SHINee - 'Kimi No Sei De' & 'From Now On' Live Performances Reaction and Commentary
Added 2025-01-22 05:00:18 +0000 UTCTwo Japanese performances: one very explosive and the other very emotional.
Comments
What I can add about From Now On is that it was pre-recorded before Jonghyun's passing, along with two other new Japanese songs, and released posthumously on their The Best From Japanese compilation album. Hence, this was the first and only (as of yet) time they performed it live. Lyrically, at face value, it seems like another love song—either about a romantic interest or love and gratitude for the fans (which I believe was its intended meaning—SHINee promising to be with us forever). What I find particularly symbolic and heartbreaking is that Jonghyun is the last one to close the song with the line "soba ni iru yo, zutto," which translates to "I'll always/forever be by your side." This is eerily similar to what he says in his solo track Shinin'—"always be with you." As others have already explained, this concert tour took place just a few months after we lost him, making it an incredibly difficult time for both the members and the fans—everyone was deeply mourning and grieving. At the time, I happened to be living in Osaka and was fortunate enough to attend two of the first concerts of the tour (the other two were in Tokyo, where the DVD was filmed). The atmosphere was, as expected, very somber yet also deeply supportive. You could hear a mix of sniffles from the fans, but also claps and cheers whenever any of the members seemed to be struggling. During the first half of the concert, Jonghyun appeared multiple times on screen in video footage from past performances, and there was also a tribute message from the members. From Now On was literally the closing performance, so it was only natural and appropriate that fans clapped to show their support and respect. This song was also quite popular in Japan—I even heard it playing on the radio at a random convenience store once.
Lawol
2025-01-22 17:31:32 +0000 UTCThey did film Kimi No Sei De video in like few days during this concert tour but it's not the same. The angles, the editing etc. is mostly different and only some parts of the MV is from their performance, it also features scenes of two actors playing a Shawol couple (a guy and a girl) attending that concert with a plot twist(!). I won't spoil what exactly happens but I'll just say that the video makes this song much sadder than it actually is. Lyrically it's essentially about being down/blue after a break up. Sonically, however, it's a total bop! It's one of my favorite Japanese tracks and choreos! The mixing issue might be due to the fact that their Tokyo Dome concerts always have live bands playing, thus, it does have a more stadium/live sound that's different from the studio version and concerts in Korea. Also, the dome is super huge so there's this sort of a little echo sound, and they also edit out a lot of the background noise/fan screams, what have you, in post-production, which might add to it. Yes, SHINee members are all proficient in Japanese but not to the extent to write their own lyrics. Most of their Japanese songs were written by the same 2-3 Japanese lyricists, this one included. If you like Japanese and their J-pop sound I'm sure you'll love their Japanese albums. Kimi No Sei De is from the same album as Diamond Sky - 5th full length 'FIVE'. It was also released as a single with like one other b-side before hence why it has a MV. P.S. Don't Let Me Go is actually not underrated, it's one of the fan favorite ballads, it has some of the most listens on the 1 of 1 album as well.
Lawol
2025-01-22 16:12:19 +0000 UTCFrom Now On is a completely raw tear jerker song. I can't believe you watched it 😭
S Kapdi
2025-01-22 13:11:17 +0000 UTCFor the second song, the concert itself was a tribute for jonghyun. Initially the concert was just a normal Japanese concert for 5 of them (already sold out). Then with Jonghyun passing on December, it almost got canceled as it was scheduled for February and it would be too much for the members to handle. But after serious discussion with families and members they continue with the concert and used it as a way to honour Jonghyun together with their fans. Some songs include Jonghyun' voice and videos. All of their families and closest friends (including taeyeon) came to japan to give them support they needed. Different from Japanese fans who were much more understanding, they actually got lots of backlash for not canceling the concert from others. It was also said that they almost got disbanded at that time as how the incident made them resent the whole music/kpop industry itself (You can check their Story of Light album which basically telling the story of how they felt and how they decided to move on). You should check the Key and Taeyeon video. It was a clip from a show called I live alone. To give you some context, taeyeon is very close with SHINee members. She is the same age with Onew which makes her older than the rest of the members. After the military services, it was obvious that the members, especially key tried to shift how people talked about Jonghyun. They openly encouraged people to freely share his happy memories rather than avoiding the subject or being too caution. This actually works. After some time, the members and public started mentioning his name more freely in a good light, talking about all of his great and happy memories. In one of the songs from the story of light album called "our page" (written by all members), they imply how they would make sure that Jonghyun would never be forgotten.
Aquilaa
2025-01-22 09:23:27 +0000 UTCKimi No Sei De is actually a sad song. If you'd like to see another live where their voices can better be heard, I recommend the one from their 2018 concert From Now On - (same concert where the From Now On performance came from). The atmosphere was also different for that performance.
Zee
2025-01-22 06:41:42 +0000 UTCThe From Now On was from their Feb 2018 concert, barely 2 months after Jonghyun's passing. It was the first time they performed without him hence this was very emotional not just for SHINee but for the audience as well. This was for encore, they just returned to the stage (hence could hear the audience calling them out at the start.) Apart from this, during the first part of the concert there was a section dedicated for Jonghyun, they performed songs also with studio version of his voice. The other sections of the concert though they had to cover for his parts. The whole concert was actually beautiful, emotional, and for me, a very good way to honor Jonghyun. This video was cut short but at the end of this performance the members put their roses in the microphone stand with Onew (almost) breaking down and Key and Minho visibly emotional. If you watch the fancams, you'll clearly hear crying in the audience too.
Zee
2025-01-22 06:38:53 +0000 UTCKimi No Sei De sounds fun and up beat but the lyrics are actually sad and the MV still makes me cry. the story behind the song is very touching as well. From now on will ALWAYS make me cry. This performance of the song was the last song they played in the concert 2 months after Jonghyun's passing, they changed the concert and made it in his honor. this video cut before the end, they all put their roses on their mics and stepped back a leave the stage with just the mics and the roses.
Ofra Cohen
2025-01-22 06:35:27 +0000 UTC
