BoA Pays Tribute to Late SHINee's Jonghyun with Emotional Ballad: 'An Empty Space Was Left'

BoA soothed the soul of fans and artists left behind by the late Jonghyun in a moving cover of his track, "End of a day."

During the two-day concert SMTOWN Live 2025 in Seoul, held on January 11-12, a remake cover stage was prepared by SM's artists, where seniors and juniors reinterpreted each other's hits.

Among the performances, the highlight came when BoA, known for her moniker "Mother of K-pop," served a touching version of "End of a day," one of the SHINee member's masterpieces.

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After he died in 2017, the song became a source of comfort not only to Shawols (SHINee's fandom) but to his idol friends who wanted to remember and honor his vibrant and warm heart.

In fan cams released following the concert, BoA's interpretation of the song made spectators cry, proving that she delivered the message well. The icon herself couldn't stop herself from shedding tears as she sang one of the songs written by one of her closest friends and juniors.

Shawols became emotional when the stage put a spotlight in front of BoA, rather than directly on her, seemingly a reminder that the late singer would always be with them despite the empty space he'd left in his absence.

Initially, Jonghyun's fans were skeptical about the decision to release a remake of any of his songs and even called out SM for it despite not restocking his albums and not releasing his concert movies.

But with BoA's performance, Shawols was grateful that she did justice to the song and felt her sincerity and care.

"I had to take my time with this because it was so touching. Singing a song of your late friend takes a lot and BoA did it with grace, respect, beautifully, and without a circus," a fan wrote on X, adding, "Just an angel singing to an Angel. Hope he enjoyed it where he's resting."

"Jonghyun were you watching? I really can't stop crying," added another Shawol.

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