SHINee’s Key hopes to be remembered as hard worker

Key, a member of the popular K-pop group SHINee, on Monday expressed a desire to be remembered as someone who always works hard and honestly in his career, releasing his first solo project after a year.

The new EP, “Pleasure Shop,” is Key’s third solo EP and follows his previous release, “Good & Great,” which came out in September last year.

The album due out at 6 p.m. tells the story of a shop selling pleasure to people and its owner, a cyborg named Key.

“Pleasure Shop” features six tracks, including the title track, “Overthink,” “I Know” and an English-language song, “Novacaine.”

The album primarily focuses on the house music genre, a departure from Key’s previous work.

Unlike before, he decided to start working on the album by choosing the house genre as the main style.

“The house genre has the charm of making people’s hearts race,” Key said during a media showcase for the album in Seoul. “As the chorus builds up, there’s an anticipation of what will come next. I’ve showcased the house genre with SHINee before, so I thought it would be great to present it as a solo artist as well.”

The title track, described as an electro-house song, blends a unique synthesizer pad pattern with a drum beat.

Key contributed to the songwriting, and delivers both fresh vocal performances and dynamic rap verses.

Regarding the title track, the singer noted it is “not a critique of modern society” but simply portrays a shop that sells joy.

“It might sound like a fun song, but I intentionally placed some unsettling points in the lyrics to indicate that you would not eventually find the joy you’re seeking,” he said.

Asked why he adopted the concept of a “cyborg that sells joy,” he explained: “I had this idea that the character luring people into buying pleasure in the shop should be emotionless. I wanted to explore what kind of entity would be capable of pretending to give joy while actually taking it away without feeling any guilt.”

When asked what brings him joy, the artist, who turned 33 on the day of the album’s release, responded that the work itself gives him joy rather than the result.

“When I saw the package of the album I created during a live performance yesterday, it looked so beautiful. The result of my work felt precious, like it was my own child. That brought me personal joy. The activity itself is joy.”

Key made his debut with SHINee in 2008 and has spent 16 years in the music industry. In addition to his work with SHINee, Key has established himself as a versatile entertainer, gaining popularity for his wit and presence on various TV variety shows.

Reflecting on his career, Key shared what keeps him motivated.

“When I was working as part of the group, the driving force was hearing people say, ‘They work really hard,’” he recalled.

“But as a solo artist, I’ve come to really appreciate that the jobs I get now are based on trust and belief in me. This is my profession, so I don’t think there’s any other driving force. I just want to remain someone who always works hard.”