K-pop may be crazy about “Harry Potter.” The most popular work of fiction in the past era has been, without a doubt, the “Harry Potter” book series. The popular book and film series inspired some of Korea’s top musicians to write songs featuring “Harry Potter” tropes. XIA Junsu “Tarantallegra” (2012) When one of the best […]
We all know that rainy days can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on how you view these things. Rain can mean that you cancel plans, but it could also mean that the grass is green and that the crops will grow, while playing around in sun shower is one of the best […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/KultScene-rain-playlisy-.jpg720960KultScenehttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngKultScene2015-08-16 20:24:502015-08-16 20:24:50Playlist Sunday: Rainy Days
K-pop may be crazy about “Harry Potter.” The most popular work of fiction in the past era has been, without a doubt, the “Harry Potter” book series. The popular book and film series inspired some of Korea’s top musicians to write songs featuring “Harry Potter” tropes. XIA Junsu “Tarantallegra” (2012) When one of the best […]
We all know that rainy days can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on how you view these things. Rain can mean that you cancel plans, but it could also mean that the grass is green and that the crops will grow, while playing around in sun shower is one of the best […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/KultScene-rain-playlisy-.jpg720960KultScenehttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngKultScene2015-08-16 20:24:502015-08-16 20:24:50Playlist Sunday: Rainy Days
K-pop may be crazy about “Harry Potter.” The most popular work of fiction in the past era has been, without a doubt, the “Harry Potter” book series. The popular book and film series inspired some of Korea’s top musicians to write songs featuring “Harry Potter” tropes.
XIA Junsu “Tarantallegra” (2012)
When one of the best singers in K-pop tells you to dance, you do just that. The title of Junsu’s “Tarantallegra” is taken from the spell that makes people’s feet dance uncontrollably. The song was Junsu’s first as a soloist, and the title of his first solo album. It’s a dramatic song and music video, with a rap by Flowsik, and Junsu lives up to the name of the song by putting on one of the best dance performances in the history of K-pop.
The song makes it very clear that music is everything for Junsu, as shown by the repetitive question, “what music would you listen to?” and “tarantallegra, be intoxicated with music.” The lyrics were written by Junsu’s twin brother Juno, giving it a deeper personal touch for himu. And as for the music video, well, there’s a magically beautiful woman who makes an appearance when Junsu decides to change things up. Without a doubt, “Tarantallegra” is a piece of wizard art.
A fast paced, techno dance song from the leader of 2AM was the total opposite of the group’s usual vocally expressive songs. However, the ever flamboyant Jo Kwon is a perfect fit for the bright dance song. Although it wasn’t the title track on his “I’m Da One” album, “Wingardium Leviosa” is built around a “Harry Potter” spell.
In “Harry Potter,” “Wingardium Leviosa” is a levitation spell that helps objects fly. And to Jo, that means an opportunity to play around. “I will make you fly” and “Let’s fly over there, follow me, let’s try, memorize this spell” are pretty straightforward lyrics, but Jo goes above and beyond and turns the spell into a verb, “The mood is wingar.” Whatever that means, we love it and want to be feeling it.
IU “Obliviate” (2013)
Soloist IU is as great as usual in a Latin inspired song “Obliviate.” With whispers of the memory removal spell, the meaning of the song is clear from the very beginning; the singer would like to remove her memories of a past relationship after it is over.
IU takes a bitter take on the spell, singing, “In the end, I cast the nonse spell of making bad memories disappear and having good memories stay” in a tone of voice that implies that it’s an impossibility. “Head, obliviate, heart, obliviate,” she sings. While other artists use “Harry Potter” for inspiration, IU’s song is the epitome of all of us “Harry Potter” fans out there, who wish we could use our favorite spells in our daily lives.
Crucial Star’s song is about working hard and being a pioneer to inspire others. and not quite as obviously based on “Harry Potter” as the previous songs in this list. But with a line like “I cast a spell like Harry, ”Aparecium, Alohamora, there’s no doubt that the lyrics take inspiration from “Harry Potter.” According to Harry Potter Wiki, Apercium is the revealing charm “that forces invisible ink or other hidden messages to appear,” while Alohamora is one of the first spells introduced in the Harry Potter series and is used to unlock locks. http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Revealing_Charm
And, as a fun bonus, even though it’s not a song, here’s Super Junior-M’s Henry getting yelled at on “Strong Heart” for mispronouncing Hermione’s name.
Which K-pop act do you want to make magical songs with? Share your picks in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
We all know that rainy days can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on how you view these things. Rain can mean that you cancel plans, but it could also mean that the grass is green and that the crops will grow, while playing around in sun shower is one of the best joys in the world. For this week’s playlist, KultScene’s staff picked all of our favorite rain-based Korean songs that help us get through all of the rainstorms in our life.
Super Junior’s ”Raining Spell For Love” from their ”Mamacita” album is one of my favorite songs by the SM Entertainment boy band. Starting off with a thunderstorm, the slow pop song is an emotional whirlwind that makes the most of Super Junior’s vocals and harmonization. After a rap by Eunhyuk, the song begins in earnest with Kangin, whose voice has always seemed particularly melancholic to me. With individual member’s singing, belting, and breathlessness before coming together in the chorus, Super Junior’s colorful, diverse talent really shines in the song, and the gentle sound, yet pounding beats, is reminiscent of a storm and really reminds me of the depressed feeling that many of us feel on rainy days. While the song has its depressing moments, the Korean title for “Raining Spell For Love” is actually “Love Won’t Stop,” and there are a lot of musically uplifting moments that keeps Super Junior’s song from being too heartbreaking.
Usually, I try to stay as far away as possible from ballads. They are so profoundly dull and most K-pop groups don’t have good enough singers to really pull them off. I’m glad to say there are some exceptions, namely all of Brown Eyed Girls’ ballads. But for today, I’m going with 4minute’s recent “Cold Rain”. So not just rain but cold rain, cool right? This ballad stands out because of its unpredictable piano and vocal melodies. The piano glides up and down scales seemingly at random. It gives the song an edge over usually monotonous piano. The contrast of 4minute’s voices also help. Between Gayoon’s high pitch, Hyuna’s nasally rap, and Jiyoon’s power, there’s a lot of different tones to hear with just these three members.
— Joe
“Rain” from 2PM’s fourth album “Go Crazy” is an extremely interesting song. Although it is a ballad, it sounds nothing like it with Taecyeon’s rap, the constant drum beats, and vibrant instrumentals. I’m definitely not complaining, especially because the members’ vocals are enhanced and highlighted through this track. Another interesting point would be the lyrics of the song. Rain is often seen as something that is sad and most people would probably prefer to have sunshine. This song, however, is about not wanting the rain to end because that would also mean the end of a relationship. It’s surprisingly depressing, but in a lovely way.
— Anna
“Love Rain” is one of my all-time favorite K-Dramas, so when we picked the theme for this week’s playlist, my mind immediately went to the OST by the same name sung by the leading male Jang Geun Suk. Even if it’s an older song, it makes me feel all warm inside everytime I listen to it. Maybe it’s because Jang Geun Suk’s voice is incredibly delicate and tender, which contrasts incredibly with his usual characters, or maybe because I associate the song with all those sweet moments in the drama where the song would chime in.
I’ve been lucky enough to have seen B.A.P perform “Rain Sound” five times for both Live On Earth Tours in 2013 and 2014. Surprisingly, the song took on a different meaning every time I saw it. I was able to notice the different facial expressions and subtle changes made by the B.A.P members each time. It goes to show that no matter how often a song is sung and performed, just like your feelings and mood, your behavior can also change. It’s like how the rain can too modify the way you feel; whether it’s the calming sound of the light droplets or the sudden rush of heavy rain.
— Tam
What’s your favorite rainy day K-pop song? Share your picks in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
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