SHINee - Ring Ding Dong

A few days ago when the full MP3 to this song was released I said I'd wait for the video to come out before I review this. Well, the video's out and they've performed it live already - time for me to write a long, dragging review! Also for non-K-pop fan readers, apologies for the abundance of K-pop lately - you wouldn't believe the amount of new stuff continuously coming out right now, it's like when GA, The Sats, The Sugababes, Leon Jackson, Agnes, SD and Take That all had albums in the same month or at least near each other. ANYWAY.

For the longest time SHINee have been SM's young boyband - the songs they've been performing are young in the sense that they'll never, ever be what I call world domination songs. World domination songs are like DBSK's Rising Sun and O, Super Junior's U, Rain's I'm Coming and a ton of others - they're serious and they eventually go on to the gigantic hits. Although over the years (actually this year), the definition for world domination song has changed, it now has to be auto-tuned. *sarcastically* GREAT. Modern-day world domination songs are Super Junior's Sorry Sorry, Super Junior's Sorry Sorry and Super Junior's Sorry Sorry. That's the standard right now, no one in my opinion has managed to outdo it.
OK, back to SHINee. At first I vaguely thought they were growing up - the obvious auto-tune and the repetitive hook was only given to Super Junior after 4 years, SHINee got it in 1. The more I saw the song in different forms (the teaser, the first live performance and now the video), the more I though they were really growing up. My hunch was right - they're planning to do a complete image change by the next album.

To be completely honest with you, I didn't think they'd do these types of songs this fast. BUT, it's here and they've made the video + album so I'll gobble it up.

Ring Ding Dong when I first heard it was uninteresting and yeah, maybe it was SHINee growing up but I didn't like it. Now that the HD video's out, I know why - this song is meant to be heard at high volumes, in damn good quality (I WANT THE PHYSICAL CD NOWWWWWWWW. No one's stopping me), kinda like a certain song we call Sorry Sorry (and It's You but that's a different story).

The only difference, and I hope you guys don't mind me saying this, is the fact that all of SHINee can sing their heads off - which is why they got a more melodic song. It's less repetitive during the chorus, a teensy bit less auto-tuned throughout and in my opinion, it's a lot more my taste than Sorry Sorry. But Sorry Sorry is a completely different song and Super Junior are a completely different band.

The verses are outstanding - I can die now knowing that Taemin's voice has EFFIN' GROWN UP A BIT!!!!!!! Hahah. AND Jonghyun's sound especially good on this song. Onew? Brilliant as always, need you ask? But really, I personally think this is SHINee changing for the best.

They need to change, they can't just be singing Replay and Love Like Oxygen forever - that would be boring and once they get a little older a bit awkward. They need a song to show everyone that they can do mature but still keep their existing fanbase - the song to my ears is like the melodic parts of their old stuff plus a new, older image and a repetitive hook fused together extremely well. After this single they can slowly make a complete 180, they're kinda doing what Girls Aloud in the UK did - slowly change but by the fourth of fifth album you can't spot any similarities with their first album.

Also, these guys have just blown every other new boyband out of the water - they're no match for SHINee, in my humble opinion. One because these guys can sing and two because they know how to pull of a song damn well, they're convincing. I mean, Key in eyeliner? Whoever thought he'd do it?

I repeat, this song is best listened to at extremely high volumes in good audio quality (otherwise known as an HD YouTube video or a physical CD). Ready to be blown away? Watch this:

5/5, this is gonna be big - I can feel it. Hahah.