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4 K-Pop Songs Casting ‘Harry Potter’ Spells

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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.

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Jo Kwon “Wingardium Leviosa” (2012)

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.

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Crucial Star “Owl” Feat. donutman

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.

Artist Spotlight: Crucial Star

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The combination of a calm beat, soft vocals, and rapping is something that’s becoming popular in the K-Pop scene. But where did this style come from? Surely something in the mainstream must’ve had its beginnings somewhere else. Crucial Star, real name Park Se Yoon, is a South Korean rapper, producer, composer and lyricist who has that craft down to a T in the hip hop spectrum.

crucial star rap korean

via Grandline Entertainment X N’Ouir

The 25-year-old began his career at the age of 17 performing with the hip hop group Libra Twins, but then joined label Soul Company and became a solo artist. Crucial Star debuted in 2010 with his first single Catch Me If U Can, and released his first mini-album A Star Goes Up in 2011, where he featured artists like Dok2 and Basick. He followed that up with A Star from the Basement in the same year, where he talked about the Korean hip hop scene and how most artists in the game don’t understand the fundamentals of the genre.

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In 2012, Crucial Star changed labels again after Soul Company went under and joined Grandline Entertainment, home to Geeks, Rimi, and K Jun. The piano and percussion song Nothing Lasts Forever from his mini-album Fall, is his reflection on the aftermath following the company’s disbandment, where he talks about his dreams and determination going forward. However, it was Flat Shoes from his previous EP Drawing #1: A Dream Spokesman featuring Lovely that was a hit.

Crucial Star draws inspiration from his daily life, talking mostly about his own experiences and especially women. He loves a heavy bass within a gentle beat, which is the staple in his music. His rapping style resembles that of American rappers Drake or Kid Cudi by being laid back and cool. The artist mixes his rapping with his vocals effortlessly, which creates a very nice ambiance in his music. He also tends to do many collaborations with other hip hop and even K-Pop acts.

In 2011, he composed I Just Want U and iPod Girl for then label mate Mad Clown. Once situated with his new company, Crucial Star collaborated with Zion.T, TakeOne, and The Quiett for Own Way for his EP Fall. Geeks also featured him on their remix version of Out of Breath, along with Ugly Duck, Zion.T, DJ Dopsh, 화나, and Block B’s Zico.

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As far as collaborations with K-Pop idols, Crucial Star was featured on Jepp Blackman’s, a.k.a. B.A.P’s Yongguk, Last One. And earlier this year, he released a remake of the jazzy Park Hye Kyung’s 2000 song Three Things I Wanna Give You together with Girl’s Day’s Sojin.

The rapper released two EPs in 2013, Drawing #2: A Better Man and A Winter Love Song, and is now preparing to release his first full-length album. Midnight will mark his fresh start. The first single is Paris, a song that compares a woman to the city of lights. Directed by Lee Byungil, the music video is a beautiful work of cinematography that’s simple and chic at the same time, and has a very romantic feel to it.

The second single Pretty Girl dropped on October 1st, and is a bit more uptempo than its predecessor. Pretty Girl is yet another collaboration with Lovely, who adds her sweet vocals to a very fresh and clean, soft hip hip song.

Midnight, a 15-track album, will be released on October 24th, Crucial Star’s 26th birthday.

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