Entertainment / 6 Reasons Why I’ve Added K-Pop To My Bollywood Playlist

6 Reasons Why I’ve Added K-Pop To My Bollywood Playlist

Entertainment Nov 20, 2020

by Mrinalini Sundar

K-Pop has been dominating the pop cultural sphere for the past few years. However when it comes to their demographics, it’s been mostly tweens to young adults flocking to their vids and tick tocks posts. However our very own Mrinalini Sundar, a married working mom, is now the latest K-pop convert. Check out her journey and what K-Pop bands you must listen to!

I was oblivious to K-Pop. I was happy with my Bollywood Punjabi music when one day my cousin introduced me to one of the most popular K-Pop bands in the world, BTS. The first song I heard was Boy With Luv and I was hooked. I didn’t understand a word of the song but the beats, the flow, the rhythm, and the choreography lingered in my mind for a long time. The teens loved it, they know everything about these bands but as a 30-something I felt young listening to these songs. They brought a certain freshness and swagger with them and I loved that feeling. That was the starting point for my K-Pop music exploration. One band after the other, my love for Korean music grew, and today, I have my own playlist that runs when I workout to when I am driving. Here’s a list of bands that I follow that I think you should do too.

1. BTS:

My love for this band can never end. You can not really write about K-pop bands without mentioning bout this band. Their music mixes hip-hop, pop, EDM, rap, and the group also address a lot of issues through their songs such as mental health, peace, and love. According to Cosmopolitan, here’s a little statistics about the band, “Reaching number one on iTunes in more than 65 countries, have held first place on Billboard’s Social 50 chart for 114 weeks in a row, and absolutely crushed a U.S. stadium tour.”

2. EXO:

They might not be newcomers but most certainly are a must-listen if you are looking to explore K-Pop music. Debuted in 2012, and after selling millions of albums, the team was named Power Celebrities by Forbes Korea from 2014 through 2018. You can’t miss them when it comes to endorsements. and has sold millions of records. According to Purple Sneakers, their 2019 album, Obsession focussed on issues such as dual personalities, darker visuals, complex emotions, and hyper-real imagery of the members as good and evil doppelgängers. A perfect blend of EDM and hip-hop, EXO’s choreography is a class apart.

3. Girls’ Generation:

It is not all men when it comes to K-Pop. There are quite a few girl gangs that do their magic and are not looking to slow down anytime soon. My favourite however is the Girls’ Generation, which unfortunately is not performing anymore but is a top gang on my list. Known as SNSD in Korea, this group is well known for its electro-bubblegum sound and captured their audience with their vibrant and youthful singing and music. One cannot ignore the fashion sense they brought to the screen with the nine girls who belonged to the gang.

4. Red Velvet:

Red Velvet which debut in 2014 is also one of the most popular girl gangs around in K-Pop. Currently featuring five members, the band sings about a wide spectrum of topics and emotions, and merge together genres – predominantly pop and hip-hop with 90’s RnB. The band got a green light from Billboard and Time magazines and received several awards for their music, choreography, and popularity. If K-Pop got to where it is, a lot of fans believe it was Red Velvet that did the magic. After all, they were the first Korean girl group to hit the top spot of the US iTunes Album Chart and went on to top the chart again three times in a singular calendar year. If you want to see glamorous, then check this band that makes videos that is super elegant and dark all at the same time.

5. Ateez:

Having been following Korean music for a while, you are well abreast of the new bands that enter the industry. One such band that made heads turn is Ateez that is new but fresh and full of energy nevertheless. According to Glamour , they had one of the most powerful debuts in K-pop history. What they boast is bold vocals, some fantastic choreography which is in complete sync and suave, emotional rap lyrics, and intense melodies, the band is here to stay. One can definitely not ignore this gang that is here to bring a change and create some path-breaking trends.

6. Blackpink:

I listned to “Kill This Love” and it ended being on loop for the next few days. The video production is top-notch, the beats drop and rise again, and the girls are all full of energy which is infectious. The Seoul-born girl group became the first-ever K-pop band to join YouTube’s Billion Views Club in 2019 with their single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du”. And if you haven’t watched “Sour Candy” yet, then what are you doing in life? The song is in collaboration with Lady Gaga and it is all things cool. Their last tour had more than 205,000 in attendance (this was before the pandemic hit the world).

Featured Image courtesy: NME.com

Mrinalini Sundar

Author

Mrinalini Sundar (new_girl_in_to) has worked with various Indian national, international publications including Times Of India and is currently based out of Toronto. She's constantly in search of high adventure, exotic food, and new experiences. She is the happiest amidst mountains, with no wi-fi.

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6 Reasons Why I’ve Added K-Pop To My Bollywood Playlist

by Mrinalini Sundar

Mrinalini Sundar

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