Taemin announces album 'PHASE 1 : SOFT VIOLENCE' and world tour [LiMiNaL] for August 31

Taemin is coming back. Two years after his last release, the SHINee member announced PHASE 1 : SOFT VIOLENCE on July 24 via SNS, posting the album poster alongside a teaser for his upcoming world tour.

August 31 is the date. The poster shows rock candy and ants alongside the album title—that's all the visual detail the announcement materials gave up. The comeback signal came a day earlier: July 23 at midnight, Taemin surprise-dropped a video titled "This is," his first public move ahead of the return.

Later that morning on July 24 at 11 AM, a teaser poster for 2026-27 TAEMIN WORLD TOUR [LiMiNaL] went live. Galaxy Corporation confirmed "a large-scale world tour where we can meet fans around the world along with the new album release." The tour title pulls from the Latin word Limen (boundary), carrying the message that a boundary is not an end but the moment when new change begins.

Taemin performed at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year as the first Korean male solo artist to do so, then followed that with a set at BST Hyde Park in the UK. The world tour announcement comes right after those back-to-back Western festival slots. No cities or venues for [LiMiNaL] have been announced yet.