SHINee decide to continue with February concerts as planned

​In 2017, SHINee confirmed that they would return to the stage as five in a Japan tour, titled SHINee WORLD THE BEST 2018～FROM NOW ON～. Fans were looking forward to the reunion, but received the sad news of Jonghyun’s passing in December. 

A few days after Jonghyun’s passing, S.M. Entertainment posted an announcement which shared, “The (SHINee) members and staff are still mourning and we can’t accept the reality (of Jonghyun’s passing). We are thinking carefully about what SHINee will do and we will respect the members’ decision as we face this sad situation (…) We will update you about their future promotions after we come to an agreement (with them, and) we ask for your understanding.”

​Yesterday (Jan 9), Minho, Key, Onew and Taemin made their intentions clear with handwritten letters uploaded on their official website.

In Key’s letter, he wrote, “There are times when I still shed tears because of the memories of Jonghyun hyung (a close older male friend) that come to mind, and my heart aches but I’m trying hard to overcome it (…) I know that everyone supports SHINee and even though I had a lot of worries, I thought that it wouldn’t be right to simply give everything up and simply hope that my heart would become whole.”

“We have decided to continue with the Japanese concerts as planned, and this is the decision that Jonghyun hyung would have wanted. I felt that keeping our promise and performing well would be the most SHINee-like thing for us to do.”

​In the other members’ letters, similar sentiments were echoed, with Onew stating, “I thought we wouldn’t be able to do the concert, but after hearing what Jonghyun’s mother said, which was to never give up, I promised that I have to work harder if that means I’ll be able to provide comfort to the many who miss him or are hurting, even though I’m lacking.”

There are a total of four concerts planned for this tour, with stops in Osaka on February 17 and 18, followed by two shows in Tokyo on February 26 and 27.