Jonghyun: The last goodbye

A week has passed since I woke to the shattering news of Jonghyun’s death. The news that a young, talented man with a life full of promise was no longer with us because he had an illness that made him believe the world would be a better place without him. I have spent that time immersed in his music, listening to his radio show Blue Night and reading his interviews. At times, this elevated me; at others, it felt like a punch in the guts.

Meanwhile, western media latched onto the story fixated on the idea that K-pop had driven him to his death. The bigger stories are the high rates of suicide in Korea in general and depression in many other countries: the note Jonghyun wrote to his friend Nine was quickly released to the public and for anyone who has suffered from severe depression it was an eloquent and devastatingly accurate portrayal of the black dog. The amount of people on social media and in forums across the world who identified with it was startling. The Hindu Times wrote a very good piece about how it had drawn people out and got them talking about their illness.

It’s harrowing to know that Jonghyun planned his death for some time - more than a week it seems. The perfectionism he brought to his musical career did not fail him at the end.

In the last three years of his life, Jonghyun released three solo EPs, one solo album and two albums with Shinee in Korean. He also toured with the band and recorded material for their Japanese albums. That’s an extraordinary output that makes his passing all the more devastating, while adding to his legacy.

Now it seems all that is left is to turn away from the pain of his loss towards his glorious music and his wonderful voice and try to heal.

Here are some of my favourite musical moments.

Love Belt: Jonghyun and Younha (2015)
On his outstanding solo debut, Base, Jonghyun wrote the lyrics to all songs except for two co-write credits; and co-wrote music to four of seven songs. It’s difficult to pick a stand out - put it on and let it run, and if you have the CD, there is a hidden track, Fortune Cookie, that is the equal of any on the official tracklisting. One I go back to a lot is Love Belt, the duet with Younha, a gently rocking R&B duet that has hints of Prince, an artist Jjong told Maxwell in an interview on Blue Night in 2016 he was rediscovering.

Red Candle - Son Dambi (2013)
Jonghyun’s work with IU, Lee Hi, Lim Kim and Son Dambi showed he had a real gift for working with female artists that had barely been explored. While Lee Hi’s chart hit Breathe was a big ballad of the kind that he - and K-pop has a real weakness for - his work with the other chanteuses showed a quirkiness and imagination that displayed a genuine originality. For Son Dambi he layered bossa nova rhythms and flamenco guitar with breathy vocals for a blend of seduction and sadness.

Prism - Shinee (2016)
Jonghyun wrote his first lyrics for Shinee in 2009 for their song Juliette. He was up against fierce competition: their agency SM Entertainment canvasses thousands of songs - likely hundreds of thousands of songs - for their top artists each year. A credit was not guaranteed. No doubt writing for other artists such as Son Dambi and IU helped win him off-stage credit and by the time they released their album 1 of 1 in 2016, he was getting a music only co-writing credit for this track that gives bandmate Onew a star turn on vocals. 

Lucifer - Shinee (2010)
This Bebe Rexha co-write with the addictive one-note chorus reached No. 2 on the Gaon chart. The choreography was a fantastic showcase for the group’s sharp moves and demonstrated how well Shinee worked together as a team. 

Diphylleia grayi (Skeleton Flower) - Jonghyun (2015)
Like many talented singers with great range, Jonghyun loved a ballad. Oh he loved a ballad. He loved a ballad. Me not so much. What I do like is a bit of contemporary classical, a bit of minimalist music and a bit of chamber pop, and this falls squarely into the latter category. Jjong famously sang Kate Bush’s beautiful 1989 song This Woman’s Work live, which he came to know through Brooklyn neo-soul singer Maxwell’s 1997 cover, and this original song by him, with its spare orchestral arrangement and delicate melody owes something to Bush’s influence. In an episode of Blue Night he noted that he strongly identified with this mournful song. 

No More - Jonghyun (2015)
Jonghyun didn’t plan any official promotion, such as MVs or performances on the music shows for Story Op. 1, the first collection of songs he had debuted on his Blue Night radio show. Instead, he played a brief series of outdoor “guerilla” concerts around Seoul, during which he performed songs taken from Base and the new album, as well some he had composed for others, such as Exo’s Playboy, and this track for Lim Kim’s Simple Mind album, which here showcases his natural, effortless falsetto, matching remarkable, relaxed on-stage demeanour. 

Symptoms - Shinee (2013)
More lyrics from Jonghyun and an unconventional R&B number for the group, featuring star vocal turns from the members from their exceptional Everybody EP, which hardly contains a bad song.

Odd Eye - Shinee (2015)
JJong wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music to this dreamy electronic pop tune from Shinee’s 2015 album Odd. As with the Everybody EP, this is just one great song on album packed with top-notch tunes. Dive in.

Hot Times - SM the Ballad (2010)
The first version of this SM Entertainment project featured JJong, Super Junior’s Kyuhyun, Jay from Trax and Jiho, now with Pentagon. The result was a bunch of dudes that all desperately want to outdo each other but are mostly anchored by the strong rhythm track on what is a pretty cool slow jam. Jonghyun’s performance is a stand out.

Let Me Out - Jonghyun (2017)
One of the best songs from his Story Op. 2 collection. The lyrics to this slow, hard-driving, electronic bluesy number which seemed sexy a year ago, now seem poignant. Jonghyun plays with textures, juxtaposing grinding synths against fluttering piano and switching from deep baritone to falsetto howls to illustrate his frustration and pain. This clip is from the Inspired concert, a little more than a week before his death.

This is a tiny selection of his music that has been lifting me up and knocking me down in the past week. Below is a playlist of music he had a hand in creating, whether in the lyrics or music. 



Jonghyun had completed a new album and an MV to promote the title track. There is no word yet on whether that will be released as scheduled next month.

Meanwhile, it is time for me to say goodbye. I am still going to listen to his music; and remember his sweet smile; I just need to step back a bit.

Good night, Jonghyun. You did well.