SHINee Burst Into Tears Paying Tribute To Jonghyun During Japanese Concert

By iHeartRadio Staff

February 21, 2018

K-pop group SHINee made their difficult return to the stage as a four-piece since the loss of their lead vocalist Jonghyun. Onew, Minho, Taemin, and Key gave an emotional tribute to their fallen bandmate during the concert in Osaka, Japan, and left an empty microphone in the middle of the stage where Jonghyun usually stood at the end of the show. 

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The group vowed to keep their tour dates following Jonghyun's death, who took his life at the age of 27. SHINee performed “Sherlock”, “Juliette” and “Diamond Sky”, and an unreleased Japanese song which featured Jonghyun’s vocals. Jonghyun took his life in December at the age of 27. 

"Everyone, it’s been a while [since we last met]. I’m very nervous to be seeing you after so long. We’ll do our best till the end, so please watch over us," Onew said (via Metro) "The members all worked hard in the short amount of time we had for this show. We may be lacking in some aspects, but we will work hard till the end," Key added.

AllKPop reports that SHINee left a space and an empty microphone when Jonghyun would stand with a rose marking his place during the closing performance. The group then burst into tears as they talked to the crowd about the loss of Jonghyun. "The memories of my time with Jonghyun are precious to me. He’s like family to me, so I will never forget him and I will always keep him in my heart. From now on, I will try to be a stronger Taemin, and we will try to be a stronger SHINee," Taemin said. "To be honest, I was very scared and anxious about today. But I was able to overcome that because I’m not alone, we’re here with all of you. We hope to keep approaching every stage like all five of us are standing there," Minho added. 

"Will you promise us one thing? Please keep your memory of Jonghyun alive forever. I can’t put in words how precious Jonghyun is to us," Minho continued. 

SHINee will continue to perform as a four-piece in Tokyo on February 26th.

Watch footage from the concert below: