♬♪ Koreaboo Staff Music Picks of the Week - Week 3 ♬♪

Koreaboo's staff is back yet again to recommend readers some of our favorite songs! Over the past few weeks, we have recommended to readers several genre of Korean music such as hip-hop, pop, R&B, and more.

This week, Koreaboo's staff has recommended songs by some well-known artists such as Big Bang, CNBLUE's Yonghwa, Anyband, Infinite, JYJ, SM The Ballad, and rocker Kim Sarang.

Which recommendation did you enjoy the most?






ohgelie - Writer
Big Bang's "Tonight"

Being one of Big Bang's biggest fans, I couldn't help but suggest one song from them. Anyway, for the past few days, there was only song that didn't fail to wake me up while at work - and that's their track "Tonight".

Despite failing music critics by not being able to gel as a group throughout the track, the song is one of Big Bang's classic tracks. Listening to it transports me to a different world, and it fazes me how the instrumental for the track wasn't featured in any international fashion shows. Compared to the highly autotuned and electronic releases from other artists, this track is of a higher notch, as not once did I ever get sick of listening ot it.





Uni - Writer
CNBLUE Yonghwa's "Because I Miss You" ("Heartstrings" OST)

After watching CNBLUE's Yonghwa in the drama "You're Beautiful," I began watching his latest drama "Heartstrings". I discovered this song when he began performing it in the drama in episode 2 or 3, and I've been addicted to it since then.

"Because I Miss You" is a wonderful ballad that really brings out the sadness and longing that the lyrics represent. The background music consists of violins, guitar, and piano that does an equally good job representing the emotions of the song as Yonghwa's singing. Solely by the singing and knowing the title of the song, this song will tear at your heart.





DareDB - Writer
Anyband's "TPL (Talk, Play, Love)" & "Promise U"

Back in 2007, Samsung recruited big K-Pop stars to help promote their product Anycall. With BoA, Xiah Junsu, Epik High's Tablo, and Jin Bora coming together for this single, it made for sweet music. Not to mention, the music video for the songs "TPL (Talk, Play, Love)" and "Promise U" was something really neat, as it played off the novel "1984". Both songs seem to go hand in hand, in my opinion, but "Promise U" seems to be one of the more underrated songs in K-Pop. All I can say is that hearing these songs every once in a while makes me wish for an Anyband reunion. Samsung, please put out another product and make more great music with the combination of these talented artists at least one more time.





Eggyone - Senior Editor
Infinite's "Be Mine" (1st album "Over the Top")

Infinite's latest title track, "Be Mine," is another hit song from the group. When they first debuted with "Come Back Again (Dashi Dorawa)," I really enjoyed their sound and their concept style. Ever since then, Infinite has caught my attention with their catchy upbeat tracks. While "Be Mine" carries a sadder storyline and a heavy tone, the catchy lyrics are still present in the song.

The song consists of the main lines, "Be Mine. I love you, okay? I worry about you, okay? I'll protect you until the end." The lyrics talk about the guy wanting the girl to be his because he doesn't want to see her get hurt any longer. The guy wants to protect the girl from any hardships she could face.

Another thing I like about Infinite is the amount of effort they put into their dancing. Infinite is one of the top dancing groups by far, and the effort they put into learning the dances really shows through during the music video and their live stages. Infinite recently won first place on M! Countdown two weeks in a row! Congratulations to Infinite for their first ever music show win!





TwistedInsanity - Writer
Kim Sarang's "Loser" (2009 mini album "Behind the Melody")

I grew up listening to rock, and when I got fully into Korean music, it was, oddly enough, mainly because of its rock music. One of the artists I've been addicted to for a while now is Kim Sarang, not to be confused with the model of the same name. He started off as an 18-year-old with music in the line of Seo Taiji's earliest solo work and was highly influenced by nu metal bands to the likes of Linkin Park. Though his music became softer and less experimental over the years, he still manages to surprise me with his occasional screams and raw voice.

"Loser", a track from his last physical release "Behind the Melody", has this same raw voice perfectly mixed with a great rock melody. The combination of all the instruments, his voice, the raw chorus, and especially the scream as a climax near the end, makes me anticipate more of his future work and also shows that the underground rock scene in Korea is far from dead. It's just hard to dig up if you don't know where to start.





Leah - Writer
JYJ's "Found You" ("Sungkyunkwan Scandal" OST)

"Found You" is the popular OST song for the drama "Sungkyunkwan Scandal". It is sung by the music group JYJ, and the song has a really great harmony between the three members. Furthermore, the song is very happy although the feel is like that of a ballad. This OST track did so well that it ranked first in many music charts without any active promotions. I really recommend listening to "Found You"; it will make you feel all happy and fuzzy inside. And if you have time, you might as well watch the drama too.





orchid - Writer
SM The Ballad's "Don't Lie" ft. Super Junior-M's Henry Lau (1st mini-album "Miss You")

SM The Ballad, a project group featuring Super Junior's Kyuhyun, TRAX's Jay, SHINee's Jonghyun, and a rookie named Jino, may not have taken Korea by storm, but it was surprising treat for many SMTown fans. Not only did their mini-album "Miss You" unite four of the company's most capable singers, it gave them interesting, coffeehouse-like music that took full advantage of their skills. I love pop music, but it was a welcome change to hear these four try something slower, and especially for Kyuhyun, who's split lines with up to twelve others, to get as many lines as he deserves.

My favorite track from "Miss You" is "Don't Lie", a duet between Jonghyun and Jino with minimal instrumentals and low, sensual vocals. Henry's English rap is unintentionally hilarious (in the best possible way), but the song quickly gets back on track. I'm not sure when Jino will officially debut or if SM The Ballad will make more music (if SM had intended to compete with the ultra-popular 2AM, they failed), but I'd gladly roll out the welcome mat.





EDITORIALS on Koreaboo.com reflect the opinion of individual Koreaboo writers and not of Koreaboo.com as a whole.

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