K-Pop has become a global phenomenon that none can deny. This became true once Psy’s “Gangnam Style” crossed-over in the summer of 2012, and it’s only proven more true with dominance of BTS worldwide, along with other aritsts such as Blackpink, Twice, and Stray Kids just to list a few. (We know we’ve missed so many!) Even before K-Pop crossed over however the sounds of K-Pop were defined in part by the Western artists many Korean artists and producers looked up to (so, so much Europop), as well as the Western songwriters these same Korean artists collaborated with. Of course K-Pop groups and producers give each song their own flair and style, and many write, create, and produce their own tracks so credit to the K-Pop creators where credit is due of course. Still it’s undeniable that there is a crossover between Western artists and Korean artists that has helped the genre flourish, and today we wanted to highlight ten songwriters whose songs have left an indellible mark on K-Pop.
Bebe Rexha – “Lucifer” (SHINee)
Many believe (including a few of our team) that SHINee should have been the BTS of the 2nd generation of K-Pop due their incredible talent as singers, dancers, and overall performers. And while they’ve lasted through advertisty, with the tragic loss of Jonghyun, we still feel they’re owed even more credit and love for their work through the years. Though SHINee has been incredibly involved with the crafting of their own music, many written by Jonghyun, one of their early standout tracks actually owes a debt to Bebe Rexha who composed the track we now know as ‘Lucifer’, with credits also owed to Adam Kapit, Ryan S. Jhun, and Yoo Young-jin. (Yoo Young-jin is credited with the lyrics.) Bebe Rexha released a TikTok video in 2020 which included her original demo, which she says she wrote at 17 years old that then became the mega hit ‘Lucifer’ for SHINee. ‘Lucifer’ not only became a hit for SHINee, their third hit single and at the time their highest charting in Korea, but it also became the title track. ‘Lucifer’ continues to have staying power to this day nearly 14 years after its release, as its continually included on lists such as Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs list coming in at a very respectable 16. Rexha now has an established career as well as a singer in addition to a songwriter; however, for SHINee fans she’ll also have a special place as the composer of one of SHINee’s greatest bangers.
@beberexhaWrote this demo when I was 17 and it got turned into a big kpop song, Lucifer by SHINee!♬ original sound – BebeRexha
Thomas Troelsen and Mikkel Remee Sigvardt – “Hot Summer” (F(x))
We mentioned Europop’s influence on K-Pop earlier for good reason, as its influence on K-Pop is perhaps second only to the influence of rap and hip hop. F(x)’s song “Hot Summer” is so Europop it was originally crafted for a Europop group. That’s right unlike many songs by K-Pop artists that may “sound like” other artists’ songs (some alas are later deemed to be direct rip-offs), F(x)’s “Hot Summer” is in fact an approved remake of the track first made famous by the German girl group “Monrose.” Though the lyrics were adapted by Kenzie for F(x), the original song was crafted by two Danish artists Thomas Troelsen and Mikkel Remee Sigvardt whose impact on K-Pop is substantial. Mikkel Remee Sigvardt, known simply as Remee, is a Danish rapper, singer-songwriter, who has helped compose tracks including TVXQ’s “Mirotic”, a track originally destined for another group but ultimately led to the widespread fame of this beloved group. Remee’s gone on to collaborate on other hits for K-Pop artists including BoA’s “Eat You Up” and “Just Like That”, along with SHINee’s “Juliette”, EXO’s “History”, and “Girls’ Generation”‘s “Echo”. Thomas Troelsen, a Danish singer-songwriter, worked alongside Remee to create TVXQ’s “Mirotic” and BoA’s “Eat You Up”, as well as other tracks co-created with other collaborators. His contributions include work on tracks such as Girls’ Generation’s “Run Devil Run”, “Spy” by Super Junior, and more recently “Go Up” by Jay B of GOT7 fame. Together they were an especially dominant force on 2nd generation K-Pop. In fact, they even got a shoutout in the oddly titled Guardian piece from 2011 Behind the music: What is K-Pop and why are the Swedish getting involved? (We think the Guardian could’ve gone broader with the piece than Sweden, but that’s just us.) Though the pairs work has been sporadic of late, especially as it pertains to K-Pop, and they don’t always collaborate together, their influence along with their Scandinavian peers continues to influence the Korean music industry.
Olly Murs – “Magic” (TXT)
English musician Olly Murs came to fame with The X Factor in 2009, and he’s continued to make a name for himself especially in his home country as a top pop artist and recent host of The Voice UK. Unlike other pop artists who may not contribute to the songwriting process, Murs has a number of writing and co-writing credits to his name. One that caught K-Pop fans by surprise it seems is Murs’ credit on TXT’s song “Magic”. Murs appearance in the credits was so surprising in fact that several articles have been devoted to this revelation including this article by Metro. Though by no means the only credit on the track, Murs does take the lead credit spot alongside collaborators Sarah Blanchard, Richard Boardman, Pablo Bowman, Anders Froen, and Aaron Hibell. “Magic” is notable as its TXT’s first english-language track, which also means its one of the few songs on this list that haven’t been re-written/adapted into Korean. Though so far it appears to be Murs’ only K-Pop credit, we’ll be reading the liner notes more closely in the future to see if we can spot additional credits to him in the future.
Erika de Casier – “Super Shy” (NewJeans)
The Guardian may have given too much credit to the Swedes for their contribution to K-Pop, as it appears to be Danish artists who have had the greatest impact. One of those Danes who have had the biggest success in the last two years is Portgual born Danish artist Erika de Casier. de Casier began her musical career as half of the duo Saint Cava performing R&B. Following the breakup she went solo and has made a name for herself as “a quietly commanding presence…inspired by ’90s and ’00s R&B,” according to Pitchfork. This may be why she was a perfect go-to for NewJeans, one of the biggest breakout hits of the last two years whose music both reflects classic R&B while also presenting a modern take on these influences. According to de Casier’s interview with GQ, this was her first time writing for another artist. de Casier wrote her songs alongside friends and musical cohorts of hers in Copenhagen, and though she imagined the songs would then be filtered through other producers and significantly altered she was surprised how much remained saying to GQ “they didn’t change anything, they didn’t change any melodies.” As of this writing its fair to say that “Super Shy” was the breakout hit of the collection she helped write; however, she is credited as well as a co-writer on “New Jeans”, “Cool with You”, and “ASAP”. With so much success for NewJeans’ “Get Up” EP, along with as a well earned “Danish Songwriter of the Year” award shared with Fine Glindvad for their work for NewJeans, we’ll undoubtedly see de Casier’s name mentioned again in conversation with K-Pop and likely NewJeans.
Troye Sivan – “Louder Than Bombs” (BTS)
It’s pretty incredible to realize that if you listed Sivan’s achievements in his young life in numerical order of impressiveness that writing a song used by BTS might just make the top five. Whether it’s hard work alone, or some serioiusly successful manifesting, Sivan’s life and career has just continued to be incredible as he’s found success as an actor, singer, and model. Sivan’s contribution to BTS history was more of an accident however than an intentional choice, as Sivan explained in an interview with J-14. Sivan said of his co-writing time with his team who also wrote his breakout hit “Youth”, “The first song we ever, ever, ever wrote together, at the time, it was called ‘Hologram Hearts’….and we sat on this song for like six years, ‘Hologram Hearts’, completely, completely forgot about it. Somehow, it got into the hands of the BTS boys who I love, and they loved the song.” Sivan continued, “…now I have a song on a BTS album, and I’m really excited about it, and I love it. And they sound so good, so much better than I ever sounded on that song. So, I’m happy.” Sivan’s perhaps being humble about his own talents; however, BTS singing your track would be incredibly mind blowing to hear. Though Sivan’s K-Pop collaboration happened accidentally, he’s certainly spoken up about wanting to collaborate with BTS once more, so whose to say he doesn’t manifest this as well once BTS are back from their military service. (Sivan co-wrote “Louder Than Bombs” alongside his co-writers Bram Inscore, Allie X, Leland with credit to RM, Suga, and J-Hope as well. Inscore tragically passed away recently at the age of 41.)
