Owing to a much bigger than expected positive response to the Shinee concert I posted last week, I unearthed this concert, a solo gig from bandmate Onew (pronounced: Oh – new!), recorded during the 2025 tour promoting his solo album, Connection in concert at Olympic Hall in Seoul on February 21, 2025.
The overwhelming appeal Kpop has for fans all over the world made itself abundantly clear when I ran a Shinee concert last week. Again, Kpop has made major inroads with audiences in Europe and South America and is starting to catch on here in the U.S.
Despite a very well-polished presentation (since this is an audio-only post, you are missing the visual portion of this concert which unveils more clues as to their popularity), neither Shinee nor the individual members are likely to get commercial airplay here, which leads me to wonder if what we have is Mainstream Pop Music that is suffering from the age-old language barrier or a hybrid of a different sort – as I said with Shinee, they embrace a lot and mash it up so it’s difficult to assign a name to their genre, which can be a good thing.
Both Onew and Shinee represent an older generation of the Kpop evolution – they come from a place of boundless perfectionism, where giving 110% each performance is not only commonplace but mandatory. They’ve also been doing this as a group, even to the point of living together, since their teens – writing, rehearsing and performing most waking hours of any given day.
So for the dedication alone you have to give them high marks. They also exhibit a work ethic not many bands are capable of doing over here – they also love their fans and the fan/artist exchange borders on a love-in at most concerts.
Since I began Past Daily I have been dedicated to familiarizing people with what’s going on outside the box. It is ultimately an enriching experience; one that lets you know a whole world exists and it begs you to discover it. You may or may not like it, but it’s there and it has no intention of doing any harm. Music has always been the go-to place for sanctuary and inspiration.
So sit back, relax – grab lunch (or an early dinner) and press Play. The concert is a little over 2 hours but it feels like 30 minutes. Remember, it’s live – no second takes, no safety nets – a slight breather here and there, but otherwise non-stop.
Dive in.
