Jonghyun had been active in music since he was in junior high school. He was in a band called ZION and participated in many music festivals in his area. He was the band's bassist. During one of the band's show performance Jonghyun was scouted by SM Entertainment. Before his debut with SHINee, he sang a duet with Zhang Li Yin in the song “交错的爱 (Wrongly Given Love)” for her Chinese album.
Jonghyun was discovered at the 2005 S.M. Casting System. In 2008, he was chosen as a member of the group Shinee, the 5-member boy group debuted on May 25, 2008 on SBS's Inkigayo.
In November 2010, it was revealed by SM Entertainment that Jonghyun, along with TRAX’s Jay, Super Junior’s Kyuhyun, and rookie singer, Jino, had formed a project group, S.M. The Ballad, under their label. The group focuses more on ballad rather than pop and R&B themes. The group released their debut album, "너무 그리워 (Miss You)", on November 29, 2010. They debuted on November 28, 2010 on SBS's Inkigayo with their lead single, "너무 그리워 (Miss You)". They also promoted another single from the album, "Hot Times (시험하지 말기)".
In February 4, 2014, SM Entertainment revealed that SM The Ballad will make a comeback with new members, Jonghyun being the only one from the original formation. It was later revealed that he would be singing, together with Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, the title track of the new album, "숨소리 (Breath)".
In October 2010, Jonghyun was one of twenty idols from various South Korean groups that recorded the song, "Let's Go," for the purpose of increasing public participation in the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. He provided vocals along with label-mates Sungmin, Seohyun and Luna.
In the 4th mini album "Sherlock", Jonghyun had written the two songs "늘 그자리에 (Honesty)" and "알람시계 (Alarm Clock)". The song "Honesty" is written to give thanks to their fans who have stayed by their side with unchanging love until now. The other song, "Alarm Clock" which is also co-written with fellow member Minho, is about wishing to wake up from a nightmare of past break-up. He also wrote for multiple SHINee songs including "너와 나의 거리 (Selene 6.23)" (album "The Misconceptions of Us") and "상사병 (Symptoms)" (album "Everybody"). Jonghyun fully composed the collaboration track with IU, "Gloomy Clock" in IU's 3rd album "Modern Times". He also fully composed, wrote and lead the vocal direction for Son Dam Bi's digital single, "Red Candle". Not only did Jonghyun compose and write the song, he also took part in the vocal directing. The lyrics relate the characteristics of a candle to someone in love, who feels excited and nervous at the same time.
As a DJ for MBC FM4U's midnight radio show "Blue Night" Jonghyun has revealed his newly written songs on his radio show which he has prepared for a special corner called "Blue Night Lyrics, That Man's Composition". Back in June, DJ Jonghyun tweeted: “As I started Blue Night, I contemplated on how to incorporate myself well into the program… As expected, the conclusion is communicating with listeners and music! That’s why I have prepared a project where I personally write a song pertaining to a listener’s story and let you hear it. The name of the corner is ‘Blue Night Lyrics, That Man Composition’. It won’t be aired every week, but it will be aired once every few months as a special corner, so please send in a lot of stories. I’m accepting stories through the homepage.”
MBC FM4U have revealed starting from July 7th, they will be releasing the self-composed and self-written songs of Jonghyun. Furthermore it was stated that Jonghyun has written a total of 7 songs and that they will be revealed succession over several weeks.
Dress Up
JongHyun Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How are you gonna dress up tonight?
Ah 말해 봐
Show me baby, come on yeah
오해하진 마
오늘은 나 괜히 기분 좋으니까
무리하진 마
근데 난 오늘 평소답지 않게 난
Feel so nice
이상하지만
How you gonna dress up today?
(Ah-ah) 그건 맘에 안 들어 (다른 거 ah-ah)
How you gonna dress up today?
(One more time yeah) 그건 맘에 안 들어 (ah-ah)
How you gonna dress up today? (OK)
Watching me, come on watching me
Watching me, come on watching me (uh)
Watching me, come on watching me (oh)
How you gonna dress up today? (clap it) ah
타고난 것 같아 넌 blow up
눈만 마주쳐도 난 glow up
애매하게 굴지 마
오늘 look이랑 어울리지 않아
Feel so nice, nice, nice
It's alright (hey) oh it's alright (yeah)
오늘 괜찮아
사실 넌 아무거나 걸쳐도 이쁘니까
Hey 특별한 척해 줘
남들이랑 좀 더 차별 대우해 줘 baby
특별히 대해 줘
How you gonna dress up today?
(Ah-ah) 그건 맘에 안 들어 (다른 거 ah-ah)
How you gonna dress up today?
(One more time yeah) 그건 맘에 안 들어 (ah-ah)
How you gonna dress up today? (OK)
Watching me, come on watching me
Watching me, come on watching me (uh)
Watching me, come on watching me (oh)
How you gonna dress up today? (clap it)
(Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow)
넌 어색해 하지 마 다 너만 보잖아
여유 있게 천천히 움직여 봐
(Woo woo) 그래 그래
좀 더 붙어 줘
내 어깨 위에 네 손 올려 줘
Stop it baby, stop it baby, stop it baby
(Wow, wow, one more time, wow)
How you gonna dress up today? (clap it)
(Wow, wow, wow)
How you gonna dress up today?
In Dress Up, JongHyun invites his lover to show off how they will dress up for their date night. He emphasizes that he just wants to see his lover looking happy and feeling comfortable, no matter what they decide to wear. He encourages the person to be themselves and not try to fit in with what society expects. JongHyun sings about the feeling of feeling good for the day and how he wants his partner to feel the same way. He reassures them that they will always look beautiful, no matter what they wear.
Throughout the song, JongHyun reminds his lover to ignore outside judgement and to embrace their own unique style. He wants his lover to feel comfortable in their own skin and confident in their choices. He wants his lover to feel special and wants them to dress in something that will make them feel happy. The chorus repeats the questions, "how you gonna dress up today?" emphasizing that he is excited to see his lover's choices, but at the end of the day, it does not matter how they look because they will always look good in his eyes.
Line by Line Meaning
Woo, woo, yeah
Expressing excitement and upbeat tone.
How are you gonna dress up tonight?
Asking how the listener plans to dress up for the night.
Ah 말해 봐
Encouraging the listener to speak up and show how they would like to dress up.
Show me baby, come on yeah
Asking the listener to show their preferred dress style and encouraging them to do so with enthusiasm.
오해하진 마
Asking the listener not to misunderstand the artist's intentions.
오늘은 나 괜히 기분 좋으니까
The singer is feeling good today, so the listener should not try to bring the singer down.
무리하진 마
Asking the listener not to go overboard or put in too much effort in dressing up.
사실 넌 아무거나 걸쳐도 이쁘니까
The listener does not need to put in too much effort to look good since they look good in anything.
근데 난 오늘 평소답지 않게 난
The artist is feeling different than usual today.
Feel so nice
The artist is feeling very comfortable and happy.
이상하지만
The singer acknowledges that their feelings may be unusual, but they still feel good.
(Ah-ah) 그건 맘에 안 들어 (다른 거 ah-ah)
The artist doesn't like the listener's first suggestion (referring to the listener's dress-up style).
(One more time yeah) 그건 맘에 안 들어 (ah-ah)
The singer doesn't like the listener's second suggestion either.
(OK)
The singer is okay with trying something different from the listener's suggestions.
Watching me, come on watching me
The listener should watch the singer to learn how to dress up.
타고난 것 같아 넌 blow up
The listener is always born with a natural style and looks more attractive as they 'blow up' or become more confident.
눈만 마주쳐도 난 glow up
The artist is also confident and feels good just by making eye contact with the listener, and that boosts their energy ('glow up').
애매하게 굴지 마
The listener should not be vague or indecisive in their style choice.
오늘 look이랑 어울리지 않아
The listener should choose a style that matches the vibe of the day instead of choosing something still and outdated.
Feel so nice, nice, nice
The artist continues to feel content and happy.
It's alright (hey) oh it's alright (yeah)
It's okay to try something new and dress up in a way that seems odd or different.
오늘 괜찮아
The artist is affirming that today is a good day.
Hey 특별한 척해 줘
The listener should try to appear unique and special.
남들이랑 좀 더 차별 대우해 줘 baby
The listener should try to stand out and look different from others.
특별히 대해 줘
The singer is asking the listener to dress in a way that makes them feel special- pretending the listener is a girlfriend or boyfriend.
(clap it)
Encouraging the listener to get excited and enthusiastic.
넌 어색해 하지 마 다 너만 보잖아
The listener shouldn't be awkward or hesitant, as they are the only person the singer is directing their attention to.
여유 있게 천천히 움직여 봐
The listener should take it easy, and move slowly without being too pressured and nervous.
(Woo woo) 그래 그래
Encouraging the listener to continue in the right direction.
좀 더 붙어 줘
Asking the listener to come closer and interact with the singer.
내 어깨 위에 네 손 올려 줘
The singer wants to hold the listener's hand or have the listener's hand on their arms/shoulder.
Stop it baby, stop it baby, stop it baby
The artist is just enjoying the listener's company and wants their attention for longer.
(Wow, wow, one more time, wow)
Encouragement for the listener to dress up once again and look good one more time.
(Wow, wow, wow)
Expressing excitement for the listener's outfit.
How you gonna dress up today? (clap it)
A reiteration of the main question- how the listener plans to dress up today- while also encouraging the listener to be enthusiastic while answering.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Greg Paul Stephen Bonnick, Hayden Chapman, Jong Hyun Kim
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind