The summer of 2018 was quite the busy one for the K-Pop industry. While some groups continued to cement their legacy within K-Pop with successful releases, smaller groups were able to further get their footing in the industry with hit tracks. The music video concept of enjoying the summer mixed with the tropical house style that the industry is currently obsessed with was used to its full potential. Let’s take a look back at the five biggest songs of the summer of 2018.
Five of K-Pop’s Biggest 2018 Summer Hits
Fromis_9 – DKDK
Fromis_9, the group that came from the Idol School TV show dropped the “school” part of their gimmick for the first time when they released DKDK. This group of nine came on the scene in late 2017 after the Idol School show came to an end. Since then they put out a pre-debut track called “Glass Shoes,” and a mini album with the main track called “To Heart.” In this song, the group speaks in metaphors about love while chasing cats throughout a town. In quite quirky fashion, one of the members in the video comes across a cat the size of the corner of a warehouse. This video makes no sense, but that’s part of its charm. The cute music video paired with the soft music is a fantastic combination.
TWICE – Dance The Night Away
TWICE’s 2018 could only be described as picture perfect. Making numerous songs marketed for Japan AND Korea and having success with every single release. TWICE has been batting one thousand for this whole year. To make a Summer themed song, TWICE released “Dance The Night Away.” DTNA was the headlining song for the groups latest full album, with the premise of the song just being to have fun in the summer. The music video follows a plot of the group being shipwrecked on an island. After being on the island for a while, they have so much fun that when help comes they don’t want to leave. The song has a Tropical EDM sound, with minimal lyrics during the hook. This was a change of pace from most tracks that TWICE have put out this year.
iKON – Killing Me
iKON left behind their playful “Love Scenario” style of music this summer when they put out “Killing Me.” The dark track has a great mix of rapping and singing with an amazing dance routine during the hook. The dark visuals fit the song perfectly. I’ve never been a huge fan of iKON but the hook in this song gives me chills every time.
Red Velvet – Power Up
Red Velvet’s mood changes with the seasons, it seems. The dark, badass and maybe even cruel sound that Red Velvet had with their music video “Bad Boy” was a complete 180 from what “Power Up” was. The colourful music video for “Power Up” really showcases the choreography from the song, which is catchy. The innocent lyrics straight up talk about the summer and how it can be more fun to do nothing all day and relax, as opposed to working. An English version of the previously mentioned “Bad Boy” was an extra track on the “Summer Magic” album. Red Velvet first debuted the English version of the song at KCON New York. Since Red Velvet’s beginnings, the group has maintained a balance of R&B and Pop. This song was a great feature after what was maybe their biggest R&B release earlier this year.
LOONA – Hi High
LOONA was for a lot of people the highlight of the summer. The group made their debut as 12 after numerous pre-debut tracks being put out for two years prior. On LWOS.Life we dissected their discography. The song “Hi High” is a very bright video with vocals that are absolutely stunning. In the description of the video, the song is described as a song that is “emitting positive energy that the gathering of the twelve members create.”
LOONA seem to be the underdogs of the K-Pop scene currently. The group has overwhelming support worldwide yet the Korean market seems to be catching up to the fandom. Unfortunately, “Hi High” did not get any music show wins. Although some components of music shows can be done worldwide, it mostly weighs on the Korean audience. For a LOONA fan, it’s nothing to worry about since this is of course only their debut album. What LOONA and the very fascinating Blockberry Creative do next is yet to be seen, but is certainly anticipated. The album that matched the song, “++” also featured the song “FavOriTe,” which also had a music video done for it.
The Summer Of Hits Ends
Sadly the summer is coming to an end. We will have to say goodbye to the summer glow that is reflected on many K-Pop tracks. If you aren’t a fan of any other type of concept, you can always look back at this summer as one that had its fair share of hits.
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