The Songwriting of Shinsadong Tiger

I'm sure many of you have seen the news; the legendary K-Pop composer Shinsadong Tiger (AKA Lee Hoyang) tragically passed away at 40 in his recording studio. In addition to the tragedy of a young life leaving just a little too early, Shinsadong Tiger defined an entire generation of South Korean music. If the '90s were mostly influenced by the songwriting of Seo Taiji, the noughts by Yoo Young-Jin, then the '10s were the decade of Shinsadong Tiger. He was often accused of sticking to a single formula, but that ignored the sheer emotional range that Tiger could provide with that basic formula. His music-writing formula has been copied by many, yet still remains so versatile and well-defined. Today, we will celebrate Shinsadong Tiger by seeing how he made so many classics.

Step 0: The Instrumental Heart

If there was one adjective that could describe every track by Shinsadong Tiger, it's "catchy." Lee could do this best using what I like to call the Shinsadong Riff. A massive instrumental hook that the rest of the track is anchored around. The Shinsadong Riff stands as a predecessor of the K-Pop drop, explaining why K-Pop adopted the instrumental style so early. But more than anything, the Shinsadong Riff required a precise melody, one that generally would be intriguing and instantly recognizable. The Mi Mi Mi sample in Momoland's Bboom Bboom (the giant brass riff) or the iconic arpeggio-ed synth chord on Beast's Fiction, are two examples that stand out. But how do you introduce them?

Step 1: The Intro

A peculiar step of the Shinsadong Tiger formula that I wish others would copy is how Lee always took his time to introduce us the quirks of a track through an extended intro before the first verse. Most songwriters choose to begin their tracks with the chorus or a verse, but Lee would open with a unique segment just to showcase what the song is about. Think of it as a mood test, it really has no bearing on the song as a whole, but explains you the style of the song in moment one, so you know exactly what you get. Sometimes, this is just a short instrumental opening with a bit of spoken word. In its most magnificent examples, however, it lasts for nearly half a minute. A great example of this is Beast's Fiction, which from 0:22 to 0:52 sets up the entire song succinctly with a new, unique, and exciting segment.

Melodic Verses and Thundering Pre-Choruses

Despite being the effective pioneer of the amelodic drop formula in K-Pop, Lee was a true lover of melody. His verses were always marked by a chugging melody that kept things simple, but never uninteresting. Part of that was a simple yet effective formula he'd use. He'd provide some mix of a healthy, hearty melody, a chugging and crucial (yet often underappreciated) bass, and either the synth heart or some variation on it. 

What follows this is a pre-chorus. Notice how the melody in nearly all songs is the biggest change. The melody now surges with a dramatic tinge. In many ways, the larger than life pre-chorus of K-Pop was an invention of Lee, later adapted by EDM tracks he inspired. A great example of the verse-and-pre-chorus style of Shinsadong Tiger is the often underrated Rock Ur Body by VIXX. Notice how the percussion starts to stomp a bit once the pre-chorus begins, adding momentum to take us into a high-flying chorus.

The Chorus

This is where Lee showcased why he was miles ahead of the competition. Regardless of whether he was writing a joke song or a modern-day masterpiece, Shinsadong Tiger made mighty choruses. Each hook and refrain was fully framed. From the surging pre-chorus, the chorus feels like a natural plateau. The instrumental heart typically comes within its structure somehow, within one of many phrases.

That was another skill Lee used; he loved call-and-response songwriting. Nearly every single one of his choruses could be divided into two sub-refrains. Either these two (or sometimes three) refrains were separated, following one another, such as in T-ARA's Sexy Love, or play off each other, such as in T-ARA's Roly Poly.

The Bridge and Finale

Shinsadong Tiger typically refurbished these ideas through his second verse and choruses, with small change-ups (introducing rap/new vocal melody, small production changes etc.). The bridge, however, is where Shinsadong Tiger got his chance to experiment. Sometimes it can be a soothing ballad, sometimes jackhammer EDM synths, and whatever he really wants to do that fits with the song. He usually followed it up with an explosive finale.

A Full Example

0:00 - 0:30: The Introduction (0:15 is when the instrumental heart appears first)

0:31 - 0:45: The First Verse

0:46 - 1:00: The Pre-Chorus

1:00 - 1:15: The Call-and-Response Chorus

1:16 - 1:30: The Instrumental Heart

1:31 - 1:46: The second verse

1:46 - 2:00: The second pre-chorus

2:01 - 2:15: The second chorus

2:16 - 2:30: The Instrumental Heart

2:31 - 2:44: The Bridge

2:45 - 3:15: The Final Chorus

3:16 - 3:32: The Instrumental Heart

And this reveals the final element of Shinsadong Tiger's beautiful writing, he writes with precision like a cook, taking each ingredient, and knowing exactly what to do with it, and how to use it. His presence will be missed, but his legacy will not be forgotten.

Image Source: World Today News