can only be described as classic Taemin fashion.
For the next segment, Taemin detaches a single sleeve from his shirt and dons a black glove and jacket. He performs “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not,” “Light,” “Famous,” and then “Want.” This is, after all, the classic styling of the “Want” era — the jacket with the half-sleeve and single glove. He concludes this segment with “Danger,” the song that he made his solo debut with in 2014. It features the sloped stage once again, as well as an interlude showcasing his dancers. The latter half of this segment ramps up the intensity of choreography. “Famous,” rather infamously, features intense choreography that feels like it shouldn’t work, yet Taemin somehow makes it work. “Danger” maximizes its impact with Taemin’s ad-libs, the dance interlude, and the sloped-stage.
Following “Danger,” Taemin unveils the performance video for his song “The Rizzness” as a concert VCR. Taemin alternates between light and dark as he dances in a cave-like setting, highlighting duality once more. He feels possessed at times, unsettling and hypnotic. Once that VCR ends, the projection fades to dark. Cracks begin appearing in its place.
The doors part and Taemin is once again upside-down. Now, he’s dressed in all red. The top consists of an array of mismatched fabrics; the bottom is a familiar miniskirt-over-pants combination (reminiscent of another outfit worn during “Guilty promotions). Top top it all off, he is blindfolded as well.
Through “Door,” a song using the imagery of a door as a metaphor for concealment and revealing the self (and where the line has to be drawn), Taemin slowly rotates upright. He steps off the platform, still-blindfolded, carried by dancers who are also blindfolded. Blind faith, blind trust. At the end of the song, he removes his blindfold to proceed into the next song: “Guilty.” As “Guilty” begins, he stands alone with a set of wings as his backdrop. Reminiscent of the themes from Demian by Hermann Hesse present throughout Taemin’s work (most notably “Guilty,” but also “Criminal), Taemin is the bird, broken free from the egg cracking at the beginning of “Door.”
“Guilty” is perhaps Taemin’s best work yet, a subtle, nuanced expose of the industry and a reclamation of self. Taemin dances as the victim but sings the part of the perpetrator, once again highlighting his ability to capture contrasts and duality in his performance. Following “Guilty” is “Move,” another choreography that is quintessentially Taemin.
The “Door” to “Guilty” to “Move” sequence is perhaps one of the best demonstrations of Taemin’s artistry. One aspect is undeniably his performance ability — each song is visually breathtaking and artful. But another aspect is the meaning behind each song. As aforementioned, “Door” questions the possibility of revealing the true self. “Guilty” is Taemin’s reclamation of self as he returns to the industry, what he describes as the beginning of the second act of his career. “Move” was a landmark in Taemin’s career and K-Pop choreography. “Move,” choreographed by Koharu Sugawara, is subtle and androgynous, both defining aspects of Taemin’s dance style.
“My aim was to find a middle ground, mixing both masculine and feminine movements into the choreography together,” Taemin said about the song in a 2017 interview. “I wanted to break the idea of what male performers are supposed to show, what performances girl groups are supposed to show. I really wanted to break those labels, showing that dance is a form of art.”
Through this sequence of songs, Taemin’s metamorphosis is exemplified. Taemin finishes this segment with the final two songs from Guilty, “Night Away” and “Blue.” On the first day, fans join him in singing “Blue.”
He opens the encore with “Idea,” from the second part of his Never Gonna Dance Again album duology, in a light blue suit. The encore continues with more subdued songs — “Pansy,” a song named after the birth flower for May 25 (SHINee’s debut date) and “I Think It’s Love,” which fans sing with him on the second day. Taemin engages with the audience quite frequently during this concert, joking and talking during the breaks.
During this final segment on Day 2, Taemin also shouts out his fellow SHINee members who have come to watch him, as well as the team behind the concert, including technical staff and creative director Hwang Sang-hoon.
The last song is “Identity,” also the last song of his 2020 Never Gonna Dance Again album series. He opened his last live concert series with an abbreviated version of this song. As he sings “base to ace” over and over, there is something so emotional about the reference to his debut as a soloist (with the album Ace) as he returns to the industry. “Base to ace” is also perhaps a nod to SHINee as the base of his career and the foundation for his transformation as a soloist — but also a nod to his fellow member Jonghyun (who debuted with the mini-album Base) and his impact on Taemin.
And as Taemin points at the sky, the doors close and the concert ends. Fade to black.
Metamorph is truly a concert only Taemin could do. It is filled with choreography that is visually breathtaking. From the technical brilliance of his solo dance breaks in “Advice” and “Criminal” to the stunning formation work in “Guilty” and “Heaven,” the passion and dedication behind the performance is clear. No description of these choreographies would do them justice; you have to see to understand, and I hope Taemin is able to perform this overseas as well.
Taemin uses the stage so brilliantly. There are the moments of upside-down suspension to signify metamorphosis — after all, the premature butterfly hangs from a cocoon before its transformation. The sloped stage adds dynamics that make songs like “Heaven” and “Strings” more dramatic.
Metamorph and Taemin are truly an art. The themes of evolution and metamorphosis, themes recurring in Taemin’s identity as an artist, are fleshed out so well in this concert, from the use of stage to the song choice, and the outfits. The fashion choices during the concert utilize zippers (the thigh slits, for example), velcro (the sleeves and his pockets), attachments and removable parts (the blindfold, parts of his initial jacket) to physically visualize the change he describes. In many ways, Metamorph feels like a reestablishment of Taemin — his distinct niche in the industry — and him cementing his place as one of the true long-running legends in K-Pop.
