I guess this is a surprise, and my brain is 100% fried :)

"Idea" is the third part of Taemin's Never Gonna Dance Again album, which is part of a trilogy. The story starts out with his prologue "2 Kids," and continues with "Criminal" which is part of Act 1 of the album. "Idea" is part of Act 2 of the album and it brings the whole concept full circle. As mentioned before, Taemin said in an interview: "The two acts put together tell a story. '2 Kids’ is about growing pains and depicts the story prior to the story in the album. You can think of '2 Kids' as a teaser before the movie called 'Never Gonna Dance Again.' Act 1 shows a new side of me. I think it’ll be something you’ve never seen in K-pop before. And Act 2 is the end-all-be-all. It’s the ultimate level of intensity." Taemin pronounces Idea the way you hear him saying it because he is pronouncing it like the Greek word idéa, and not like the English pronunciation. The song is based on the Greek philosopher Plato’s theory of Ideas. Plato believed that an "Idea" is an ultimate reality. Every form has an idea, an image, or standard set for it and Plato believed that these ideas were eternal. For example, when talking about a human, everyone has an image, an ideal type of human according to Plato and once defined that description or thought is constant and never changing. In the song Teamin is disagreeing with Plato's theory and he is saying that the world is not ruled by one ultimate definition of something or that there isn't only one voice. Taemin is saying he has many voices and thoughts influencing him. If he were to conform to only one way of doing something -- i.e., if he listened to everyone who told him there was only one way to be a Kpop Idol and he needed to do everything the traditional cookiecutter way -- then that would be like killing his spirit and everything that makes him who he is. Hence the lines in the song that say "Killing me softly." Fun fact: The female voice you hear saying "Killing me softly" is BoA. She is a solo artist also under SM Entertainment, and she is Taemin's highly respected senior who debuted with SM in 2000 at the age of 13 and, now after more than 21 years, she is known as one of the senior-most members of the industry. BoA is legend. To see what kind of influence BoA has had on the industry and why it is so fitting that she was included on this song, check out her recent "202020" documentary which was created as part of her 20th anniversary celebrations. Some have said, and I have to agree, that "Idea" is a metaphor for the way Taemin sees his career. He loves what he does, almost to the point of obsession -- like "my messiah" he is drawn to it and can't help worship it -- he practically needs to dance and perform to survive. But, at the same time, it pretty much controls his life and living as an Idol means everything he does is done in the public eye and he will never be able to live a normal life -- his "dangerous dream" that is engulfing him and "swallowing him" up. The stress and constant demand for perfection he feels may be slowly "Killing me softly," etc. I particularly like the verse in "Idea" that says, "The blue light, When you and I face each other, Stained in it, All one's feelings, It's an infinite range, In my world, Most dazzling,The absolute value of you, My my IDEA." These lines seem to be talking about Taemin's fans. SHINee's fan color is pearl aqua blue, so the blue light you see in the MV and the blue light he talks about in the lyrics of "Idea," makes me think he is referring to the impact and influence the fans have had on everything he has done in his career. And although he loves and appreciates us, it has not come without a few sacrifices and negative aspects as well. The mutual love and respect between Taemin and the fans also has added a lot of extra pressure on him because he always wants to give people his absolute best and he is constantly trying to live up to an impossible standard of self-imposed flawlessness. So with every release from this album, the concept was designed to be darker than the last. In "2 Kids" he was emotionally and physically beating himself up with regrets and in "Criminal" he was living in a toxic relationship and being brainwashed to the point he was suffering from stockholm syndrome; he fell in love with the person/criminal (or thing -- i.e. his career) who is essentially inflicting all the pain and suffering on him. So, in other words, even though you are being abused by that person (possibly a metaphor for the pressure he is creating for himself as he pushes himself in his pursuit of perfection) he still can't help but love the criminal (i.e. his career) and allow them/it to continue to cause him to suffer, etc. :D "Idea" takes the theme one step further, and says that even though it was my idea and my plan to live this life, nothing comes without a price, and because of that need to be perfect, any chance of being average or living a regular life is pretty much dead. Taemin has sacrificed everything to become the magnificent and unique performer and person that we know him as today. If you are impressed with Taemin's dancing, just wait until you see his dance practice video for "Idea." You will be even more blown away. You should also see Taemin's "Idea" dance tutorial video where he teaches Haechan from NCT and Ten from WayV the choreography and explains the concept and story behind some of the moves. As I said, Taemin is on a whole other level. Taemin's choreography is very much influenced by him. Although he has input in almost everything he does, he has choreographers that come up with the choreography for most of his dances and he then infuses it with his own ideas and style and makes it uniquely his. The way Taemin dances is just the way he moves. His movements are effortless. If you watch Taemin dance more, you will see that no matter who choreographs the dance, it will always be very Taemin-like. Many choreographers who have worked with him over the years have said that, with Taemin you can't help but allow him to move in whatever way his body takes him. Taemin is art in every sense of the word. :D Taemin's style of dance can't be defined. As he has said, he has worked his entire career to create a style of dance that is unlike anything in the Kpop industry. And I would argue that that now extends to the entire industry of dance. Taemin started out as a self-taught popper and locker without any dance training, and, even then, as a trainee it was clear his skills as a dancer went far beyond the average dancer. Over the years, as you see with "Idea," he has infused those popping and locking skills into his now more contemporary style of dance. But, when it comes to dancing, he can do it all and there is no one better at it than him. Taemin's talents are one reason why SHINee are one of the top groups in the industry and why they have such legendary status. SHINee is made up of some of the absolute best singers, dancers and performers in the entire industry. With almost 14 years since their debut, they still command one of the top spots. When Taemin debuted in 2008 as part of SHINee he was only 14 years old and, yet, he was already known as one of the best dancers in the industry, and he has only gotten more magnificent over the years.

Additionall info: The song is based on Plato's allegory of the cave 🤯 The ideas world, the silhouettes and the final verse of "The night that cut you out of me, I finally opened my eyes" he was finally able to get out of the cave.

HE'S THE KING OF KPOP.

I forget if you've reacted to "Heaven" yet...? If not, that song is a MUST listen... Taemin is in a league of his own. Also his Advice "Be Original" performance is a must see too. 🙃

According to my knowledge, why what I’ve understood of the video, the contrast between the blue and red in the video does represent heaven and hell, and this kind of duality of an idea, because as you said in the video is both what is guiding him and killing him at the same time. I think that he’s talking about how he came to terms with this reality that we all have good and bad sides to ourselves, and how being encapsulated in one only idea of how we should be, we are causing ourselves some harm as we think we are doing a good. So it may be freeing himself from the idea he had of himself and accepting the change and the various side we can have as human beings. I enjoyed your reaction so much! Hope to see you again reacting to Taemin

Love this.❤️ Taemin is literally living, breathing art in motion. The fluidity of every movement is mesmerizing. He was born to dance, it’s seems as natural to him as breathing.

Taemin is my ultimate bias, my utt not only in kpop but of all genres. His mind!!!! Absolutely genius!!! Hope you see more of him, maybe him on Shinee and the other members. I love your analysis of his videos and lyrics, I feel so represented!! And Brazil is watching you in all the videos, your work is amazing!! 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷❤️❤️❤️

Every man and woman love Taemin's beauty and innocence. Please continue with his music.

TAEMIN is the hard - working and talented artist TAEMIN is the different level. THE KING of kings

You had a lot of good insights! I think this is the hardest of his songs to grasp the meaning of, and I think it is even harder when you don't have the context that he was referring to Plato's Theory of Forms, which is a philosophical concept that basically states that physical objects have a higher form (an "idea" which is pronounced in the Greek way "ee-day-a") which encompasses the entirety of the concept of that object (for example you can have an apple in your hand, and in your mind you have a concept of Apple which is an abstract ideal of all the characteristics that make up a perfect example of "apple"). So this song Idea is building off of the realization contained within Criminal, in which Taemin is warring within himself over his two halves. In Idea he is striving to reach that ideal version of himself. In the very beginning of the MV, he is literally split in two (both halves answering the phone), and throughout the MV you see different versions of himself: a hellish version, a heavenly version, a version that to me feels like Purgatory (or perhaps a different version, perhaps the narrator?). There is the mercurial duplicate of himself that appears, half-formed and unstable, like a gradually developing ideal Taemin. In the lyrics he is still battling within himself, striving to improve and work towards and hopefully grasp his ultimate ideal self, his own personal "idea", the purest intrinsic essence of who he is. The final lyrics of the song are him opening his eyes and achieving that goal. This is my interpretation of the the MV and the lyrics, at least. There is a ton of detail and complexity in the lyrics and the MV itself, and a lot of ways to interpret it. Taemin is definitely never boring! 😂 Thanks for reacting to him again! I really enjoy your reactions and the way you break down the video. Normally I don't like excessive pausing, but that is only because normally the reactor doesn't contribute anything substantial during those pauses. But whenever you pause you have some insight or interesting thing to say, so I don't mind it at all for your videos. ❤️

Taemin is amazing and living art.Please continue to discover Taemin and his group SHINee！They are all great artist

Taemin's music is so god damn cryptic and multi-layered, I truly believe the only person who actually understands all of it is Taemin himself. Good job on figuring all of this stuff out. I could never do that, I'm just here to vibe to some good music. The female voice in this song is BoA! One of the OG idols from SM. She's been in the industry longer than most 4th gen idols have been alive. She was also part of Girls On Top. If there's ever a second season of Kingdom, I really hope that Taemin competes. He would probably occupy the same position that Hyolyn does in Queendom 2. A solo artist who is so amazing that he makes even the biggest and best groups think "shit, we're in DEEP trouble" when he appears during the introductions. Thank you for the reaction. I hope you also eventually find the time to check out his group SHINee. Onew is in that group too!

Yes! Idea is part 2 of Criminal. IDEA is pronounced the Greek way purposely and is a part of the entire concept meaning. I literally can't say enough about Taemin and how good of an artist he is in all aspects. Glad you got to react to him again!

I’ve just started watching and can’t wait to see you go bonkers with this because there are SO MANY layers and hidden meanings with both the song and MV. Taemin played with Plato’s Theory of Idea (hence the Greek pronunciation) and Form vs Identity. Watching your mind being blown is awesome. lol. “Killing Me Softly” is being sang by the queen herself, BoA.

He loves religious iconography and symbolism. I loved your interpretation of this song! I had only taken it at its surface appearance of good vs. evil, his two dueling sides maybe? But your interpretation is deeper and I really enjoyed it. Have you seen Want? He is the devil in Want, and there is even an Eve and serpents and the Gates of Hell and temptation and just... it's so good.

Taemin’s solo work is true artistry and just amazing. Never light hearted or what others would do, he’s been compared to Michel Jackson in terms of they are true artists.

To me, this song is about the process of creation - the process of the artist birthing ideas into reality whether it is music, art, dance. Those creative ideas - before becoming reality - can consume (i.e. obsession = unhealthy = killing the artist; Taemin is a famous workaholic and perfectionist) a person. It is only when the creative idea is fully really realized (i.e., cut out from his heart) that the artist - Taemin - can break from that obsession and "open his eyes." Why are the ideas also the "messiah"? Because for many artists, it is the creative process, their creative drive, that is the only thing that permits them to process reality or make sense of the world. Many writers, for example, are only happy when they are writing although it can be a terribly painful process - full of starts and stops - that generates self-doubt and uncertainty.

I can't wait for you to see #TAEMIN #WANT! i love to see different interpretation, you are truly gifted when you see through Taemin's artistry, you're rare! got an eye and appreciation for higher form of art!

Also, I didn't mention this but the violin reminds me of the Dexter ost, Dexter did have a "Dark Passanger" 0_0

I’m so glad you reacted to this song finally, it’s my all time favorite Taemin song as of right now. It sounds so dreamy and intoxicating, I love it.

I love your reaction! Yes painful life mixed with blessings. He is legendary! Always has religious undertones to his videos.

I’m always seeing the “stairway to heaven” and the “gates of hell” and the in between which can be the ‘real world’ or the earth realm

This is my favourite Taemin song of all time. Such a masterpiece!

Aww I loved your reaction, it actually adds some thougths to mine. The fact that the album is called Never Gonna Dance Again is also SO heavy. The quality of his work is so so high, it frustrates me he's not more known, like Beyonce-known (same with his group Shinee).

Taemin is my favourite kpop solo artist and is one, if not the best. I can't keep my eyes off him. MOVE, DANGER, WANT, CRIMINAL, IDEA (on helipad) are a few of my faves. All his songs are great and he keeps transforming! I can't wait for his comeback. Thanks for this. You're amazing!

YAYYY Thank you so much for checking out Taemin's work again -- I always love when you react to more artistic pieces / concepts because you analyze all the intricate aspects of it, and you know they put so much thought into every detail for these Taemin's solo work is truly incredible and he's grown into such an iconic artist over the years it's amazing to see Idea is my favorite Taemin title track, I love everything about it :)

i'm a simple girl, i see a taemin reaction and i click it there's a reason why taemin is the ace of all aces. my guy always delivers no matter what. it's like he was born for this and i'm grateful everyday to have seen him grow as an artist despite all the struggles. please consider reacting to shinee (the group taemin is in) as well as the other members' solo stuff (you've already reacted to onew's comeback so i'm winning here). they all have very distinct styles and ways of telling stories and it's really amazing to watch. i believe you will enjoy the experience.

Enjoyed your interpretation. I’ve seen this video countless times, but there’s always something new someone’s pointed out or an interpretation which makes me see it in a different light. Thank you. Teamin is so special. Beautiful to watch. Idea is so mesmerising, captivating and so haunting.

You have some great insights into this story. However, here's my take on the meaning for this part of Taemin's NGDA storyline. I'm basing this upon being a long-time Taemin fan who has studied his music, and having the commonality of being a Christian like him (although I'm not Catholic). Of course, either of us could be correct -- only Taemin has the actual answers. "IDEA" (Act 2) employs the concept of Plato's Theory of Forms which states that any created being (form) cannot create itself. Only an outside power/being can be the creator and only that creator (Messiah) can make or be perfection. This philosophy fits in perfectly with Taemin's Christian worldview. Since Plato was Greek, Taemin uses the Greek pronunciation of the words, "IDEA" and "Messiah". In this song, victim Taemin is finally getting a glimpse of what he considers the perfect "IDEA" of Taemin as created by his Messiah. That perfect being must become a blending of both, as he is a part of both egos (we see this illustrated in the epilogue song, "Advice", where Taemin wears a blended suit of black/white). However, before that "IDEA" of perfection can be achieved, there has to be a death and resurrection. This resurrection is realized through being refined by fire. In "Criminal", Taemin says, "Destroy me more". He understands that to move forward to the next level, he needs to be refined through destruction and made new again. Along with the visuals (Hell = "Criminal"; Heaven = "Victim" reborn/resurrected/perfected) the lyrics also illustrate his thinking. In the first two stanzas we see the victim awakening to the realization of the fact that there's something he's grasping for but is not quite understanding it yet. It's an inkling of an awareness/voices whispering of something more in him, this "IDEA" of self he's pursuing. This "IDEA" is his Messiah. It will reveal all if he can only grasp firmly onto it, "It drives me crazy" he says because he's on the tip of understanding and that fact is "Killing me softly". Taemin says, "I can't see; I can't hold; Define me anew before I know it; Everything in me doubles". This "IDEA" is elusive and causes him to think in the duality of "criminal" and "victim". It causes pain. He goes on to reiterate how elusive this "IDEA" is, but then you see him plead, "The moment that made me believe; Throw me beyond that." In other words, the fact that he now believes that he may have an inkling to the answer, push him over the edge and give it to him straight. It's this stanza that cements it for me after reading it again and again: Flowing on me The blue light When you and I face each other Stained in it All one's feelings It's an infinite range In my world Most dazzling The absolute value of you My my IDEA You are you are you are (killing me) Couple of things you need to know. "The blue light" represents the blue-green signature color for SHINee World (SHINee's fandom and SHINee itself) Despite the fact that Taemin is a renown solo artist and member of SuperM, he began as a member of SHINee in 2008. He calls SHINee his "home". He is most comfortable and secure when with SHINee. During an interview in 2019 with IHeart Radio, Taemin explained the way he thinks of being and performing with SHINee and it's almost identical to the next lines: "Flowing on me; The blue light; When you and I face each other; Stained in it; All one's feelings; It's an infinite range; In my world; Most dazzling; The absolute value of you (SHINee and SHINee World). To sum it up, I think this is Taemin saying, I'm not this two-dimensional character of either celebrity or non-celebrity. I'm SHINee, the whole package with my SHINee hyungs. I'm all of those characters wrapped up into one shining being - SHINee Taemin. That is the perfect scenario for him; the grand "IDEA" and revelation. He doesn't have to worry about which is which. His Messiah made him who he is: one person who is part of SHINee, a soloist, and member of SuperM. A trinity of entities. All of these entities make up who he really is whether celebrity or non-celebrity. They are the sum total of the person Taemin, created in the image of Messiah. ("image" in the Bible doesn't mean "looks like". It means "as a representative of". Humans are to be representatives of God on Earth. The last stanza mentions, "The night that cut you out of me" was his last night of doubt and "I finally opened my eyes," dawning realization of the truth = he is TAEMIN. "Advice" is the aftermath - epilogue - of the entire story. In the opening, you see him battle scarred but ready to begin his new chapter as the reborn Taemin...and he comes out strong, stating I will take my own advice from now on, meaning even more control over his artistry.

I love how the lightning also appears like neurons and synapses firing in the brain, creating an idea.

That female voice from the song is sang by BoA, the queen of Kpop.

I really appreciate your hard work of decoding Taemin's concepts, his artistic visions are always so complex and detailed, it can be an absolute joy but also worst nightmare to go through it and make sense of it. Due to your videos on Taemin art I started to pay attention to many little details and symbolisms, your analysis are always the best, please do Taemin's Heaven or Famous if you have time 🙏

Taemin is Art... Thanks for react to the idol of idols

Idea is a masterpiece

i found your channel thanks to your taemin reaction, i really really appreciate that you dive deep in them, you are definitely one of my favorite reactors

ive been WAITING so LONG for this reaction

Taemin is a true artist. His Japanese mv's are like movies. Sayonara Hitori and Flame of Love ❤

Next one is (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y7WWgs6au6zRmIE.html) with different style! The MV is worth seeing a hundred times. In my opinion, the director performed exceedingly well on film editing and lighting.

Taemin ❤❤❤❤

Want and Press Your Number are also very interesting in terms of symbolism/concepts

Next one please reaction Taemin iconic song Move and I suggest dance practice too because only MV is not enough ^^

태민이는 사랑입니다 😘😘😘💕

He always fo The Cross pose .

Taemin makes music videos for people like you

A female voice in MV is BOA.

TAEMIN el el IDOL DE IDOLS El REY de REYES del K-POP. Todos sus performer conciertos son ARTE. Es un cantante bailarín único Maravilloso .Creo su estilo dentro del K-POP T-POP . pliss reacciona 2 KITS. SAHONARA HISTORI GOODBYE .FLAME OF LOVE . DANGER .FAMOUS .MOVE MV .. SEXUALITY WUESS WHO .LIVE NIPPON BUDOKAN Japón FANTASTICO. En lo personal el mejor artista del K-POP. 👑♠️

SM groups each have their theories but the craziest thing is that these theories are interrelated between groups, and it is what is called SM CU (SM Culture Universe). This started with aespa, and includes groups like EXO, Redvelvet, Super M, NCT, aespa, and soloists like BoA, Taemin. It's all crazy. Sorry for my English but I don't speak it and I use a translator

Speaking about duality, IIRC Taemin at some point said that he actually has different persona for the stage. He said he made the 'Idol Taemin' persona to make him less stressed when he doesn't do well or being criticized by other people, so when they actually do that he can assure himself that the one getting criticized is 'Idol Taemin' and not at his true self. As a fan, I can guarantee that his off-stage and on-stage aura is very different indeed. Maybe the song references to his old self when he's battling the ideas in himself before he made his other persona, and the lyric 'on the night I cut you out from my heart' maybe means when he finally separate his on-stage persona? And 'finally I open the eyes' probably means he finally realized what he have to do. Sorry to get all philosophical about this lol thank you for reacting to Taemin, I hope you react to him more!

I really enjoy your reactions to Taemin ! 🤍 Thank you so much for reacting and keep going we want more Taemin!!🤍

Thank you for reacting to Taemin. This was so good! Want next please!

Both Rian and Simeez appeared on SWF.

Incase no one mentioned the female voice is non other than the legend herself BoA

It's okay to be speechless sometimes just enjoy it

I love your reactions, your commentary is always so insightful and interesting 💙

That was an amazing reaction! 🔥

No...In fact, idea is Not an 'word' idea that means thinking, but an idea that means the truth of all things learned by the eyes based on the visible shape. Idea theory was first proposed by Plato. The song "Idea" is about finding a new self and flying

IF YOU WATCH WANT YOU’LL LOOSE YOUR MIND!!!!!!! CHECK THAT PLEASE

please react to 0X1 LOVESONG from TXT im begging screaming, they're having a cb in a few days it would be great if you knew them before it 💟💟💟💟

Your reactions are seriously sooo good. I love seeing someone really dig deep into MVs!!! I fully recommend checking out ONEUS one day too! Their lyrics are especially just so good. Personal recommendations are Come Back Home, A Song Written Easily and To Be Or Not To Be!! But No Diggity is also good if you want a song that is lowkey psychopathic and very wild when you read the lyrics

Idea is referring to one of Friedrich Nietze's philosophies called Ideas, especially the one in which he says that God is dead, and we humans should free ourselves from religion and find the meaning of life by ourselves through philosophy and the arts and so forth. Taemin is Catholic, and I feel that he is questioning his life and career, almost like he's telling us what he's struggling with (all these roles he has to fullfill in his life; from maknae, solo artist, son, friend, icon without actually really knowing who he is or, moreso, not knowing when/fearing to be himself - including the "darker" side - because he also believes that he'll be punished.)

Falto review en el titulo.

You definitely have to react to woodz

Looking back on this and I think you can even kind of connect this with Criminal, it reminds me of Schizophrenia. The idea of voices in your head and most of the time they aren't good ideas they hear

Hi, i am back. Good reaction, ty. Jimin is pals with Taemin. They have a lot in common i hear. They also did a dance together. So i slowly started to listen to his songs. I love Sayonara Hitori /Goodbye (japanese) by him. It's beautiful. Hope u check it out. On 1st listen I did not like Idea. Basically I had the same reaction to this as to Danger. It was not catchy. I do think he a good dancer and he cute. But this song was not for me. Now months later i like this one. The song grew on me. To me he is saying his persona of Taemin his idea is trying to kill him. He is struggling internally. New Taemin bias here. Looking forward to learning more. Hope that u check out his dance practices too. With Taemin it's a must. Hugs. -NY USA 2019 Army💟 "What genre of music is this?" Me: "TAEMIN." 😅 baby cheese said on 4/23/21 Unconventional is pretty much the word that sums up quite well Taemin’s musical, conceptual and overall artistic choices and this is exactly what makes me love him so much! Because however you wanna look at that he is just different in the best possible meaning of this word - different as in unique, original and yes sometimes even shocking! And all of this combined with his absolutely gorgeous visuals and insane talent and musical intelligence makes him the legend that he is and will be for years to come. Because let’s face it - there are great vocalists out there and great dancers out there, but there is NO ONE as original as him and who can match his level of performance! Lee Taemin is at this point an Emperor of Kpop!!!

Pls check out dpr live's "yellow cab" he's so good 😭

Please react to woodz - I hate you Or any of his music videos tbh they are so good

Taemin is amazing (ノ^o^)ノ Please react to woodz "i hate you" MV

Pleased, reacting to "SF9" KPop band. Thanks 🤗

Thank you very much for this great reaction. Please more EXO, more KAI. Please react to their 'Mama', 'Tempo' and Film:KAI. I'm really sure you will like it.

I thought it went idea, criminal, then advice...that's just my best guess though😅

Tal vez pk sufre depresion, ansiedad y panico escenico, ademas de haberse suicidado un miembro de su grupo Shinee