The Hallyu Wave has arrived and it is here to stay! AAAAAHHHHHH! If you’re just a monoglot who didn’t even know Asian celebrities existed until, like, three years ago, never fear. I have here for you today, five amazing K-pop songs that include enough Korean in their lyrics to signal to others that they’re K-pop songs, as well as enough English to show your classmate Jennifer that you’re not a big, stupid racist who doesn’t know non-American music.
- “NewJeans” by New Jeans
What? NewJeans is the name of the song and also the name of the group? You haven’t been this confused since The Weather Girls released “It’s Raining Men.” Did they record it and then name the group? So perplexing… During the parts of “NewJeans” where you would be making your usual racist comments like, “Why do all these girls look and sound the same?” you can instead sing along to the parts that are in English. When you croon, “Look, it’s a new me / Switched it up, who’s this?” you’ll actually be referring to yourself and your brand new knowledge of K-pop. Just remember that nobody is going to laugh if you refer to yourself as “OldJeans.”
- “Boy With Luv” by BTS
Hell yeah, Jin, come be my teacher! Everybody and their stepfathers have heard of BTS. Maybe except for you, who’s still asking questions like, “What does BTS stand for? So they sing and dance at the same time? How is that even possible?!” The secret is that it’s not possible and most k-pop idols lip sync to their music when they perform, but oh my god, I’m totally lying I’m such a BTS anti #BTSPavedTheWay #IPurpleYou #CollectiveConsciousnessRocks. But this song also features Halsey, who you probably know…what? You haven’t heard of Halsey, either? What kind of music do you listen to?
- “Gangnam Style” by PSY
The whole world remembers where they were when they saw or heard Gangnam Style for the first time. I myself, was a bright-eyed eight-year-old, just starting to wean myself off of the Disney Channel music of my youth, when my wise father presented me with the music video. “What beauty is this?” I inquired. “Oh my sweet child,” he replied. “It’s the start of a new millennium.” Gangnam Style is so famous that no one will even notice if you don’t start singing until the chorus when it comes on at a party, and even when it gets to the chorus, no one will even notice your singing because they’ll be too busy trying to do the horse riding dance gracefully and shouting, “Ayyyy, sexy LA-DY!” at the same time. It’s truly the only appropriate time when a group of people can scream, “Ayyyy, sexy LA-DY!” in unison.
- “WORK” by ATEEZ
Ignoring the fact that the name ATEEZ sounds like the beginning of a very bad deez nuts joke (i.e. “It seems like you have a very bad case of ateez…ateez nuts!”), the chorus of this song is super catchy and entirely in English. Plus, maybe listening to the lyrics will motivate you to do better in life and improve, especially in regards to making that money, making purse, getting a fur coat and/or giving people whiplash when they see what you earn. If you’re feeling especially cultured, there’s also a quick Spanish line in this song that you can whip out and use during your sister-in-law’s niece’s quinceañera. If she berates you for giving her a cheap gift, just remind her that you’re not a “ganso que pone huevos de oro.”
- “Andromeda” by Mukimukimanmansu
This song is a bit of a “deep cut,” as they say, and you might be wondering, “Nandini, how is this freak-folk song from 2012 about bugs that went viral on Vine going to help virtue-signal to others that I’m not a dense bigot?” Never fear! “Andromeda” will help you out in a different way from the rest of the songs on this list—it’s so avant-garde and out there that people will mostly ask you if you’re okay for playing this on the aux cord instead of criticizing you for your nonexistent language skills. As an added bonus, the chorus is just straight-up screaming with some tasteful brass horns. You can use this time to vent out all your frustrations about your crappy job and sexless marriage. Those around you will just think that you’re a quite passionate singer.
Use these songs today and spice up other people’s perceptions of you!