Taemin is one of those once in a generation type of artists. In the four years I have been a fan of K-pop and also as a fan of pop music since the early 90s, I can confidently say there is no one else out there doing the things he does. His artistic vision, his distinctive voice, his impeccable dancing skills and his involvement in his craft are unmatched by any current male popstar active in the world. He has successfully created his own brand of pop (or Taemin-pop as he calls it), his name immediately associated with good music and skill.

Much like Taemin is involved in his own work, fans are always deeply involved and thoughtful about his concepts whenever he makes a comeback. Knowing that Taemin will bring us another masterpiece, brains start reeling as soon as he releases as much as a teaser picture. That’s why when the first teaser images for Act 2, the second half of his Never Gonna Dance Again album, were released, the shock and awe among fans were at the highest level. Dressed in all black and wearing a crown of thorns, Taemin seemed to stare at us through from the underworld, a shocking image for those knowledgeable of Taemin’s openness about his Catholic faith. While for many this would be straight up heresy, for others it is only the culmination of Taemin’s use of religious imagery in order to tell us the story of a man trying to reconcile parts of himself with the man he wants to be for years, and a clear follow up to where he left us after Criminal.

Just because Criminal and IDEA are linked, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t clear indications of a similar concept in his earlier work. Take a look at the most famous Press It (Taemin’s first full album) teaser image, where we see a Taemin dressed in red (often linked to evil) kissing an innocent-looking angel-like Taemin, who seems almost enthralled by this dark image of himself.

This image clearly depicts both sides of Taemin, which see themselves reinforced in the music video for Press Your Number. The idea of one Taemin facing the aftermath of his own actions, caused by this dark desire for something more. We see a similar dichotomy between the masculine and the feminine in MOVE and we will see the Criminal/Innocent dichotomy again years later in Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 1.

So, trying to reconcile Taemin’s dark and light sides is not something unfamiliar to Taemin’s music, which is why being a religious person, exploring these sides from the perspective of religion may not be too far off. The easiest comparison to bring up would be that of a Fallen Angel. It is worth noting Fallen Angels are actually not part of the Catholic faith, however, it is not unheard to explore religion, spirituality, sexuality and love from the perspective of someone who has been rejected by God. The reason why could be explained by these “dark sides” of himself that we have seen reflected in his work across the years.

We have examples of this in multiple songs since Press It. For example, Soldier, one of Taemin’s most beautiful self-written songs, where he asks for forgiveness from someone after what he refers to as being kissed by the devil.

I open my arms, It doesn’t matter,
I need an angel’s hand

Cause a devil kissed me kissed me
Why’d you never miss me miss me
Yeah the devil kissed me kissed me
Kissed me

If I can wash away my sins
I will get on my knees right now
Even if you choke me,
even if you destroy my body
I swear to the sky, I raise my hand
I just wanna be a Soldier

And later in Eclipse, included in his first Japanese album. A song describing a darkness building inside of him he cannot seem to escape, in this case, this darkness seems to take over his relationship with someone and eventually “steal their warmth away”:

I just want to lay my freezing hands and feet over you
I didn’t even think I’d be stealing your warmth away
You probably didn’t either

Every time I get hurt,
I run away into the shadows
Before I even realise, it begins to gain control of me
Seizing me

Tell me why, just [tell me] a way to escape
Set me free, just set me free
My heart turns pitch black

As well as FAMOUS, included in his Japanese second album and also Never Gonna Dance Again: Act I

When did it begin? I was taken over
And now I’m drowning in darkness without fear
Since the shadows on both extremes began occupying me
I attained this status

In the same Japanese album where we can find Eclipse, and Under My Skin, another song where he reveals the worst side of himself, we also have Holy Water (a song that Taemin seems to love performing, which makes sense since it’s a wonderful song), which sounds like a last attempt at a cry for help, at asking the Heavens to please look past this darkness, see who he is behind all of it and give him another chance to be cleansed. It’s a song of desperation and hope.

Don’t turn the lights on
I beg you not to light here up
Don’t try to find this place

(…)
Give me a sign
Shake me awake
And give me a way to make amends, holy water
Father Light and Mother Sky
Give me a sign, save me
Holy water which makes me think about the meaning of life
The sacred voices overlap

But I guess it does not work for him because the next we see of Taemin is WANT.

This is where I really started to see a Fallen Angel allegory, whether or not intentional. Throughout all the music video, we are basically presented with a version of the devil by Taemin. The song is all about teasing, giving and taking and leaving us wanting more. It references the snake the devil presents himself as to Eve, the temptation of lust opening up a new universe of knowledge and equates falling for him with biting the Forbidden Apple (the references about biting the Forbidden Apple will make another appearance during FAMOUS).

We the listeners are basically Eve at the hands of his temptation, the smoke and magnifying glasses (or “smoke and mirrors”, a phrase used to signify something or someone hiding their real identity or intentions) used throughout the music video to cover up who he really is: a demon dressed in red, again.

Notice though how through all of WANT (EXCEPT in the scenes where he is covered by smoke and mirrors!) he has adopted this delicate, soft look that he carried for most of the promotions.

The blonde hair, the blue eyes, the Western Christian idea of a cherub, which makes the temptation even bigger. We are attracted to how angelic and beautiful he looks, but he is basically condemning us all to eternal punishment because we have now bitten the Forbidden Apple. When the curtains fall, and the smoke and mirrors are gone, it is revealed that the snakes are not just surrounding him, but actually come onto him.

To add to this, this happens during an Eclipse. Self-referencing? We love a big sexy brain.

We even have a not-so-subtle reversed cross which is honestly… pretty daring for a music video.

And then, we end at Rodin’s Gates of Hell, where he has succesfully taken us with him.

The next we see of Taemin is FAMOUS. The dichotomy between artist Taemin / real Taemin being explored by the Forbidden Apple imagery AGAIN but this time it is visual (we start the video by biting into it) and it comes with a warning: there is so much darkness inside of him– this video has rope play, guns, broken mirrors, blood, the diamonds, I am ascending–that we do not know about. He has now fully embraced his dark side, but he doesn’t quite know if this is really himself and is struggling to fight against it. FAMOUS Taemin is enjoying his fame and his power. It is an album full of BDSM references (seriously, this entire album is filthy, I love it so much) and it is so far the epitome of this version of Taemin having some fun with, pardon my French, fucking around with us. If we go back to the Fallen Angel allegory, we could say this is the moment the Fallen Angel realizes he’s not going back to Heaven, so he may as well have some fun on Earth by doing all the very bad things he wants to do.

Watch me (All alone) intensely
Awakening with the crowd’s cheers (It’s awakening)
Who I am anymore
I still don’t know

Finally, we meet Taemin, the Criminal.

Taemin has always said Criminal is a song about Stockholm Syndrome, which makes sense even within this context. Taemin has now fully converted into the King of Temptation himself, but has now found himself in a relationship (whether romantic, sexual or with the public) that keeps demanding more and more from him but gives nothing back, that hurts him greatly but he can’t escape.

So elegant, a criminal who hurts me
It’s okay, you soothe me just to torture me again
Ooh I’m on a leash called you
It’s painful as much as I can’t breathe but also magnificent

One of the reasons I say this relationship could be with the public is because of a very obvious visual clue. As Taemin sings that heart is now full of our fingerprints, we see him stand on a black background, the screen covered with fingerprints, like a phone screen would from touching it constantly. These are OUR fingerprints. He is, in fact, pointing at us. We have been consuming Taemin 24/7 to the point that we are hurting him, but he cannot give us up.

But Taemin doesn’t simply play the victim in this video. In fact, most of the time we are seeing him as the criminal, and that criminal is exactly in the Hell where we last saw him in WANT.

We are equally addicted to this man, we are still the victims to the teasing he has been subjecting us to. In the lyrics of WANT, Taemin is the predator, in the lyrics of Criminal he is the prey, but only in the Criminal video we can see he is actually both.

Let’s bring back the idea of a Fallen Angel Taemin: despite all the fame, fortune and sex, he has not been able to find meaning to his human existence, so at the end of Criminal he just completely gives himself up. He just wants more of all of it. He wants more of us hurting him and him hurting us. Because it hurts good. And he likes it so much, he may not only end up enjoying Hell but becoming King.

The moment I fall for you is the end of my innocence

I don’t want to get away, destroy me completely

And so comes his latest release: IDEA

I will admit it made me happy me to hear on Taemin’s VLive that the video picked up from Criminal. In fact, some parts of this post had been written based on teaser images and speculation alone, so to find out Taemin had thought out a similar narrative for IDEA’s concept was delightful.

IDEA mixes not only philosophy and religion, but also psychoanalsis into one music video (whether you believe in psychoanalysis or think it’s bogus, that is another topic). Again, say it with me: Taemin sexy brain. According to Taemin, IDEA is based on Plato’s Theory of Ideas. An IDEA is something that exists beyond the physical plane, in another world. In this music video, we see Taemin trying to find his own identity by existing outside of the ego, or what he has divided into Hell, Limbo (or Purgatory) and Heaven. How can we look at it through psychoanalysis, according to none other than Freud?

We are presented, as soon as the video starts, with two Taemins: one that is distorted and one that isn’t, in what we assume is the inside of Taemin’s mind. If we look at these two Taemins as a representation of the ID and the Superego (which represent our human desires and our morality, which controls our desires) we can only assume Taemin is in search of reconciling these two sides of himself into his ego-ideal. Here is a quote from “Simply Psychology” that explains it pretty easily:

The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to the id’s demands, the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt.

The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to behave as a member of society.

Behavior which falls short of the ideal self may be punished by the super-ego through guilt. The super-ego can also reward us through the ideal self when we behave ‘properly’ by making us feel proud.

Simply Psychology

While psychoanalysis says these parts of the self are usually developed through childhood and into adulthood, it is not unheard of to want to redefine our ego-ideal as we become older, specially when you live your life as an artist with an ego-ideal that has been built up for you, rather than by yourself. Let’s bring back the metaphor of a Fallen Angel expelled from Heaven, knowing nothing about humanity and being presented with human desires, trying to form its own identity.

One Taemin then starts to confess to the other through the phone:

A small reflection made by reason
Growing on the instinct
A dream blooming deep inside
The Shadow is holding the night and getting darker

Plato’s theory of Ideas may also be referred to the Theory of Forms, and it is famously found in the Myth of the Cavern, in which men only observe others as shadows and only realize what is happening behind those shadows once they become conscious of them on the physical plane. In this song, Taemin is basically expressing his desire to turn the shadows, silhouettes and “sweet voices” he finds inside of himself into a reality.

We see Taemin enter a white bar. It is worth noting that the music video director describes this bar as heaven. However, I like Taemin’s own interpretation of this place far better: a place “in between”. The reason is simple: gambling, alcohol, rumors, sexuality. Taemin is fazed with these as soon as he walks in. The idea of it being a limbo in between Heaven and Hell, where he is being observed by the undead makes more sense. Taemin’s inner turmoil is right inside this place, encountering these very human, very real temptations, but it is his IDEA, what he refers to as his Messiah, what is protecting him from them.

This scene is heavily contrasted by what is clearly Hell, which, while still trying to run away from, he continues to seem to enjoy a whole lot, honestly.

And what is clearly Heaven.

We can consider two other instances of this “in-between” or limbo in two other scenes:

The room where he is presented with a metallic version of himself (the IDEA taking physical form). In this room, he is surrounded by his dancers dressed in all black, who may be trying to push him back towards Hell.

And the forest where he runs away and is confronted by not one, but by multiple images of himself and later joined by his dancers again, depicting angels trying to bring him back towards Heaven.

The truth is Taemin’s IDEA is restricting him. While it can save him (You are my Messiah) it can also drive him crazy, because being unable to live up to the expectations that he is creating for himself is making him feel guilty. We see multiple instances of this in the shots where Taemin is looking straight into the camera, so close to us that it is scary. He is, pretty much, losing his mind throughout the entire thing. The way the word gets stuck repeatedly throughout the song, almost as a chant (you are my I-DE-A-A-A) is an example of this.

A dangerous dream that swallowed me
You’re proving it’s you
This tremor deep in the heart
You are my Messiah (Killing me softly)

However, despite all of the inner turmoil, there is a point in the lyrics, and in the music video, where it finally looks like Taemin has reached the ultimate enlightment and is about to convert into this IDEA of himself, beyond the ego:

Beyond the limit of realization
Your shadow I finally found
At the moment when I’ve become to trust everything invisible
I throw myself into the ideal

When the blue light flowing on me
Faces you and me
All of the colored emotions inside
Become an infinite range
The brightest presence in my world
The absolute value, it’s you
My idea

But there is one last twist: the song comes to a halt with a single “Killing Me” and the entire music video goes wild. The sky is falling down in thunder and lightning, the choreography gets stronger, the images of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory start switching constantly.

It seems it is only at the end, when Hell and Heaven crumble down, that he finally frees himself. That he is able to see both past the darkness and the excessive light and find his actual self somewhere in the middle. As sunset starts falling in Heaven, combining shades of blue and orange, it brings both parts of himself together.

Taemin finally lets go of outside influences and judgement, the images of him combining, the people in the white room disappearing and being left alone in the room where we first saw him. Every single one of his dancers, trying to steer him towards Heaven or Hell, falls to the ground, leaving him to stand in for himself.

It is only then that Taemin declares that he finally can open his eyes.

On the night I cut you out from my heart
Finally I open my eyes

Watch the full music video for IDEA here:

Navigating Heaven and Hell. The Fallen Angel becomes human.

How did IDEA and Act 2 turn around into a lighter concept, when IDEA is so dark in nature? The answer is on the rest of the songs in this album: Heaven, I Think It’s Love, Think Of You, Pansy, Be Your Enemy, Perhaps Love and Identity. All of these songs give us an idea of a Taemin that is trying to find some light in the darkness by finding real love in both what he does and others. The Fallen Angel has finally found his humanity. It doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic love (but why wouldn’t it, he is a 27 year old adult, please let him date), but familiar love or friendship. It could even be real love between himself and the fans by showing us who he really is, something that he has publicly said he struggles with multiple times. It’s about coming down from the high of fame, embracing the simple and being grateful for what he has. Of course, Heaven at some points is also sexy (he calls this a comfort song, I’ll be the judge of that) and Impressionable and Exclusive are seductive songs, but it wouldn’t be Taemin if there was not some sexy in there, specially when the album combines with Act 1, which is, by all means, an album about closing old relationship wounds and the possible expectation of new ones.

The VCR of Identity, the follow up to WANT’s initial outro and the opening song of Taemin’s last solo concert, a song about letting go but eventually reuniting with a part of him that still brings him pain now, but will eventually bring him peace (draw your own conclusions about the lyrics, this song is a handful, and so beautiful) and it being used as the last track of this album, may tell us that Taemin has finally reconciled these two parts of him. The light and the dark sides coming together to finally embrace his true identity as neither the artist we knew him as before, nor the person he has presented himself to be. The reconciliation between the “angel” and the “demon”, between Heaven and Hell, between Taemin the artist and Taemin the person.

This is the real Taemin. I cannot wait what he has in store for us in the future.

EXTRA CONTENT: RELIGIOUS IMAGERY IN IN THE TEASER IMAGES AND ALBUM PACKAGING

LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD TAEMIN / CROWN OF THORNS / MESSIAH

The crown of thorns placed on Jesus when crucified is a clear reference in these pictures. Whether placed on himself by choice or by external force, the crown is what is holding the darkness on top of Taemin, represented by the black veil. It is worth noting, when worn by men, veils are disrespectful to God, as said by St Paul, who claimed the Head of every man was Christ and thus should not be covered but the Head of any woman was her husband:

“Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his Head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonors her head (husband)”

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

It is not a sign of respect, not in this case. To top it off, Taemin is also defying gender expectations in these pictures by wearing a skirt. If worn rebelliously, this is a big fat “and what are you going to do about it?”

THE SACRED HEART

The very first poster image of Taemin for Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 2 took the ultimate symbol of Jesus’ never-ending love and turned it into a jewel, into a physical, quantifiable thing that shines because it is gold and not because it is beaming and undying love for humanity.

PURGATORY

The place in between Heaven and Hell, where Taemin “burns himself” as seen in Press Your Number (Taemin is standing behind a picture released back then in one of these images). We can see that even in the SHINee Instagram account, they placed these three pictures from the bottom to the top.

Admittedly, most of my favorite pictures in this album are part of this session.

HEAVEN

The images of Taemin in Heaven are a lot more varied in the album packaging than in the music video, going from the pictures in his Everybody outfit, now broken and teared from his own personal battles to angel Taemin with an outfit similar to the one we see in the music video.

IDEA

A direct reference to the title track, we have multiple images of Taemin inside a box surrounded by cameras. The box he has been placed in as an artist and that he plans to get away from through IDEA.