Shinee (/ˈʃaɪniː/ SHY-nee; Korean: 샤이니, romanized: Syaini; Japanese: シャイニー, romanized: Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and the title "Princes of K-pop". The group is composed of four members: Onew, Key, Minho, and Taemin. Originally a five-piece group, vocalist Jonghyun died in December 2017.
Shinee debuted in May 2008 with their first EP, Replay, on SBS' Inkigayo with their single "Replay". The group gained attention for starting a fashion trend amongst students, which the media dubbed the "Shinee Trend". In August 2008, the group released their first Korean studio album, The Shinee World, which won the Newcomer Album of the Year at the 23rd Golden Disc Awards. Shinee further consolidated their popularity on the South Korean music scene with follow-up singles "Ring Ding Dong" and "Lucifer". "Ring Ding Dong" charted on top of several Korean music charts and gained popularity all over Asia. "Lucifer" was nominated for the Best Dance Performance Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in 2010 for its outstanding choreography. In 2012 the group released Sherlock, which became the fifth most sold album of the year with over 180,000 copies sold. The group has also been included in the Forbes list of Korea Power Celebrity multiple times, once in 2014 and again in 2016.

2017–2019: Five, Jonghyun's death, Japanese tour, The Story of Light, and military service
On February 22, Shinee released their fifth full-length Japanese album, Five.[148] To promote the album, they launched their fifth Japan tour, Shinee World 2017, starting on January 28, 2017, and ending in Tokyo on April 30, 2017, with a total of 25 concerts in 10 cities.[149] For the first half of 2017, Shinee ranked sixth in Japan for their concert audience numbers with approximately of 338,238 people. Shinee also ranked the highest out of all Korean artists on the list, being the only to make the top ten with their tour, Shinee World 2017.[150] Later on the group added four additional performances for the tour at Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome starting September
On December 18, 2017, Jonghyun died from an apparent suicide.[152][153] His funeral was held on December 21 with the rest of Shinee and numerous artists in attendance, including Girls' Generation, IU, Super Junior, and more.[154][155][156] Shinee was slated to have a series of concerts in Japan in February 2018, and after entering into discussions on whether to postpone them,[157] they decided to continue promoting as a four-member group and proceed with their Japanese tour as scheduled.[158] On March 26, Shinee released their Japanese single, "From Now On", posthumously featuring Jonghyun, and shortly after, the group released their first Japanese compilation, Shinee The Best From Now On.[159] On May 15, 2018, SM Entertainment revealed teasers for a three-part Korean album, titled The Story of Light.[160] The first part of the album was released on May 28 with the single "Good Evening",[161] and the second part of the trilogy was released on June 11 with the single "I Want You". According to the group, the second part of the album represents the group's view of themselves, while the first part reflected what others think of them.[162] The third and last part of the album is fronted by the single "Our Page" and was released on June 25.[162] On August 1, 2018, the Japanese versions of "Good Evening" and "I Want You" were released on Shinee's 15th Japanese single "Sunny Side", alongside the track of the same name, which was written by the group members.[163] On September 10, 2018, Shinee released their sixth album repackage, The Story of Light-Epilogue, consisting of all tracks from the previous three albums, and one new song, titled "Countless"