Sherlock (EP)

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title: "Sherlock (EP)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["shinee-eps", "sm-entertainment-eps", "2012-eps", "korean-language-eps", "2010s-korean-language-albums"] topic_path: "geography/korea" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_(EP)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Sherlock
type	EP
artist	Shinee
cover	Shineesherlockkorea.jpg
caption	Digital cover
released
genre	K-pop
length	25:37
language	Korean
label	SM
prev_title	The First
prev_year	2011
next_title	Boys Meet U
next_year	2013
misc	{{Singles
name	Sherlock
type	EP
single1	Sherlock (Clue + Note)
single1date	March 19, 2012
{{External music video	type
::

| name = Sherlock | type = EP | artist = Shinee | cover = Shineesherlockkorea.jpg | caption = Digital cover | alt = | released = | recorded = | venue = | studio =

• SM Concert Hall (Seoul)
• SM Yellow Tail (Seoul) | genre = K-pop | length = 25:37 | language = Korean | label = SM | prev_title = The First | prev_year = 2011 | next_title = Boys Meet U | next_year = 2013 | misc = {{Singles | name = Sherlock | type = EP | single1 = Sherlock (Clue + Note) | single1date = March 19, 2012

Sherlock is the fourth EP of the South Korean boy group Shinee. The EP consists of seven tracks, including the title song "Sherlock (Clue + Note)", a "hybrid remix" of two songs. It was released on March 19, 2012, under the label SM Entertainment. It was Shinee's first Korean release after a year and six months hiatus.

The EP was commercially successful, charting at number one on the Gaon Album Chart. It was the fifth best-selling album of the year in South Korea, with over 180,000 copies sold. It also placed tenth on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums and fifth on the Billboard World Albums charts.

Composition

The EP consists of seven songs in a variety of styles. The lead single, "Sherlock (Clue + Note)", is a "hybrid remix", which means it consists of two independent songs ("Clue" and "Note") remixed together to create a new song. The lyrics describe Sherlock's solving of a crime through logical "clues" and intuitive "notes". The title song combines the lyrics from the two songs to create a single storyline. "Honesty" was written by member Jonghyun and expresses the group's appreciation towards their fans. "The Reason" features a guitar solo and strings, while "Alarm Clock" was also written by Jonghyun and tells about a man who wants to wake up from the nightmares of a breakup. Minho participated in composing the rap.

Artwork and packaging

The packaging for Sherlock contains six booklets: one for each member and another containing the CD.{{cite web|url=http://red-dot.de/cd/en/online-exhibition/work/?code=04-00890&y=2014&c=188&a=0|title= Shinee – Sherlock (Music Packaging)|publisher=Red Dot|access-date=2014-08-18|date=17 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821153107/http://red-dot.de/cd/en/online-exhibition/work/?code=04-00890&y=2014&c=188&a=0|archive-date=21 August 2016|url-status=live}} The album artwork was revealed sequentially from March 8, starting with photos of a half-naked Minho as a "French boy". The photoshoot drew attention for its use of nudity and suggestive poses, as well as Shinee's skinny, "almost prepubescent" bodies. The members dieted for two weeks before the photoshoot. Shinee stated that the aim was to show the bodyline, and bright lighting was used to obscure their muscles. Despite this, Jonghyun's muscles were still visible and had to be digitally removed. The photoshoot was controversial for its sexual nature, with some fans accusing creative director Min Hee-jin of promoting shotacon. In an interview with KBS program Entertainment Weekly, Taemin commented that he wanted to look like an adult, but his body resembled that of a child instead.

Release and promotion

Sherlock was Shinee's first Korean release after a year-and-a-half hiatus since the reissue Hello. The EP was digitally released on March 19, 2012, and physically released on March 21. On March 22, 2012, the group started their official promotions and performed the title song for the first time on M Countdown. This was followed by appearances on other South Korean music programs such as Inkigayo and Music Bank.

The music video for the title song was released on March 22. It was directed by Cho Su-hyun and shot in early March at the studios in Namyangju. Shinee can be seen in an 1800s-like museum acting like detectives working on a case. Girls’ Generation's Jessica makes a special appearance in the music video as a mysterious female lead who offers a decisive clue in figuring out the incident.

Commercial performance and reception

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Shinee_at_the_MBC_Korean_Music_Wave_in_Bangkok_2013_08.jpg" caption="Shinee performing "Sherlock (Clue + Note)" at the MBC Korean Music Wave in Bangkok on March 16, 2013"] ::

The EP sold over 135,000 copies at release and ranked number one on the Gaon Album Chart, making it the best-selling release of March 2012. It was the fifth best-selling album of the year in South Korea, with over 180,000 copies sold. It placed at number five on the Billboard World Albums chart and number ten on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In April, the group won first place for two consecutive weeks on Music Bank and three times on Inkigayo. Shinee performed their final music stage on MBC's Music Core on April 21, 2012.

Hwang Sun-up of IZM magazine gave the EP 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the experimental attempt to create the title track "Sherlock" by mixing up "Clue" and "Note" as well as the lyrics for each song. However, he was disappointed with the remaining songs on the EP, stating these feel more ordinary compared to the impact of the first three tracks.

Accolades

::data[format=table title="Awards and nominations for ''Sherlock''"]

Ceremony	Year	Category	Result	Ref.	Golden Disc Awards	Red Dot Design Award
2013	Disc Bonsang
Disc Daesang
2014	Communication Design – Music Packaging
::

Track listing

| headline = Sherlock track listing | extra_column = Arrangement | total_length = 25:37

| title_width = 25% | lyrics_width = 20% | music_width = 30% | extra_width = 25%

| title1 = Sherlock (Clue + Note) | note1 = | lyrics1 = Jo Yoon-kyung | music1 = | extra1 = | length1 = 3:57

| title2 = Clue | lyrics2 = Jo | music2 = | extra2 = | length2 = 3:37

| title3 = Note | lyrics3 = Jo | music3 = | extra3 = | length3 = 2:46

| title4 = Alarm Clock | note4 = | lyrics4 = | music4 = | extra4 = | length4 = 3:59

| title5 = The Reason | lyrics5 = Kwak So-young | music5 = Sim Eun-jee | extra5 = | length5 = 4:17

| title6 = Stranger (Korean Version) | note6 = | lyrics6 = | music6 = Kenzie | extra6 = Kenzie | length6 = 3:13

| title7 = Honesty | note7 = | lyrics7 = | music7 = Brandon Fraley | extra7 = Fraley | length7 = 3:52

;Notes

• Minho is credited for writing the rap lyrics.

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for ''Sherlock''"] | Chart (2012) | Peak position | Japanese Albums (Oricon) | South Korean Albums (Gaon) | UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC) | US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) | US World Albums (Billboard) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 13 | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | 18 | | | | | | | | 10 | | | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | | ::

Monthly charts

::data[format=table title="Monthly chart performance for ''Sherlock''"] | Chart (2012) | Peak position | South Korean Albums (Gaon) | |---|---|---| | 1 | | | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table title="Year-end chart performance for ''Sherlock''"]

Chart (2012)	Position	South Korea (Gaon)
5
::

Release history

::data[format=table title="Release history and formats for ''Sherlock''"]

Region	Date	Format	Label	Various	South Korea
March 19, 2012
March 21, 2012	CD
::

References

References

1. Lee, Dong-hyun. (March 13, 2012). "Shinee's 'Sherlock' to be a Hybrid Remix". CJ E&M enewsWorld.
2. Park, Hyun-min. (March 21, 2012). "Shinee to Perform 'Sherlock' and 'Stranger' on 'M Countdown'". CJ E&M enewsWorld.
3. Su-bin. Kwon. link. (March 16, 2012). Newsen
4. link. [[Maeil Business Newspaper]]. Lee. Seon-hee. (April 29, 2012)
5. Kim, Ji-yeon. (March 8, 2012). "Shinee To Comeback in Korea with 'Sherlock'". CJ E&M enewsWorld.
6. link. [[Kyunghyang Shinmun. Sports Kyunghyang]]. Kang. Ju-il. (March 8, 2012)
7. Lee, Nancy. (March 9, 2012). "Shinee Drops More Clues With Taemin's Teaser Photos". CJ E&M enewsWorld.
8. link. Osen. Hwang. Mi-hyun. (March 12, 2012)
9. Ho, Stewart. (March 12, 2012). "What Happened to the Once Muscular Frame of Shinee's Minho?". CJ E&M enewsWorld.
10. link. Xports News. Won. Min-sun. (March 23, 2012)
11. link. [[The Dong-a Ilbo. Sports Dong-a]]. (March 26, 2023)
12. Glasby, Taylor. (July 18, 2018). "Looking back at K-pop group Shinee's extraordinary 10-year career".
13. link. Kim. Seo-yun. (July 28, 2022)
14. link. [[Maeil Business Newspaper]]. Lee. Na-rae. (March 24, 2012)
15. Sunwoo, Carla. (March 13, 2012). "Shinee to release track list of new album 'Sherlock' next week". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
16. Lee, Nancy. (March 19, 2012). "Shinee Records All-Kill on Music Charts with Comeback Album". CJ E&M enewsWorld.
17. Sunwoo, Carla. (March 20, 2012). "Shinee receives warm welcome back". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
18. Su-bin. Kwon. link. Newsen. (March 22, 2012)
19. "Gaon Album Chart – March 2012".
20. "Gaon 2012 Album Chart".
21. "Shinee Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)".
22. "Shinee Chart History (World Albums)".
23. link. (April 16, 2012). Asia Today. Moon. Yeon-bae
24. Hwang, Sun-up. (March 2012). "Sherlock". [[IZM]].
25. "Golden Disk Awards, the 27th winners".
26. link. [[Oricon]]
27. "Gaon Album Chart – Week 13, 2012".
28. "Shinee Chart History". [[Official Charts Company]].

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