7 Kpop Songs That Give You A Spring in Your Step
On dreary days, we look for music that will perk us up and give us that little energy boost for what we have to do. Here at ABC KOREA, we've compiled seven songs that are sure to have you bouncing in your seat!
Note: Not all the songs have deep meaningful lyrics — they're chosen by the beat and rhythm to the song, not the meaning.
JJ Project's Bounce
Before GOT7 became GOT7, two members, JB (now Jay B) and Jr. (now Jinyoung) formed JJ Project and debuted with the single Bounce.
In line with the style of early 2010s Kpop, Bounce doesn't really have a huge profound meaning to the song. It does however, have an extremely catchy and headbang-worthy chorus. In fact, the choreography during the chorus is actually a headbang!
Joy's Hello
After a throwback to the 2010s, let's have a newer song: Joy's solo debut, Hello!
A modern rock remake of Park Hyekyung's 2003 song of the same name, Joy's Hello not only brightens your day, but the lyrics are very sweet too! It plays on the fact that 안녕 (an-nyeong) in Korean means both Hello and Goodbye — she's wishing your sadness away and welcoming joy (no pun intended... maybe).
Joy truly lives up to her stage name with her song giving us the boost we need to start our day right!
VIXX's Love Equation
Another remake of first-generation Kpop band R.ef's 1995 song Farewell Formula, VIXX's Love Equation adds a modern spin to their 2015 track. Fun fact! The Korean name for Love Equation remains the same; they just changed the English name for the song.
It may surprise some people that this upbeat song is actually a sad song in disguise. The singer sings about how difficult it is to have a farewell on a sunny day, because you can't even use the rain to hide your tears. Even then, they want to wish the other well and is trying to be happy for them.
With a simple and catchy dance in the chorus, you might even catch yourself dancing to this song on your morning commute!
Seventeen's DO RE MI
A song by the maknae line of Seventeen, this song is both energetic and encouraging. Its funky beat makes you want to groove to the rhythm, especially at the chorus.
Its uplifting lyrics give you a sense of peace and hope when you first hear them — sometimes in life, we make things more difficult than it has to be and we come down too hard on ourselves for mistakes and struggles. Seventeen's DO RE MI tells us that it's okay to take our time, to think simply and look at life in a more positive light.
This is my favourite song in their album, both for its tune and its meaning.
J-Min's Stand Up
Veteran Kpop fans would've heard of To The Beautiful You, a Korean drama adaptation of popular Japanese manga Hana Kimi. The drama was produced by SM Entertainment and featured many SM Entertainment artistes like SHINee's Minho and f(x)'s Sulli in its cast. Likewise, the soundtrack was sung by SM Entertainment artistes, with the ending track being sung by SM soloist J-Min.
Not only is this song upbeat, the lyrics are amazing too! It tells you that even though life may knock you down sometimes you can always pick yourself up, stand up straight and face the world with courage!
If you'd like to feel like the main character of a high school drama, I recommend giving Stand Up a listen when you get ready for your day. Just imagine that what you're doing is getting edited into a collage that introduces the protagonist 😉
BTS' Anpanman
Anpanman is a superhero that isn't tall, bulky and strong like those that we're familiar with. Instead, he's someone with a red bean bread (his name literally means Bean Bun Man) for a face and saves the world not with his strength but his self-sacrificial kindness.
BTS' Anpanman talks about being a hero for someone, even though they may not be big and strong. Everyone can be a hero in their own special way!
True to its inspiration, the song is bouncy and cute and is sure to put a smile on your face!
SNSD's Way to Go
The oldest song on this list, it was released in 2009! How old were we then? 🥴
Maknae Seohyun starts the song accompanied with the electric guitar in the back, giving you that spark of energy you crave. The rest of the song continues in the same manner, with a snazzy instrumental and the melodious voices of the girls. Just like Stand Up, Way to Go's lyrics tells us to have strength and celebrate in the fact that we've made it this far in life.
If you feel like having a mini concert at your desk before starting your day, you can always count on SNSD's Way to Go to put you in the mood!
We hope that you've discovered some new songs that you'll be adding to your playlist! If you have more recommendations, feel free to let us know via our social media channels!
P.S. The writer fully acknowledges that this list broadcasts her age and the number of years she's spent addicted to Kpop and ragrets nothing.