Greatest Hits:: SHINee: Everybody

 Finally a moment to breathe where I can get to this one. This was suggested to me via a Reddit comment by a user who asked me if I'd do this song because I'd mentioned it in my August wrap-up in the honorable mention category. No further details were incoming, but that's okay! In this case, I didn't need any. SHINee is the oldest group I've done so far for a Greatest Hits addition, and Everybody is also the oldest song I've done so far because it's a month older than Hush. So, reviewer hat off, and fan hat on. 

• Group: SHINee
• Debut Date: 2008 May 25
• Company: SM Entertainment
• Status: Active
• Album: Everybody
• Song: Everybody
• Release Date: 2013 October 14

My city doesn't have a ton of K-Pop things happening, so when things happen, I want to go to them, even if it's for a group I don't know well/listen to as a show of support so we can get more and hopefully for a group I listen to. In the case of SHINee, I knew An Encore, because I heard it during my 2PM phase as a suggestion and absolutely fell in love (it's still my favorite SHINee song). I knew Ring Ding Dong, because you'd have to live under a rock in order to be a K-Pop fan and not know that song, and even then, I think you'd still hear it under the rock. And I knew Sherlock, because of Seventeen (specifically Hoshi and Seungkwan)'s (also, I think it's fantastic how much the two groups seem to love each other) love for it. A K-Pop events group in my city did a showing of SHINee World IV, and so I went, and was exposed to a large number of SHINee music videos I'd never seen or heard before, including Everybody. When I tell you that music video fundamentally changed my understanding of what K-Pop could be, I wish I was exaggerating. 

I still haven't seen the like of it in recent days. Also, the eyeliner. The late 00s and the early 10s were definitely the era of eyeliner. Do I kind of miss it? Yes.

And then their performance of Everybody in SHINee World IV locked that song in as one of the standards for me. So here, have it. I'm also a huge fan of the way Minho clothes himself during the beginning, because it's so seamless with the choreography. One second, his jacket is unbuttoned, the next it is done up. So professional. Also, he makes me laugh from his expressions. 

But you know what I like the best? Dance practice videos. Do I like the ones showing the actual practice best? Yes. But there's something very special about the polished choreography versions because unlike in normal live performances, there's nothing to distract from the choreograph itself. And in the case of Everybody, this choreography is a work of art itself, and there are so many incredible key points to the choreography. Taemin and Onew aren't wrong. The other members throwing Taemin onto his feet and then the whole group immediately dancing is so impressive. The motorcycle choreography with Onew aggressively spinning his arms is both super cool (please read that in a French accent) and a little funny, like Vernon of Seventeen doing Lilli Yabbay. But the mechanical restarting choreography? The little finger wiggle under their chins? The jumping? The frequent sequential movements that just look so unbelievably smooth, especially when they're changing formations? The synchronization? This choreography goes so hard and is just so mesmerizing to watch, especially when we get to simply focus on the choreography.

That's a lot about the choreography, but the song itself is incredibly catchy, the vocalists get to unleash what they've got, and there are strategic sections where they aren't singing, which allows them all a moment to breathe a little more. That's a total of six high notes in the song, sung by four of the five members, which is about six more than some releases in the last year have gotten, but those notes also don't linger excessively for the most part and the song isn't that high on the whole, which makes those notes stand out more. Usually, they're also just an extension of the regularly established tune while the other members continue going. Vocal kings, and we wouldn't have had that without their hard work, so they deserve much praise and gratitude for it. 

Also, bring back the EDM dance break. Amazing.