The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time: Number 4

Readers, over the past two months, I have worked to create a list of my favorite K-Pop Songs of All Time. For over ten years, I have enjoyed K-Pop, seeing it blossom into a global genre with millions and millions of adoring fans. I have found K-Pop songs I love, made friends over the genre, and seen legacies built over the years. Some of the songs that have made me feel the most are from K-Pop. Given all I have felt and seen, I thought it was finally time to create a ranking of my favorite K-Pop songs of all time.

I don't claim this ranking is perfect, no ranking of this can be perfect. I can only claim that I did my best to provide my personal opinion, with my personal biases, from my years of enjoying Korean music. There are many more boy band songs than girl group (I just prefer their general soundscape), and many songs come from the second generation (2005-2013).

In a way, K-Pop is a bit of a misnomer here. I have included Korean songs outside of the idol sphere, and songs released nearly a century ago. The end result is a list full of songs that left their mark on me. I hope you, the reader, enjoy this list. You may (and almost certainly won't) agree with my ranking, but that is what makes a personal list like this so wonderful.

With that said, let us enter the rules and regulations for what has been qualified as K-Pop for this list.

• Any musical piece released in South Korea, or any of its direct predecessor states, AND/OR is predominantly in the Korean language, Jejuan, or any of their dialects.
• The musical piece must be lyrical in nature.
• Any song, single, or b-side, is eligible.
• This list is MY personal opinion.
• Song rankings may have changed since previous lists and/or reviews.
• The criterion for "the greatest" is a mix of my personal experience, the overall songwriting (lyrically, compositionally, and performance-wise), and the influence of the track in question.
• A song refers to a particular recording of the track and not the basic composition.
• Only one entry per composition.

With all this said. The list will begin tomorrow. For songs 100-11, they will be grouped into daily posts of 10 (100-91, 90-81, etc.). For the top 10, however, each song would get a post of its own.

I hope all of you enjoy this list over the days! Please give your thoughts in the comments, and I will gladly reply when free.

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Previously:

Honorable Mentions

100-91

90-81

80-71

70-61

60-51

50-41

40-31

30-21

20-11

Number 10

Number 9

Number 8

Number 7

Number 6

Number 5

4. Super Junior - Don't Don (2007)

Lyrics: Ba Dook, Groovie K, Yoo Young-Jin

Composers: Yoo Young-Jin, Groovie K

Ambition is a buzzword within the vast world of K-Pop, with every act's every track being labeled as "experimental" and "ambitious," with a healthy dose of "avant-garde" thrown around for good measure. Back in 2007, however, Super Junior, with Yoo Young-Jin and Groovie K released Don't Don, which defied all conventions of scale for a K-Pop song before and after. Merging rock opera, grunge, R&B, orchestral, rap-rock, screamo metal, late 19th century Russian-inspired classical, conscious hip-hop, power metal, and symphonic metal, with a tinge of vocal-driven pop into one of the most ambitious songs ever released.

Everything in mainstream Korean music through the previous eleven years was an act in the build-up to Don't Don. Yoo Young-Jin's SMP sounds involved a merger of rock, rap, and R&B into a cinematic product, often paired with deep lyrics maintaining the tragedy of modern society's corruptions, and the sufferings of the youth trying to find their place in it. Young-Jin also frequently collaborated with Groovie K, who brought sweeping strings into the mix, turning any song into a dramatic cinematic masterpiece, often with metal elements in addition.

By 2007, the collaboration between these two legends had resulted in some of the best K-Pop songs ever (TVXQ's Tri-Angle, TRAX's Scorpio, H.O.T.'s I Yah (#29), BoA's ID: Peace B, and Shinhwa's T.O.P), but the sound that dominated the SMP was coming to a close, and the new sounds brought by songs such as Girls' Generation's Into The New World (#10) were coming into vogue. They had one last opportunity to capture this sound, and they did it with the now-legends, then rising rookies in Super Junior. In a way, Don't Don is an expression of a dying sound, and as a closer to the SMP rock era of Korean music, it is a wonderful farewell, akin to Off the Wall for Disco. All of the elements of classic SMP are here, taken to their absolute extreme.

Lyrically, Don't Don is a direct attack on the corrupting influence of wealth. The song's title may seem like gibberish in English, but is actually a pun that sounds both like "money" and "insanity." Young-Jin, Groovie K, and co-lyricist Ba-Dook do not aim to subtly introduce these concepts, but mention them with a rageful furiously which guides Don't Don compositionally. The need for improvements in a dark and frantic world with wrath over the never-ending greed of humanity. It also tackles hypocrisy amongst those who seek wealth hardest. There is some irony here, given that Super Junior's agency, SM Entertainment, has a history of controversies originating from them allegedly seeking profit over the well-being of employees, idols, and fans, but even then, Don't Don's message does stand strong, especially in theory.

To open with a sense of scale, Don't Don opens with a forty-five-second grunge breakdown before the first lyrics are ever spoken. The beat here is extremely intense, and about thirty seconds in, explodes in a perfect example of extreme dynamics, with heavy metal screams banging through the slowly descending instrumental. What a dramatic introduction.

Finally, we enter our first verse. The instrumental provides Donghae enough room for his breathy tone. His voice briefly tells us what is going to come, before the rock instrumental pulls back up into full force. Ryeowook then gets two short lines to prove his skill as a rocker, which he more than accomplishes.

Then, within mere seconds, we are whisked away into the chorus. Given how the grunge introduction told us what is to come, the first verse just needs to act as a bridge before we reach the chorus.

Oh, and what a refrain is provided by the chorus! Towering is the best way to describe it. The refrain, sung by the entire group, surrounds you, providing no room for breath. Brief rap "response" interludes provide a shocking jolt to keep listeners on their toes. The chorus ends with the rap merging with the refrain for a shot of cinematic glory.

Given how short the first verse was, the second verse is given the massive task of undertaking the melodic heart of the song before the final two minutes let Young-Jin and Groovie K go absolutely bonkers with their productional skills. It more than accomplishes its task.

After a brief introduction by Sungmin, Han Geng provides an autotuned line that acts as a bridge within the massive second verse. Stylistic autotune is something so often done wrong, especially in K-Pop, but over here, it is so perfectly implemented. This is the last moment of (relative) calm in the track, as Eunhyuk and Kangin get to provide the most intense raps of their career. Super Junior are not often known as a group of rappers, but their lineup could and can rap up their along with the best, with fierce and formidable raps provided with loads of charisma. Don't Don sees their rappers at their best. Eunhyuk's manic energy also pairs really well with Kangin's dramatic and stationary flow. Additionally, the production explodes into a wild brew of tortuous rock notes for the rap, culminating in even greater shock and energy.

We then are finally showcased the pre-chorus, and Super Junior get to show why they are considered a collection of Korea's greatest vocalists. Siwon's stately melodic introduction thrives over dramatic rock chords, performed with a peaceful melodic intensity only seen in the eye of the storm. Then, main vocalist Kyuhyun shows why he is considered one of the band's best, walking the line between calming and crazy. Just prior to Don't Don, Kyuhyun suffered a car crash that resulted in him falling into a coma, with his life at risk. It was also believed that even if he did survive, his voice would be permanently lost. Thankfully, he came out of the accident nearly-healed, and would make it out with his voice and his life. This line is a perfect reintroduction to him after a dark period of his life.

Everything so far would guarantee Don't Don's entry into the top fifty on this list, perhaps even the top twenty-five. However, it is what happens now that launched Don't Don into the top five, as Young-Jin and Groovie K reveal Don't Don's secret weapon; Henry Lau and his violin.

Intended as one of the upcoming members of Super Junior (though the plan would later fall apart), Henry is both an idol and a violinist, and it is so cathartic that his introduction was as a violinist. From this point onwards, Don't Don becomes symphonic metal as Henry's stately yet manic violin plays in contrast to the frantic and violent grunge rock instrumental. Even on its own, the dark and dramatic violin melody stands above most musical acts' entire discographies. The decision to replace a chorus with this instrumental break remains extremely inspired.

After a brief interplay between the grunge guitars and violin, we enter another rap verse. Eunhyuk plays the introduction this time before Heechul is able to release extreme wrath over the chaotic brew that the instrumental has become by this point. Heechul had also suffered an accident earlier, which would eventually prevent him from performing music live, but here, he lets everything loose into one of the most climactic raps ever. A brief closer by Leeteuk only helps build the intensity. If there was any room to breathe before, it was all lost now. Don't Don is unabashedly dramatic and cinematic.

We then return to the pre-chorus, this time sung by Kangin and Yesung. Kangin is fantastic, but it is Yesung's emotive performance, providing a new dose of humanity behind the galactic instrumental, that makes the pre-chorus so great. His prayer for the children of the future is dramatic and cathartic. Aiding the vocalists is Henry and his violin, which turns the intensity of Don't Don even higher than before.

Then, we finally reach the second repetition of the chorus. This time, the drums go crazy, keeping the intensity as high as ever. The chorus is then once again repeated, this time, with every element from the song before into one dramatic finale that stands higher than anything else in Don't Don. Gothic choirs, painful dark chants, the surging grunge at its peak, and more than anything, Henry playing the violin interlude along with the chorus. This is no longer just dramatic, it is euphoric and cathartic in its display of angst. It is perfect. To close things off, Heechul provides a blood-curdling scream of "Super Junior!" He even manages to make the somewhat silly name all the more menacing. He worked so heavily on the scream that it would often lead to him coughing up blood.

Don't Don was a massive hit, though its release was marred by controversy, as Super Junior fans didn't want Henry in the group, resulting in a brief boycott, leading Henry to awkwardly be a member of Super Junior sub-groups, but never the main group, up till his entire departure from Super Junior in 2018. Nonetheless, Don't Don's success pummeled the group forward, though they would abandon this sound with their next release, formally marking the end of the SMP era. Nonetheless, Don't Don is a perfect end to a legendary era of music, by a legendary set of collaborators and is one of the greatest K-Pop songs of all time.

Next: Number 3

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