Tag Archive for: kpop songs

Even though winter began last month, it wasn’t until recently that the season was fully experienced by all of us at KultScene. That’s why this week’s Playlist Sunday is fully dedicated to all things winter, including and especially the cold that comes with it. Our picks include songs that talk about snow, the weather, and how love is experience during this chilly season.

Living in Ireland means that when I think of winter, I think of the cold. So I decided to think outside the box and go for It’s Cold by Epik High and Lee Hi. Lee Hi was the perfect YG Entertainment artist to pick for this song as her vocals can have a cold, unemotional feeling to them in the best possible way. It mirrors the frosty nature of the song with its slow piano melody and lyrics about cold hearts. It makes winter feel like a never ending season, one of regret and hurt. This sometimes feels painfully true as I wear five layers of clothing every day.

–Joe

Winter in Korea is pretty frigid, but Girls’ Generation Snowy Wish is heartwarming and will make any snowstorm romantic. Even though the snow is falling, Girls’ Generation’s voices and lyrics make the frigidity something endearing, just another memory to make a relationship even better. The sweet-sounding tune is filled with hope and longing for a successful, warm relationship, and Girls’ Generation really makes listeners feel loved during live performances of the song.

–Tamar

Jonghyun and Juniel’s Love Falls gets us in the winter spirit for many reasons. One being that the song actually uses bells in the instrumentals that creates the picture of soft snow falling onto an already snow covered ground. The second reason it gets us into the spirit of winter, is the love story involved. Juniel and Jonghyun’s sweet vocals perfectly compliment each other and give off the feeling of warmth and love for the season. Even with the slight hiccup in their seemingly perfect relationship, the two are brought back together in the beautiful nighttime snow fall, so romantic.

— Tara

In SoCal, there’s no such thing as snow in winter, unless you travel to a mountain town. Despite this, snow is one of the default things one associates with winter, and that’s why I picked Super Junior’s First Snow. At first, the piano and bell sounds create a Christmas jingle feeling, but as the song progresses, we hear a signature Super Junior chorus in the likes of Miracle or Dancing Out, with its cheerful and cheesy sounds. Not that that’s a bad thing! The cheesiness and uplifting feeling of the song is what makes this a warm and cute song about young love.

–Alexis

Yes, we all have heard thousands of covers of the movie Frozen’s famous song Let It Go. But in YG Entertainment’s Mix & Match survival program, a new and fresh version was showcased. B.I, Donghyuk, Hongseok, and Lee Hi adapted the Oscar winning song into a new genre. B.I. made the song into trap, and it just makes you want to go up and dance. The song gives you a very fun and exciting new perspective of the song. Their version makes the song perfect for a winter party or a kick back.

–Alejandro

If we’ve learned anything from watching variety shows is that K-Pop idols love eating. And while Korean food ranks among the healthiest, it doesn’t make for great pop songs. That’s why while picking a theme for this week’s <b>playlist</b> we took the wrong turn in terms of nutritional value and went for <b>junk food</b>. Because no matter how good kimchi is, it will never taste as comforting as a milkshake.

Woolim rookies Lovelyz burst onto the scene with the candy themed Candy Jelly Love. As always, it is not explicitly about candy but a metaphor for love or something a little bit more racy, if that’s how you interpret it. Anyway, it’s the production of this song what makes it truly candy-like. The twinkly J-Pop influenced sound reminiscent of early Kara is instantly satisfying and sweet combined with the dreamy, innocent vocals make this worthy of the food Lovelyz are singing about.

–Joe

Also on KultScene: Epik High’s ‘Born Hater’ Music Video & Song Review

f(x)’s Lollipop is a fun, flirty, and addictive song. The beat, the vocals, and the featuring artist, SHINee, all make this a timeless song. The sugary sweet song is fun to listen to with the volume turned up, especially in the summer. I wish there was a music video for the song; it would be fun to see both f(x) and SHINee do a video for Lollipop. I can’t even imagine what their outfits and sets would look like. The song has everything, female vocals, male vocals, harmonies, catchy hooks, what more could we need (beside a music video)?

— Tara

BIGBANG and 2NE1 released a song together on 2009 called Lollipop. At first, the song starts with the girls of 2NE1 singing in a very cute voice, which get’s the listeners confused because none of these bands are known for being cute. But then G-Dragon comes in and says “Nah, that’s not how we do it,” and the song changes to their signature YG Entertainment hip-hop swag. Both 2NE1 and BIGBANG are styled with very fun ensembles and crazy hair, specially Dara. This collaboration makes me want to see them release a song together.

–Alejandro

Also on KultScene: YG Entertainment Wants You To Know It’s Different

Even though we already picked a f(x) song for this week’s playlist, they make a second appearance because, among girl groups, they always come up with the most interesting albums music wise. This time pick is Milk, a confusing song about healing a broken heart with cold milk, but with great Middle Eastern beats, which blend effortlessly with the girls’ vocals and harmonies. Milk is a flawless production of pop music; every aspect of it is perfect. The track, just as milk itself, is a tall glass of freshness.

–Alexis

What are some of your favorite junk food-themed K-Pop songs? 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.

Following the holiday theme for our Playlist Sunday, this week’s focus sets on The Day of the Dead. Although it may sound macabre, November 2^nd is a day dedicated to remembering and honoring deceased loved ones. And while it’s very unlikely that K-Pop groups would have songs about the Day of the Dead, we’re interpreting it in our own way by choosing songs with similar festive makeup, about lost love, and saying good bye.

Even though it’s not a real Catrín (dapper male skeleton), Jay Park donned skull-like makeup for the music video of his album’s intro New Breed. The track was not a single, but Jay Park decided to release a video for his album’s intro by the same name with the eye catching makeup to further enhance his message of him being different to other artists in the game. The look was inspired by Rick Genest, aka Zombie Boy, rather than the Day of the Dead, but the similarities and loose connection to the Catrín are there. This song is full of curse words, so listeners wary and click play at your own discretion.

–Alexis

Also on KultScene: Why Hyomin’s ‘Nice Body’ Is Offensive To Women

My pick for this week’s theme is not related in any way to the Mexican holiday. Instead, I am playing off of the name “Day of the Dead” for my pick. Primary’s Poison featuring E-Sens talks about an array of feelings and emotions that make the narrator feel half dead and wanting to be more free. The lyrics show the pain the narrator experienced through a period of time. He went through a lot of dark and rough times and it took awhile for him to realize that he is in control of his happiness. He was in such a dark place that he didn’t realize all of the things he was losing. The end of the song brings some clarity in the form of these lyrics:

If I rush to follow along, I keep forgetting which one is me
If I rush to follow along, I keep forgetting which one is me
If you need to stop, then stop now
We lose too many important things in life
If I rush to follow along, I keep forgetting which one is me

— Tara

Nell’s The Day Before may not be exactly what The Day of The Dead is about, but the song’s video remind me of the feelings that someone has towards the passing of a loved one. The lyrics are seemingly about a couple that’s broken up, but Nell’s music video shows that the band wrote it with the thought of death in mind.

It was difficult at first
More than I will admit
It was burdensome
But after accepting it,
it makes me too sorrowful.

Losing a loved one is difficult, but even after you accept that you will never see them, that pain never goes away. It’s hard and burdensome to love and lose someone, but as humans it is what we do.

–Tamar

Also on KultScene: 5 Reasons To Love Kim So Eun & Song Jae Rim On ‘We Got Married’

Day Of The Dead is a holiday to remember the loved ones that passed away. In HA:TFELT’s song Nothing Lasts Forever, she talks about losing someone you love and not being able to say goodbye to them. This song is very dear to my heart because I wasn’t able to say goodbye to my grandmother before she died, and listening to this song, it gives me a lot of peace. In her voice you can hear a very fragile tone and how regretful she is of not saying that last goodbye. She knows that even if she didn’t have the chance to say what she wanted to say, at least she has that last memory of her loved one. That’s what Day of the Dead is all about, knowing that your loved ones who have passed away are at peace and in a better place, even if it’s hard at first to accept it; you will always remember them.

–Alejandro

What’s your favorite Day of the dead-like K-Pop song? Leave your pick in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Bloglovin’ so you can keep up with all our posts.

Haters will always be around and we can either become consumed with their negativity or brush it off and continue to live our lives the way we want. This week’s Playlist Sunday is all about shutting up those haters and showing them that we don’t give a damn about their pessimism and snide remarks. With the help of Beenzino, CL, G-Dragon, and Teddy, Epik High (with some friends), and MBLAQ let’s all forget about the haters and enjoy the music.

Beenzino’s Up All Night talks about a different kind of hate and how the narrator deals with it. He just lost his lover and he hates everything and everyone. He just wants to go out, get drunk, have fun, and forget everything else, especially his love situation. He hates love songs and dealing with a breakup, and he makes it more intense during the bridge when he adds some cuss words. At the end of the song, he clearly states how much he hates his haters while continuing his use of profanity, but lets his fans know that he does everything for them.

–Alejandro

If we’re going to talk about haters, there’s probably not two people in K-Pop who have gotten more hate than G-Dragon and CL. That’s why in The Leaders, the idols, together with YG Entertainment producer Teddy, came out with a song celebrating themselves. In the song, they talk about being on top of their game and not being fazed by any haters. The Leaders has the best one liner disses in english ever, making it the reason I love this song. It’s a very smug song, but true nevertheless.

–Alexis

[Note: The following song contains explicit content.]

Epik High celebrated their 10^th anniversary last October with the release of an exclusive track on their Soundcloud. The song, 420, was produced by DJ Tukutz and highlights Tablo’s and Mithra’s rapping. But this song isn’t just Epik High, seven other rappers join the hip hop group. Double K, Yankie, Dok2, Sean2Slow, Dumbfoundead, TopBob, and MYK all have a verse in the song.

The song is about Epik High’s rise from the bottom and how they’re still here and the same group as when they started. Each verse gives listeners brief insight into each rappers’ career, beginnings, and feelings about the hip hop scene. The beat is addictive and everyone’s verses flow well together. 420 is not for the faint of heart, but it’s definitely worth listening to and understanding the lyrics.

— Tara

MBLAQ’s known for its dance and R&B songs, but Run is one of MBLAQ’s most powerful, epic songs as well as by any idol group. It serves as the introductory song on MBLAQ’s 100% Ver, and sets the mood for the entire album- the idea that MBLAQ loves what it’s doing, and doesn’t really care what your reaction to the album is.

MBLAQ has done a lot of experimental stuff, and Run is the group’s anthem saying that it doesn’t really care what your reaction is, but MBLAQ is going to overtake you. Run is the intro for an album with a multitude of song styles including This Is War, Hello My Ex, and Scribble, and the variety is a bit overwhelming. Run knows that not everyone will be comfortable with every song, with every style that MBLAQ includes in the album, but MBLAQ is ready for both criticism and competition.

–Tamar

What’s your favorite song that sticks it to the haters? Be sure to share it and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Bloglovin’ so you can keep up with all our posts.