Don't Call Me (album)

On January 6, 2021, SM Entertainment announced Shinee would return with a new album after two and a half years[2][3] as three of the members completed their military duties – members Onew, Key and Minho were discharged from the military in July, September and November, respectively.[4][5] In an online conference the members said the transition from soldiers to K-pop singers was not the easiest. Onew stated, "While I was adjusting, I felt that my body was dancing separately under my neck," and added "it's the members who helped me out a lot. They kept me going and elaborately went into the details for the choreography." Fellow member Minho, who served in the Marine Corps, said it took him "about two months to completely adjust."[6] Key talked about the pressure to match up to expectations with so much excitement for their new album but promised they would stay true to themselves and be diligent as they always have been. He also explained they chose "Don't Call Me" as the title track because they wanted a dramatic change from what they had been doing so far.[7]

Compared to previous releases, Don't Call Me features no overarching theme, and instead features songs that felt right for them, with Minho saying, "Some songs are quintessential Shinee songs, but there are also other songs that are things we've never tried before. They fit today's genres and musical mood."[8] The album spans several genres, including pop, hip hop, EDM, R&B, and reggae, and was in the works for around one and a half years.[9][10] SM Entertainment founder and executive producer Lee Soo-man worked closely with the group for the album's production and promotional appearances.[10] Key viewed the album as a gift for fans for waiting for a long time for the group's return.[8] Member Taemin felt the album's songs had a "connection" between Shinee's previous releases, sharing, "On this album there are a lot of different colours, which is what you expect from Shinee, but it's also a connected stream of content, with each member and style coming together at the end. You can see the connection between previous releases and now. And it will continue as our career does."[8]

The title track, "Don't Call Me" is a hip hop-based dance song that combines a signature vocoder sound with an intense 808 bass, synth sound, and sampled vocal source. Written by Kenzie and produced by Kenzie, Dem Jointz, Yoo Young-jin, Robbin, and Ryan S. Jhun, the song is described as "a thrilling dance song [that] captures complex emotions after a love betrayal" and a "straightforward expression of the pain of being thoroughly betrayed by love." The members' vocals "expressing hysterical feelings...increase the immersion of the song."[9][12] The group was looking for an impactful and strong song to emphasize their return from their hiatus. According to Taemin, there were a lot of potential title tracks including "Heart Attack" and "I Really Want You", but the group leaned towards "Don't Call Me" as a standout track. The group did not want to just showcase the group's usual style, but instead emphasize the performance aspect with the release.[13] The song was cherished by Lee Soo-man, and was initially intended for BoA for her tenth studio album.[10] Taemin noted that it was their most hip hop-inspired track, which was something the group had not attempted before.[13][8] Rather than focusing too much on being experimental, the group wanted to emphasise the message that "Shinee's back."[11]

"Heart Attack" is a dance pop song with an impactful bass loop and a funky electric guitar melody. It expresses the "feelings of overwhelming love for a lover who turns even pain into joy."[14] "Marry You" is a mid-tempo R&B song about proposing a marriage to a long-time lover. It is the final part of a trilogy that began with "Replay" in 2008 and was continued with "Love Sick" in 2015.[13] In addition, "Code", co-written by Kenzie and produced by Moonshine, is a futuristic dance song with a galloping bass; in the lyrics, the process of approaching a stranger with a dominating presence is likened to deciphering a code.[15] The song is Taemin's favorite on the album.[9] The album also contains the energetic pop song "I Really Want You" and "Kiss Kiss", which combines lyrics describing kisses between lovers with a kiss sound effect.[16] In addition, the reggae genre dance song "Body Rhythm", co-written by Jam Factory's Shin Jin-hye and H1ghr Music's Woodie Gochild, expresses "dancing with sensous expressions."[9][17] The R&B/pop song "Attention" depicts a romantic date in the middle of the night.[18] The final song, "Kind", is an emotional pop ballad, which according to member Minho "represents the relationship between our members but it's also a song expressing our relationship with our fans; really any person we love or that we care about basically."[6][13] Key felt the song could be open to different interpretations, saying, "It could be about our relationship with our fans, for loved ones, for anyone. But I think the most important thing about this track is that we wanted to express our thankfulness for those we care about."[8]

Shinee during the Cultwo Show on SBS Power FM, on February 23, 2021.

On January 31, 2021, Shinee held a special live stream, "The Ringtone: Shinee is Back", through their official YouTube and Naver V Live channels.[19] During the special, the group announced they would make their return with their seventh studio album Don't Call Me on February 22 and performed the song "Marry You", one of the nine tracks on the upcoming album.[20] Following the album's announcement, teaser images and a special "mood sampler" video titled "Fake Reality" were released.[21] Later teaser videos featured "Reality" clips of each member.[21] The album was sold through two photobook versions – "Fake Reality" and "Reality" versions, and four jewel case editions.[21] For the album's cover and packaging, the group opted for "crisp, clean shots" as opposed to film camera shots and vintage clothing from previous albums, which juxtaposed with the "distorted" and "fake reality" the group finds themselves in.[22] Alongside the release of teaser images for the album, a special phone number was set up for fans to hear voice messages from the group.[22] The hotline was also used to share short snippets from the album's songs, as well as serve as an avenue for fans to leave voice messages.[14][10] The hotline's servers went down temporarily due to the overwhelming number of calls that even the members could not contact the number when they tried calling the hotline.[10]

Don't Call Me, featuring the album's title track as the lead single alongside its music video, was released on February 22, 2021.[4][6] Prior to the video's release, the group held a V Live live stream, "Shinee's Calling: Answered."[21] The album release was accompanied by an online showcase hosted by U-Know Yunho of TVXQ.[10]

Shinee promoted Don't Call Me through various music programs, variety and reality shows, and radio programs. Onew and Key admitted that they faced difficulty learning the choreography of "Don't Call Me" due to its intensity.[22] Taemin described it as a "world-shocking/surprising performance".[9] Shinee began music show promotions at M Countdown, where they performed "Don't Call Me" and "Heart Attack".[23] The group performed the two songs in succeeding music shows Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo.[24][25][26] The group received music show wins for "Don't Call Me" on Show Champion, M Countdown, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo during their first week of eligibility, as well as trophies on Show Champion and M Countdown the following week.[27][28][29][30][31][32] Minho returned to Show! Music Core as a guest MC for the March 6 broadcast, where he filled in for Hyunjin of Stray Kids.[33]

Prior to the album's release, the group appeared as guests on the February 20 episode of Knowing Bros, where they performed a sneak peek of "Don't Call Me" as well as a medley of their previous hits.[34] On the same day, Shinee appeared on YouTube program Hello82, where they participated in a segment in guessing the meaning of Indonesian words.[35] Minho guested on the February 18 episode of Jessi's Showterview where he simultaneously promoted Don't Call Me and his appearances in Law of the Jungle,[36] as well as the February 23 episode of Problem Child in House.[37] The group was featured in their own reality program, Shinee, Inc., which began airing on February 24 at TVN.[38] Shinee partnered with soju brand Jinro to release special Shinee-themed soju bottles; a collaboration video was released on February 24 featuring the group and Jinro's frog mascots dancing to "Don't Call Me."[39][40] Key and Minho guested on web variety show Painful Date on February 24,[41] while Key was interviewed on YouTube program Milanonna.[42] Onew and Minho appeared as guests on the February 27 episode of DoReMi Market, where Key serves as a regular cast member; the three promoted the comeback on the show.[43] Shinee both performed "Don't Call Me" and participated in sketches on the February 28 broadcast of comedy show Comedy Big League.[44] After the group's Inkigayo performance on February 28, a special interview, Shinee Exclusive!, was broadcast that featured Shinee being interviewed by Kiwi Media Group producer Kim Hyung Suk and DJ and SM labelmate Raiden.[45] On the same day, Key and Minho appeared in the variety program Where Is My Home? where they helped search for possible home for a family.[46] Onew and Taemin guested in the vlog of Korean-Indonesian YouTubers Kimbab Family where they visited SM Entertainment.[47]

In March 2021, the group appeared in web show IU's Palette where host IU covered the group's previous hit "Sherlock (Clue + Note)", while Shinee covered IU's song "Dear Name". Shinee also taught IU the point choreography of "Don't Call Me".[48] Shinee guested and performed "Don't Call Me" on Japanese variety program Sôkai jôhô variety Sukkiri!! on March 2, which served as their first Japanese television appearance since their hiatus.[49] Shinee guested on the SBS Power FM show Cultwo Show on February 23, while Key and Taemin appeared on MBC FM4U Kim Shin-young's Noon Song of Hope on March 2, and Onew and Minho guested at KBS Cool FM show Kang Han-na's Volume Up on March 4.[50][51][52] Shinee guested on YouTube channel ODG where they watched video highlights of their career with young children.[53] The group appeared as panelists on the sixth episode of the eighth season of I Can See Your Voice on March 5.[54] Key appeared on the variety show I Live Alone, where he showcased his home and spoke to close friend Taeyeon about promoting Don't Call Me and mentioning Jonghyun during one of his speeches.[55]

Shinee held a Beyond Live online concert, Shinee World, on April 4 through V Live.[56] It served as the group's first online concert, as well as their first concert since their Shinee World The Best 2018 tour in 2018.[56] On March 24, a repackage of Don't Call Me was announced for an expected April release.[57] The repackaged album titled Atlantis, containing three new tracks including "Area", "Days and Years", and the title track "Atlantis", was released digitally on April 12, and the physical album on April 15.[58]

Personnel adapted from the liner notes for Atlantis.[75]