IU Pays Tribute To SHINee's Jonghyun At 10th Anniversary Concert

IU paid an emotional tribute to her late friend SHINee’s Jonghyun at a recent concert.

At her 10th anniversary concert in Singapore on December 15 local time, IU deviated from her planned set list to dedicate an especially meaningful song to Jonghyun’s memory. The two singers are known to have been close, with IU once describing Jonghyun as one of her best friends.

During the concert, which took place almost exactly one year after Jonghyun’s tragic passing on December 18, 2017, IU remarked in English, “The next song actually wasn’t on my set list, but I prepared it because I’ve been thinking about this one a lot recently. This song has been a great comfort to me since the moment I met it.”

She then announced, “I’ll change my mic,” and switched the purple handheld microphone that she had been using for one in SHINee’s official color, pearl aqua.

“I really hope this song will reach the person I really miss,” said IU, before launching into a beautiful live rendition of her song “Gloomy Clock,” which was famously composed by Jonghyun. IU has mentioned in the past that she fell in love with the song immediately after hearing it and that she begged Jonghyun to let her buy it from him.

Fans also speculated that IU may have changed the song’s lyrics to mention Jonghyun during her performance, singing “Jonghyun shines” at one point instead of the original line “things quickly pass by.”

IU and Jonghyun previously sang the song together as a duet at his solo concert “THE STORY by JONGHYUN” in 2015.

Source (1)