Posts

13 K-Pop Videos to Get You into the Halloween Spirit

/in , /by

K-Pop Halloween BTOB ThrillerLadies and Gentlemen, the time of all things dark, spooky, and strange is upon us. With Halloween just around the corner, whether you want to party till the sun chases away the monsters or curl up in a dark corner watching a horror movie marathon, here are a few Korean music videos to help awaken your inner ghoul.

1.BTOB – “Thriller”

It can’t be Halloween without a few zombies. BTOB brings us a dark video that starts out in a creepy cemetery with their “zombie dance” opening. From the sharp and haunting dance moves to glowing eyes, “Thriller” perfectly expresses the dark theme while still remaining stylish and fresh. The song features powerful vocals from vocalists Hyunsik and Eunkwang mixed with fast and steady rap verses from Ilhoon and Minhyuk that accentuate the idea of invincibility and the fact that frightening things can be exciting, which is what Halloween is all about.sup

2.100% – “Beat”

This literal heart-wrenching video from 100% puts a dark spin on the classic Frankenstein story which features a girl harvesting parts from other members to bring the one she loves back to life. “Beat” prompts viewers to question how far would they go for love and dealing with the consequences. The smooth almost monotone feeling of the song explodes with the chorus,
where the group’s lead and main vocals Rokhyun and Hyukjin do a great job in expressing the pain and dark side of love.

3.BOYFRIEND – “WITCH”

BOYFRIEND’s “WITCH” is a dance song with a catchy hook about liking a girl that they probably shouldn’t. The video features a hot gang of vampires and Little Red Riding Hood the vampire slayer. . . It’s K-Pop so why not? The eerie background sounds mixed with the upbeat dance track and vampire visuals do well together to create a dark atmosphere perfect for any spooky
dance party.

Also on KultScene: f(x)’s “4 Walls” Album Review

4.VIXX – “VOODOO DOLL”

At the climax of their dark/horror concepts, VIXX released the video for “VOODOO DOLL.” Unlike the typical bright bubbly  mages K-Pop is known for, VIXX did a complete 180 with everything from blood to voodoo possession. If you’re not a fan of the all the blood and gore, then you can opt for the clean version and admire the dance moves and large pin prop that VIXX incorporates, going along with the whole voodoo theme. But since it is Halloween, why not embrace the stunning visuals that VIXX created in all of its gory awesomeness?

5.BEAST – “Shadow”

BEAST totally embraces the whole dark and brooding theme with “Shadow.” A song written by BEAST’s very own rapper and composer genius Young Jun Hyung about being in darkness (or shadows, if you will) after losing a loved one. The song features great vocals and rap verses, not to be outdone by the dark post-apocalyptic imagery of the video.

6.Sunmi – “Full Moon”

Vampires are definitely a popular thing this time of year. Instead of a heart-pumping adrenaline rushing vampire image, Sunmi takes a more sexy dark approach to the whole blood sucking thing. “Full Moon” is a slow jazzy song perfect for those cold dark nights.

7.Kim Jae Joong – “Mine”

Kim Jae Joong, 1/3 of the popular group JYJ, stepped out with a solo rock song. From snowy forests to random evil foreboding animals and Jae Joong as a bedazzled Doctor Doom/Vampire/Angel. The video is filled with everything your dark goth-y heart would desire.

8.F(x) – “Red Light”

Now “Red Light” isn’t your typical Halloween spooky song full of pumpkins and monsters, although the video does have a black cat in it. The song and video gives off a dark and mysterious vibes that are perfect for this season.

9.Block B – “Jackpot”

Many people find clowns delightful, but if they are not really your style then the opening of Block B’s “Jackpot” will probably freak you out. The whole strange freaky theme is carried throughout the video with the band tormenting a girl with their crazy antics (though I wouldn’t mind at all).

10.Sunny Hill – “Midnight Circus”

Another group that likes to hang out at creepy circuses is Sunny Hill. In “Midnight Circus” the girls take a more sexy approach in a strange vintage looking circus in the woods. With an eerie intro, “Midnight Circus” plays nicely into the Halloween theme.

Also on KultScene: 5 Korean Actors Who Can Carre A Tune Better Than K-Pop Idols

11.Lee Jung Hyun – “V”

The video begins as any other horror movie; guy is stranded and wanders into a creepy old house were mayhem pursues. The Techno Queen Lee Jung Hyun takes a more fun approach to the whole creepy obsession thing and puts a fun quirky spin on the traditional haunted house.

12.LADIES’CODE – “Hate You”

Whenever girl groups do a dark concept, it usually comes off as sexy. On the contrary, LADIES’CODE does the dark concept in a more artsy way. Their whole doll concept is both strange and beautiful at the same time proving that you don’t have to be crazy or gory to send chills down someone’s spine.

 

13. Super Junior – “Opera”

Super boy band Super Junior puts out a dark Phantom of the Opera-esque video with “Opera.” In the video the boys vanishing and appearing like very stylish ghosts. Yes, this is the Japanese version, but the video fits the whole Halloween theme than the Korean dance version.

What’s your favorite Halloween song? 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.

Playlist Sunday: Weird K-Pop Songs

/in , /by

kpop playlist songs heroesTo people outside the fandom, K-pop is weird. And yet, for us in the know, it’s funny, because we know they haven’t seen anything yet. That’s why this week’s playlist is dedicated to those truly odd music videos that actually deserve the “bizarre” tag.

I remember feeling some slight anxiety and excitement while waiting for T.O.P’s “Doom Dada” to be released. Prior to this single, the last time he had a solo song was back in 2010, therefore, the anticipation was riding pretty high. “Doom Dada” was a roller coaster of emotions. My friend and I listened to the song first and watched the music video afterwards. There were moments where we both gave each other really puzzled “WHAT THE HELL?” looks and then there were moments where we were both in tears from laughing at the bigheaded masked baby. T.O.P’s fandom knows that he has strange characteristics; it’s hard to really figure what goes through his head most of the time, so I can’t say I was completely surprised by this song and music video. If anything, it just makes me want to dig deeper and ask him a lot of questions.

— Tam

No collection of weird K-pop songs is complete without the Godfather of Weird, Seo Taiji. In 1992, along with his Boys, he ushered in a new age of Korean pop music. And thanks to his roots in rap, metal, and pop, that age would go on to be a profoundly weird one. So it is because of him that we now have such a diverse of music within K-pop. To show he’s still got it, I picked his most recent single “Christmalo.win” for today’s playlist. “Christmalo.win” combines all of thes influences into one rip-roaring piece that somehow works. It’s the perfect mix between Halloween and Christmas sounds coming off like “The Nightmare Before Christmas” except good (yeah, I went there!). The song bounces between genres with electronics taking up the most of it with interjections of metal and rap. It is a perfect summation of the man and K-pop that a song like this can be released in 2014 and not be considered utterly groundbreaking. To Korea, it’s just Seo Taiji, the President of Culture.

–Joe

Also on KultScene: The Best Songs At KCON LA 2015

If your first thought after watching “Bae Bae” wasn’t “WTF??” there’s something far more wrong with you than with BIGBANG. Seriously, where do I even begin? How about the fact that they made the fangirls’ minds run amok when they said the video would be 19+, only to be surprised with G-Dragon getting handsy with furniture, T.O.P having a very metaphorical sex scene, and all of the members lifting girls’ skirts? I mean, did anyone even pay attention to the actual song –which is quite good, by the way — on their first viewing of the music video? Not this girl. “Bae Bae” is an overall mind fxxk, but a very interesting one. You can watch it multiple times and you will always find something funny or weird you hadn’t noticed before. Some boy bands get cutesy or funny on their music videos to cater to fans. BIGBANG gets weird, and that’s perfectly fine with VIPs.

— Alexis

Of all the weird, early K-pop concepts that I’ve seen (H.O.T, I’m looking at you,) Lee Jung Hyun has always been the weirdest of them all. She is the queen of performances in South Korea, after all. “Wa” is iconic in K-pop but not truly because of its musical style instead, it is primarily famous because of Lee’s live performances. The song is a rhythmic pop-techno fusion song and extremely catchy, and the music video is absolutely insane, with space ships and kimonos and who really knows what. But it’s when Lee performs “Wa” live that I think all of her crazy, weirdness comes out. Definitely check out the music video sometime, but you can’t miss out on Lee dancing her iconic fan performance and using her pinky finger like a microphone. If you’re interested in seeing her perform the song more recently, Lee performed the song on “Infinite Challenge” Totoga earlier this year.

— Tamar

If it weren’t for the sensual reggae vibes of the song, I think I would be a little nervous watching the music video for PRIMARY’s “Don’t Be Shy.” Let’s just say that if I were a parent, I would think twice about letting my girls have a sleepover after this. The video revolves around a less than average sleepover with AOA’s ChoA and friends, where we witness them rip apart Barbie dolls, play ghost dress-up, and summon spirits in the dark; I bet somewhere in there there is a satanic message waiting to be decoded. The whole music video is a nod towards ‘90s grunge, if the Pokemon cards and the gritty quality were not enough indication of that. And even if you don’t fully understand the subculture you can’t deny how much of a total babe ChoA is looking. Her unmatched talents will have you revisiting the video again and again, and saying creepy is the new aesthetics anyways.

— Shelley

Also on KultScene: Best Rookie Girl Groups of July

Yes, we already have them in the list, but we can’t help it. BIGBANG are known for being weird and crazy most of the time, but with their newest release “Zutter” by GD & T.O.P., they hit a home run. First of all, what does zutter even mean? The video not only starts with them peeing, but it also has this crazy story, that after seeing the video repeatedly, I still don’t get what the video and song are about. I’m pretty sure T.O.P.’s slimey slaughter of something blurry and the puing of guts has somewhat of a metaphorical artsy meaning. Nevertheless, the video is not only weird, but it’s funny in a really crazy way. What gets weirder than T.O.P. peeing on G-Dragon? I honestly don’t think anything could top that. The song is really good and it seems as if it could have been in their first debut album as a duo.

— Alejandro

What’s the weirdest K-pop song you’ve ever heard? The weirdest K-pop music video you’ve ever seen? Let us know 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.