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Read what Taemin had to say about “Criminal” and Never Gonna Dance Again Act 1 below.

Herman: Thank you so much for taking some time to chat about the album, I know you’ve been incredibly busy lately. Never Gonna Dance Again Act 1 arrived earlier this month, and you’re about to release Super One with SuperM. How are you feeling?

Taemin: Yes, I’ve been busy obviously, but I’ve also had some time to rest before these albums came out so I think that time was a good time for me to prep and get ready. This period is busy, but it’s a time when I can quench that thirst of wanting to fulfill what I want to do, to perform, to meet my fans, to be on stage and connect with them in that way. I’m really thankful that a lot of fans are loving “Criminal.” SuperM’s “One” just came out so I’m excited to see what fans think of that as well.

Herman: You spent much of the last year working and touring, pre-corona, with SuperM and it’s been over a year since you released your last solo project, your Japanese EP Famous. So how does it feel to be back as Taemin the solo artist?

Taemin: With this comeback, I think it was particularly a moment of growth for me as an artist just because I had a lot more personal input with this album in terms of what the music video looked like – visually and with the production of that – the album, the title track itself, and all the other songs on the album. I kind of had my hands all over it. Whereas before I did have my personal opinions intertwined into previous albums, back then I felt more like an observer, kind of just seeing how things kind of come together. But this time I was able to experience everything firsthand so that was cool for me.

Herman: What changed about the experience that resulted in you being more in control creatively?

Taemin: Previously, I still had my opinions about what songs I’d like, what kind of music I’d like on the album. But this time around, I took it upon myself to be more directly involved. I suggested to the internal teams which producers and writers I wanted to work with. In “Criminal” there’s a narration in the bridge and that was my idea that I bounced off with producers and developed on my own. Same with the music video. I selected which director I wanted to work with and developed the creative vision with him from the beginning. In the choreography, I had a lot of my own personal input in it. You know that part where my hands were tied? That was my idea.

Herman: What made you want to go in that creative direction?

Taemin: I think I just really wanted to emphasize my individual talent and showcase my character as an artist, my own individual style. Because music is something that can be very trendy, I wanted to make sure that with this album I was able to differentiate myself from other artists by emphasizing what makes Taemin “Taemin.” What makes these performances and these songs strictly ones I can do.

Herman: If you had to describe what makes Taemin “Taemin,” what would you say?

Taemin: Honestly, I’m still sorting that out and that’ll be my forever assignment as an artist. For me, it’s not necessarily that there’s any direction or idea I specifically feel I need to go towards as an artist. But it’s more about what I feel or hear people saying about my music, what is definitively “Taemin” in other people’s eyes. I think that’s what’s important.  

Herman: To be honest, when I heard the title for the first time, my heart dropped a bit. It felt like the sort of album title an artist would release when they’re ready to retire. I doubt that was your intent in crafting this title, but what does the idea “Never Gonna Dance Again” mean to you?

Taemin: It’s a bit of an ironic title. I think what I wanted to emphasize was that rebellious side of myself by saying “I’m never gonna dance again.” But everybody knows that that’s not what I’m really saying. In the past, many people have been expecting great performances or specific kind of performances from me and I think it was within that line of thought, of rebelling against [the expectations], me trying to say, “I’m never gonna dance again in this style that people expect me to.” So I think, personally, there’s a deeper meaning of restarting. Just kind of starting over.

Herman: Does this album series feel, to you, like a resetting of your career?

Taemin: I think I definitely do want that to be the case. As you know, this album series is supposed to be a series where there’s a prologue, Act 1 and Act 2. And I think with those different releases I want to reconstruct the way people see me as an artist personally.

Herman: This reset of an album series began with two singles, so I’m curious about why you wanted to pair “2 Kids” with “Criminal”? They’re quite discordant.

Taemin: For “2 Kids” it’s about pain, the pain that comes with love and a broken heart. That’s why in the music video I have scars on my face. That’s kind of the basis of that. The storyline kind of builds with that pain, then moves onto “Criminal” with a dark, internal feeling. Act 2 will show myself rising up from the ashes. I think people will like it and I hope people expect something great from that as well.

Herman: You co-wrote “2 Kids.” What inspired the song?

Taemin: “2 Kids” is basically about young love and being young. Thinking, “Maybe it could have been different or things could have changed.” I think while I was writing these lyrics, I was thinking not necessarily about my experience with love but it was more about when I was younger. Thinking about the conflicts that I had with other people and using that as the inspiration to the lyrics for this.

Herman: This isn’t necessarily related to your album but as we’re talking it is [SHINee member] Key’s birthday, someone who you’ve been with since you were young. I happened to see your post from last year where you raided his closet to celebrate his birthday is going viral again. I’m wondering if you’re going to do any more “Criminal” activities to celebrate this year?

Taemin: [Laughs] Unfortunately, I don’t have any “Criminal” activities planned for this year. I was trying to be the first one to text him “Happy Birthday” at midnight but unfortunately I fell asleep. The first thing I did this morning was text him that I was sorry I didn’t text him at midnight but he said that was totally fine. He was actually more concerned about me, checking up on my health and everything because we’ve been really busy.  

Herman: What's the difference between soloist Taemin, SHINee’s Taemin and SuperM’s Taemin?

Taemin: As a soloist, the responsibility is heavily on my own shoulders regarding the creative direction the album takes, the promotion, etc. So I feel the weight of that for sure. With SHINee, I’ve always been the youngest member so I’m just used to seeing what the other guys do and learning from them. When I’m with SHINee, I’m more of the type to lean on them and go along with what everyone says. With SuperM, this group has such a clear goal since it was formed, and for me knowing that there is a clear goal, and knowing how this group was put together makes me want to work really hard. Because within SuperM I’m one of the older members, I always try to check up on the younger guys as well. We’ve been really busy so I just have been checking up on them here and there.

Herman: You transcend generational boundaries as you’ve been active as a K-pop artist since the late ’00s and have continued going strong ever since, both as a soloist and being part of two different acts. In a fast-paced industry like K-pop, how do you feel about this achievement?

Taemin: I blinked and [over a decade] passed. That’s how fast I feel the time flew. It almost doesn’t feel like much time has passed, but then I look back and realize that I have this great career behind me and so many new artists have come out, so many great groups have debuted. But the way that I notice that time has passed so much is in the way that artists promote their albums and release their music these days. Back in the day, digital or online content wasn’t a big thing. But now there are so many possibilities and there’s a lot more freedom about how you can promote your music.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’m kind of more on the side of being very individualistic and doing the type of music that’s kind of different from other people. Just for me, seeing how the industry has grown and so many different group have come out, watching how K-pop has expanded has been cool. I think just for me personally, it’s more of an individualistic sort of choice.

This interview was conducted in English and Korean with the facilitation of a translator, and was edited for clarity.