When SHINee, consisting of Taemin, Minho, Onew, Key, and Jonghyun †, debuted in 2008, few could have predicted just how influential the group would become. The second generation of K-pop artists brought something genuinely new to popular music, creating a blueprint that continues to change the industry today. Eighteen years later, that legacy feels stronger than ever. While many fans still dream of a full SHINee European tour, the group’s members have found another way to remain present on the global stage: through carefully chosen festival appearances and solo performances that introduce new audiences to what makes them so extraordinary.

One such occasion came at BST Hyde Park in London, one of the UK’s most prestigious music festivals. Running since 2013, BST has become synonymous with major headline performances and unforgettable summer evenings. On Sunday, 28 June, the Great Oak Stage welcomed some of the day’s biggest names, including British R&B trio FLO, Taemin, and headliners ATEEZ, making for an exceptionally varied line-up.

Writing about Taemin after seeing him perform live feels strangely difficult. Not because there is too much to say, but because every description somehow feels inadequate. You can discuss the technical perfection of his dancing, the control of his voice, or the magnetism of his stage appearance, but those things alone never fully explain why thousands of people stand in silence one moment and scream the next. Taemin has spent eighteen years proving that he belongs among the greatest performers of his generation, yet somehow he continues to surprise.

As the afternoon sun settled over Hyde Park, excitement had already been building for hours. The crowd roared the moment Taemin stepped onto the stage. Opening with Sexy In The Air before moving into WANT, the title track from his 2019 mini-album, Taemin immediately reminded everyone why he continues to be one of K-pop’s most extraordinary artists.

There’s something about Taemin’s performances that you can’t really teach; it doesn’t just come from years on stage, but from the way he completely trusts what he does. When he began his set with WANT, he took over the Great Oak Stage within seconds.

“What’s up, London? How are you today?” Taemin called out before continuing, “It’s good to be back in one of my favourite cities.” The cheers only grew louder. “I am honoured to be invited to BST Hyde Park,” he added, before moving into PERMISSION. After nearly two decades in the industry, Taemin still performs with the same sense of gratitude and excitement, as though every stage still truly matters.

PERMISSION, his English–Korean release, performed under the hot London sun, gave me a feeling of freedom, especially in the lines “Don’t need no permission (Oh) / I’m gonna do what I want when I wanna / Don’t need no permission (Oh)”, which fit the festival setting perfectly. It is especially impressive to watch an artist eighteen years into his career still willing to experiment and challenge himself, without ever losing sight of what made him special in the first place.

Criminal followed next. Originally released as part of Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 1 in 2020, the song remains one of Taemin’s most spellbinding performances. Accompanied by his dancers, he transformed the vast Hyde Park stage into something theatrical. The heat of the day seemed almost irrelevant compared to what was happening on stage. Perhaps no other performer understands the relationship between movement and emotion quite like Taemin. His choreography is never simply choreography; it is storytelling through the body itself.

And yet, just when you think you understand what makes him exceptional, he performs MOVE.

Released in 2017, MOVE is one of those performances that just works in a way that’s hard to put into words. Seeing Taemin perform it live still feels unreal, even now. The choreography, with its soft, sensual flow, hasn’t lost anything over time; if anything, it feels even bolder. He moves through it so naturally, like every gesture already belongs to him.

By the time Guilty came on, Hyde Park was fully in his hands. Starting alone on stage, Taemin delivered one of the most powerful moments of the day. The choreography moved between vulnerability and desire with beautiful control, while his voice stayed clean throughout. When the dancers eventually joined him, the performance expanded in scale without ever losing its emotional centre. Those high notes, delivered so well after an already physically demanding set, showed once again why Taemin is in a league of his own in many respects.

Advice, released shortly before his military enlistment in 2021, was full of power. The choreography was unforgiving, yet Taemin threw himself into every movement with real focus, as if driven by something new each time he returned to it. Even after all these years, there was still a hunger in his stage work that many younger artists spend their entire careers trying to find.

Let Me Be The One, performed for the first time at Coachella earlier this year, was sung entirely in English. The song itself has a wonderful classic pop sound at its centre, with a gentle throwback feel, drawing from early K-pop and artists like Michael Jackson. And, without any surprises here, Taemin delivered it beautifully once again.

The final song, 1004, felt like it summed up Taemin better than anything else that day. Although not officially released, it was met with real warmth from the audience. There was something special about seeing thousands of people embrace a song not because it was a hit or trending online, but simply because it came from him.

Countless talented artists are working in K-pop today, many of whom continue to push the genre in exciting directions, but Taemin exists in a space very few artists ever reach. He inspires, he entertains, he makes people cry and then makes them smile moments later. He can perform the most physically demanding choreography imaginable and still communicate vulnerability with the smallest movement of his hand.

Eighteen years into his career, he no longer has anything left to prove. Yet somehow, every time he steps onto a stage, he performs as though everything still matters. As the sun slowly disappeared over Hyde Park and the crowd continued to chant his name, one thing became impossible to deny: no matter how many new stars emerge, Taemin will always shine differently.

And perhaps that is because legends do not compete with anyone; they simply outlast the moment.

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Written by Maggie Gogler

Featured image courtesy of BST Hyde Park & Galaxy Corporation & Taemin

_{View of the Arts is an online publication dedicated to film, music, and the arts, with a strong focus on the Asian entertainment industry. As we continue to grow, we aim to deepen our coverage of Asian music while remaining committed to exploring and celebrating creativity across the global arts landscape.}