Where our last playlist was celebrating everything cute and lovely, this week will be looking at the creepiest K-Pop concepts around. K-Pop is known to spare no expense when it comes to their music videos. This means that the production team and stars can afford to be incredibly adventurous and think outside the box with their concepts.
The creepy/scary/gothic concept is fairly popular in the world of K-Pop. It is a theme that has a certain drama and theatrics to it, which makes it really enjoyable to behold. Costume and set designers can go all out with their contributions, and the artist themselves can express their darker sides through their work.
Of course, this playlist isn’t going to be too scary, but just in case, you might want to bare yourself for the shivers to be sent down your spine!
1. BLOCK B – ‘Jackpot’
Again, Block B show us very unhinged craziness through their most recent MV. The boys once again don their clown masks (creepy enough on their own for some!) In a deserted carnival setting, they torment young actress Kim Sae Ron with their childlike antics until she manages to befriend them and the guys give her a cool makeover. That went from creepy to cute, I suppose!
2. Sunmi (feat. Lena) – ‘Full Moon’
Wonder Girls Sunmi is a beautiful vampire for this single. Vampire Sunmi bites and keeps the very handsome actor Yoon Park captive in the MV. There is also some very sexy choreography for this slow and quite jazzy track. JYP trainee Lena (soon to be a member of JYP group 6mix) has a really cool rap part in this track that gives it a really edgy side. Overall, this is a great concept and the song is a classic JYP smooth-fest. Remember to check out our ‘Full Moon’ make-up tutorial too if you haven’t already!
3. Narsha – ‘Bbi Ri Bba Bba’
Brown Eyed Girl’s Narsha was very adventurous in this MV. She effortlessly moves from style to style, pulling off every one. This song is so catchy despite its strange chorus, you might risk sounding like a mad person if you sing it in public. Still fun though, especially with its Freddie Kruger-style costume too.
4. BEAST – ‘Shadow’
BEAST show us their darkside in this gloriously slick and stylish MV. The costumes are very smart and fashionable, black and white – keeping a dark and gothic vibe. Add a tarantula, a snake, a skull and a scorpian and you’re there!
5. Lee Jung Hyun – ‘V’
Lee Jung Hyun debuted back in the mid 90s, and remains a very famous face in South Korea. She is often referred to a the ‘Techno Queen’ as she is accredited by many to have introduced the genre to the country. She is also known for her ability switch from image to image seamlessly. Her smash hit single ‘Wa’ is probably best known by younger K-Pop fans as the track 2AM’s Jo Kwon danced to in his audition for JYP. Last year, she released this much more pop-sounding track along with this very creative video, which makes for a short-film of sorts. When you find out that the director of said MV is none other than Park Chan Wook (director of ‘Old Boy’), the strange themes seem very familiar and you can really identify his unique artistic flair in the piece. Jung Hyun plays an abandoned bride ghost that sets out to make the terrified Jin Goo her husband after he unwittingly stumbles into her lair. Very cool and entertaining, even if it is a little weird.
6. VIXX – ‘VOODOO DOLL’
A quite gory and gruesome MV here and not one for those who are squeamish. This is still a video that is quite artistically beautiful in its own way though. As the title suggests, the VIXX members are held captive by a girl who is using them as her voodoo victims. The lyrics pledge to give up your body for a loved one if needs be, which is quite sweet (outside of the torturing stuff).
7. G-Dragon – ‘She’s Gone’
G-Dragon actually released this MV as part of his ‘Shine a Light’ tour, which was his first solo tour. It is very controversial in its nature, though many fans seem to have more of a problem with GD’s smoking rather than the fact that he murders a girl though…
Still, the video has a certain vibe of Tim Burton in it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcLLnyMKto4
8. Xia -Tarantallegra’
Some of the parts in this MV hint ever so slightly at bondage-esque, S&M type activity and Xia is certainly channelling his sexier side here. As ever, his dancing is also out of this world. Pair this with his edgy style which tips into the realm of androgyny and you are left with a quite interesting MV!
9. Heo Young Saeng – ‘The Art of Seduction’
Though the colour scheme of this video is very bright and sweet-looking, it actually tackles something that can be a very dark area – idol obsession. SS501’s Young Saeng performs on a fangirl’s television, before transporting into her living room. It switches from idealised situations of the two enjoy themselves together, to very unsettling scenes of Young Saeng being held captive by the girl. It definitely shows the multi-faceted world of fandom quite well and will probably give many people some food for thought about where one should set up boundaries with regards to following celebrities.
10 . Epik High – ‘Don’t Hate Me’
A rather cartoon-ish version of creepy here. Epik High are surrounded by children dressed in all manner of silly costumes, most of which are quite scary, gory and fit for Halloween. The bright colours of this video are great and you can tell that everyone is having loads of fun running around together. Did you spot the cute G-Dragon costume too?
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Are you sufficiently heebie-jeebed?
Please let us know what you think of this playlist in the comment section below!
