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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.

May Music Releases From Korea That You Might Have Overlooked

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History Just Might Die K-pop may releases KultSceneMay has not been lacking in music releases from top K-pop acts. BIGBANG, INFINITE’s Kim Sung Kyu, KARA, Girl’s Day, and SHINee all came out with new music and gained worldwide attention. But there were also a lot of good songs coming out of Korea this past month that you may have missed (pardon the pun). Here are some of KultScene’s favorite, possibly overlooked, releases from Korea in May.

HISTORY’s “Beyond The History” album is one of our favorite things to be released in May, maybe this year. The title track “Might Just Die” and its music video are extremely sexy, but it’s Jang Yi Jeong’s solo rap track “1Century” that’s really worth taking a listen to. Jang wrote both songs, and his composing skills are something we’ll be watching, but it was his excellent rapping that is so shocking considering that he’s actually the group’s lead vocalist.


“Like” by CLC was introduced in May with pretty little fanfare, considering that the girl group debuted under one of Korea’s brightest entertainment agencies, Cube Entertainment. But just because there wasn’t a lot of attention doesn’t mean that we don’t love the bright, colorful song.


Zion.T’s “Eat” is a gentle R&B song about a man and his feelings, a comforting tune to help people find pleasure in the little things in life. It went to the top of many Korean music charts thanks to its melodious, warm nature.

Also on KultScene: Seventeen’s ’17 Carat’ Album Review

Solo singer IU released “Heart” with little warning, but it also became a hit. The song was featured in the drama “The Producers,” which the singer stars in.


Another boy band that made a K-pop comeback in May was UNIQ, with the song “Luv Again.” The R&B song’s a sweet tune for the summer months, with its acoustic instrumentals and harmonies. UNIQ is clearly a rookie group, but one that’s worth taking note of.


Coffee house band Urban Zakapa released a new mini album ”U/Z,” and two of our favorite songs of May are “Get” featuring Beenzino and “Two One Two.” With positive lyrics and inspiring music videos, Urban Zakapa really shone in the month of May.



A powerhouse music couple released songs for the soundtrack of the drama “Who Are You?: School 2015.” You cannot miss out on is Yoon Mi Rae’s “I’ll Listen To What You Have To Say” or Tiger JK’s “Reset” featuring Jinsil.



Clazziquai’s Horan is definitely not just alright with her first solo song “She’s Alright.” The song is about women who say that they are fine even when they’re not, something many women around the world can relate to. The funky song has traditional Korean influences and is a pleasure to listen to.

Also on KultScene: UNIQ ‘Luv Again’ Music Video & Song Review

“Trespass” is the debut title song released by Monsta X in May, but the powerful image is one that we hope the group keeps past their debut. The song is focused highly around rapper Jooheon, and we’re not complaining (although maybe a little bit).


Heejun Han’s “QnA” featured Girls’ Generation member Tiffany, but was a bit unloved. But the cute duet is upbeat and sure to put a smile on every listener’s lips.


Vocal quartet 2AM may have split up to different agencies, but member Lim Seulong released his first solo album in May and “Mood Swings” is definitely something to take a listen to. The song features Black Nut, and we’re obsessed.


Jung Joon Young switched over to the group concept, and JJY Band released its first song in May. “OMG” is a rock party song that we all need.


Seventeen debuted this month with sweet title track “Adore U,” a song that we’re obsessed with. It’s simple, sugary, and has amazing raps.


Two talented K-pop soloists came together in Eddy Kim’s “Coffee & Tea,” featuring Mamamoo’s Solar. The caffeine-focused song is another sweet tune, with bouncy acoustic sounds that we love.

What do you think? Did we miss out on any great May releases from Korea? Let us know what you think 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.

The Colors Of K-Pop: Red

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K-Pop is a musical genre that is as colorful as music can be. There are a lot of bright colors in music videos, K-Pop acts with color in their name, etc. Here are some of the most popular songs in Korea that have the color red in their name.

HyunA Red

You may know this song. It has over 16 million views on YouTube, and Hyuna’s Red made a lot of headlines for its sex-filled concept. Red reached number one on several music charts, and the music video stayed atop of China’s Yin Yue Tai V-Chart for four days. The rapid-fire rap, HyunA’s twerking, and electronic-EDM-hip-hop elements seems like a mess at first, but Red is an enthralling song, filled with red-related passion.

SMTOWN Red Sun

One of SMTOWN’s from 2006, multiple SM Entertainment artists including TVXQ, BoA, Kangta, The TRAX, Super Junior etc. lent their voices to the song. Some of the artists are no longer active or have since left the company (the three members of JYJ, ex-Super Junior members, The TRAX, Black Beat, CSJH The Grace,) but the song is still an upbeat summer song that will make you want to head to the beach and enjoy the sun. Fun fact: Pre-Girls’ Generation SM Entertainment had only less than ten active female singers.

Shinhwa Red Carpet

Shinhwa may be one of the longest running groups in K-Pop, which made its comeback in 2012 after a four year break. On that comeback album, The Return, Red Carpet stood out as a strong dance track. The song was written by member Minwoo (known as M,) and is a synth-dance mix up that emphasizes Shinhwa’s vocal line.

f(x) Red Light

One of the most experimental songs out of SM Entertainment in years is f(x)’s hit song Red Light. The song is an electronic house song with a rhythmic beat that is addictive. Red Light‘s promotional period was cut short due to member Sulli going on hiatus, but it still did well on multiple music charts, including reaching the top 5 on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart.

IU Red Shoes

A song meant to show the transition of IU from Korea’s little sister to a more mature singer, Red Shoes describes a woman trying to find her way. Red Shoes uses a big band sound, evoking swing and jazz music. It, and other songs from IU’s Modern Times album, won multiple awards and gained much acclaim in South Korea.

Heyne Red Lie

Not to be confused with Hyuna, Hyene is an up-and-coming solo singer. Her cute voice may be typecast to sickeningly sweet love songs, but Red Lie is anything but, with lyrics like “love please go away.” The song and cinematography of Red Lie are really unique and definitely worth listening to. Fun fact: There’s very little red in the video. Perhaps a shout out to red being the color of lies, as the title suggests.

Son Dambi Red Candle

Composed by SHINee’s Jonghyun, Son Dambi’s Red Candle is a sophisticated track that depicts celebrity life. The gentle intro into the song seduces the listener to the gentle Latin-fusion style that’s different than Son Dambi’s typical dance song. Dance is prevalent and the music video is absolutely beautiful with a black-and-white film noir feel to it.

Did we list all your favorite “red” songs? Look forward to the rest of this ROGYBIV series in coming weeks. Share your thoughts 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.