The magical and enticing vocals of Korean artists add all the divinity and soul to the world of dramas that the story they tell stays in your heart for a long time. These top 10 OSTs by Kpop stars are so heavenly and beautiful that you may meltdown with all your emotions floating along with the serene lilt of their voices.
1. Start Over
With ‘Best OST’ in MAMA 2020 and ‘Best Hallyu OST’ in Soribada Best K-Music Awards under its belt, it is pretty safe to say that Start Over is one top-notch song made for a drama. Serving as a perfect fuel for the character and perfect accompaniment for the storyline of the popular Itaewon Class, Start Over also proved to be Gaho’s well-deserved popular hit.
Immensely motivational it binds the listener to the lyrics,
‘Beyond the lines drawn
Each one of us facing life
You might blame it at times
Saying not to cross that line
Yet I can fly the sky…’
Just like Park Sae-Royi, the audience gets a semblance of courage and grit to keep going and one day ‘fly the sky.’
2. Here Always
Chief Hong and Ms. Dentist’s love story is a warm glass of sunshine and told in the lyrics of its OST Part 7 ‘Here Always’ sung by Stray Kids Seungmin. In this lively drama, the earnestness in his voice lends the magical touch of a promise of being ‘always there by your side’. Perfectly encapsulating the words that remained unsaid between the characters with mellow piano notes and strumming of guitar strings it develops into beautiful intimate harmony with Seungmin singing a heart-warming confession in your ears.
As expected, this OST did impressively well on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart, reaching 8th position.
3. Adrenaline
Mamamoo always delivers astonishingly amazing OST for drama soundtracks, ranging from Goblin to Suits to Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. In 2020, the leader of the girl group, Solar came with a solo for Song Joonki’s drama Vincenzo. The song has a hypnotically mysterious vibe to it with Solar’s fluid and strengthened vocals rendering the warning lilt of danger in the lyrics,
‘Fire
Rising up to higher
I'm burning up, it's dire
I don't wanna burn you, so leave
I don't wanna keep you to be a liar’
It is the perfect accompaniment to the legal thriller Vincenzo which dapples with mercilessness amidst revenge, love, and dark humor.
4. Yours
After almost five years since ‘Even if I die, it’s you’ Hwarang’s OST, 2016, with his member BTS V, we finally got another K-drama OST from BTS Jin in the form of Jirisan’s ‘Yours’. Expectedly, the song did well on charts, even becoming the first Korean OST on Spotify charts.
Every note tugs at heartstrings in this stirring four-minute-long ballad as Jin’s voice waters with the ebb and flow around the rich composition filling the background. Begins with a breathy voice and takes you on a journey of versatile ups and downs as it urges,
“Every night I see you in my heart / Every time I do I end up crying / If I call for you in the dark / What’s coming for me to hear?”
The song serves as the main theme of the mystery/thriller drama.
5. Neverending Story
November 2019 brought with it the fantastical tale of Haru and Dan-oh told in a 32 episode long Extraordinary You. A soulful addition to its already rich soundtrack was Stray Kids’ ‘Neverending Story’ as OST 7. With the powerful and melodic set, astonishing high-pitch, and vocals from all the members, the song successfully engulfs the fantasy and romantic elements attributed to the drama. The start with piano and breathy vocals feel like a start of a phenomenon as it gradually transforms into a blossoming orchestra of emotions talking about a never-ending love through separations of time and fate perfectly befitting Dan-Oh and Haru’s characters in lyrics,
‘I can go against time, so I can appear in front of you
I believe I believe even if the world changes
Can you promise that we won't change?’
Even today the OST still rings fresh in minds of Extraordinary You fans.
6. Best Luck
Every OST by EXO is a blessing to our ears. Be it Chanyeol ft Punch’s Stay With Me, D.O’s Crying Out, or Baekhyun’s Beautiful, their discography boasts of a proud OST collection by the members. One of these gems is It’s Okay, That’s Love’s OST 1, ‘Best Luck’ sung by EXO Chen. A melodic masterpiece it expresses how unbelievably lucky the person is to have found someone and fallen in love and the soaring, exhilarating feeling is aptly conveyed with Chen’s magical voice. We all know if it is Chen there is no way the words won’t rain through you.
Expectedly the song did outstandingly well on charts claiming positions in the top five in most of them.
7. Sweet Night
Many would agree that there is just something about BTS V’s voice that is so inherently soulful you could listen to it with a calm heart for hours and hours. After Hwarang’s ‘Even if I die, it’s you’, V came out with a new OST for Park Seo Joon starring drama Itaewon Class. Just like the name, the song unfurls like a sweet night, gentle, mesmerizing, and wondrous in its simplicity and honesty that words fall short to describe it. A perfect piece in all manners of the word, with multiple layering of V’s voice and back-up vocals over the rhythm flowing like the metaphorical river in the song, Sweet Night is one of the best OSTs by K-pop artists.
8. It's You
All English OSTs aren’t unheard of in the drama land and one of them has probably entered many hearts because of its lovely confessional lyrics and Super Junior-M’s Henry’s incredible, incredible vocals.
Unlike usual K-pop, the song has a simple arrangement, starting with a clean, slow, and arresting melody ‘Baby, I'm falling, head over heels
Looking for ways to let you know just how I feel’ the song hits you with a whiff of sure feelings but the nervousness of communicating them gradually develops with a flourish of piano and drums with Henry’s vocals baring everything in front of the listener.
A hassle-free and piercing song it achieves what it aims for in delivering the enveloping story of the legal/romance drama ‘While You Were Sleeping'.
9. Paradise
No OST list is complete without the iconic ‘Paradise’ that has played almost too many times at every prompted interval in the 2009’s infamous drama Boys over Flowers. With the popularity of the show, the song found its way into every Korean household and has stayed with drama watchers for so long that the mere mention of the song kicks off a robust chime of ‘Almost paradise!’ in the head and now it has turned into something so bad that is actually good?
Performed by the group T-Max as an opening to the drama, the song is an upbeat mix of fun and love declarations throughout so much that is now synonymous with it. The group also contributed to the Boys over Flowers soundtrack with ‘Say Yes, ‘Wish Ur My Love ft. J.ae’ and ‘Fight the Bad Feeling’ but Paradise to this date remains a legend among K-pop OSTs.
10. Hello Stranger
Starting with cryptic sounds of Morse code spelling out ‘Stray Kids’, Hello Stranger is a power-packed OST of the web drama ‘Pop-Out Boy’ starring Kim Min Kyu and Kim Doyeon of girl group Weki-Meki. The jolting roller coaster of a song, Hello Stranger runs on the energy of heavy beats and just the boys having fun with the rhythm and a hint of rock spreading through the entirety of the song, breaking into a full-blown hype.
