On February 25, 2015, legendary Korean group SHINHWA returns with force, with their 12th studio album entitled WE. Their title track is the cool and charismatic “Sniper,” which is about ensuring the woman they love.
SHINHWA’s music video showcases a dark theme accompanied by a smooth, powerful and sexy dance routine. Seven different sets have been used, with six sets being used for individual members and the seventh being used for the group’s choreographed shoot. Individual scenes for the six members each have their own unique twist to them, but have been put together to look as though all six scenes belong in a single manor house.
Andy’s scene is a large display hall with a horse statue in a glass display case, while Minwoo’s scene is designed as an open space kitchen/dining room. Eric’s scene is a large empty room with elaborate nature art mural background. Hyesung’s scene is a long white hallway, whereas Jun Jin’s scene is a destroyed underground basement. The final individual scene is designed as an open aired dark rooftop space for Dongwan. During these scenes, SHINHWA members are focused on ensnaring the attentions and hearts of their female leads. A very unique aspect for the video is each group member has their own love interest, rather than all six members fighting over a single love interest that is usually standard in K-Pop videos.
The seventh and final scene is a group scene of SHINHWA accompanied by backup dancers. With the set designed as an empty dark room with a center square-raised stage, the members and dancers perform the choreography. SHINHWA is known for usually having bold and energetic dance routines, but the last couple of years have seen SHINHWA experimenting with their dance style. The experimenting SHINHWA has been showcasing the maturity they have achieved in the 17 years, since their debut under SM Entertainment. Emphasizing the dark theme SHINHWA is aiming for, the video has been edited in muted tones, and minimal color has been used in the scene sets and outfits.
In addition to experimenting with their choreography, SHINHWA has also been experimenting with their music style. This experimentation has led SHINHWA to mixing a heavy, gothic dance sound with a hip hop sound, while adding modern K-Pop vocals and rapping. This has led to producing a daring but workable sound that is proven to be popular with listeners, as the vocals used by the members fluctuate between low and high pitched tones; the notes sound natural.
The English lyric translation is: “I’m a Sharpshooter / A bull’s eye right to your heart / You can’t escape / From my eyes,” “Between you and me / I hear the sound of a single bullet shot / Even if it’s just one moment, just like always / I’ll run to you at once.” The lyrics show the subtle link that SHINHWA has made from the lyrics to the video that sometimes does not happen in K-Pop videos.