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With a lot of music being released every year, it is interesting to look at the origins of popular K-pop songs. Sampling is the legal practice of using a part of a sound recording (song or otherwise) in another recording with permission from the owner of the original recording.
Many well-known tracks by K-pop artists often utilize samples at different junctures of the song. From BTS' Born Singer sampling J. Cole's Born Sinner to Cherry Bullet's Hands Up containing a sample from Ludwig van Beethoven's Für Elise, there are a variety of clippings used in K-pop.
This proves the importance of production and editing in the creation of music, as producers can change the sampled clip completely, making it sound different from what they started with.
KAI's Rover, Hwa Sa's Maria, and more K-pop songs containing samples that you might not know of
1) BLACKPINK's Shut Down sampling Niccolò Paganini's La Campanella
Only BLACKPINK can use a sample of a classical piece of music from the 1800s in a K-pop song and still make it sound modern. Paganini perhaps never imagined that La Campanella could ever be converted into a song like Shut Down, but producer TEDDY PARK managed to transform the classic to fit the group's musical style.
By adding percussion and other effects over the original music, the sample, while still recognizable, adds a high-quality feel to the BLACKPINK track, which was appreciated by fans around the world.
2) Hwa Sa's Maria sampling KSHMR's Sounds of KSHMR Vol. 3
The iconic intro of Hwa Sa's Maria was taken from American DJ and rapper KSHMR's Sounds of KSHMR Vol. 3. While fans might not be familiar with the DJ, they are sure to have heard samples of his melodies across various K-pop songs.
From BLACKPINK's How You Like That and Lisa's MONEY to SEVENTEEN's Thanks and ATEEZ's HALA HALA, many well-known K-pop artists have used samples by KSHMR in their songs. The LA-based musician usually sells compilations of sound samples as packages that can be purchased for a certain fee and then utilized in different ways.
Maria effectively uses the sample as a thread throughout the song, bringing in themes of self-love, acceptance, and rising above the haters, which is evident in the music of both MAMAMOO, as a group, and member Hwa Sa, in particular.
3) KAI's Rover samples DARA's Mr. Rover
The recent conversation about samples used in K-pop songs was sparked in particular by Rover released by EXO's KAI. As the title track of the Peaches singer's recent EP, the song has attracted a lot of attention, with the Rover challenge even going viral on social media.
Some netizens were surprised by the similarity between KAI's track and DARA's original, going as far as to call it a cover rather than a derivative work. SM Entertainment has been known to do this often, remaking previously released songs with new Korean lyrics for a new audience. This practice is completely legal, and the company has always credited the original singers and producers whenever they used samples for K-pop songs.
SHINee's Juliette uses samples from Corbin Bleu's Deal With It, while aespa's Next Level is a derivative work of the song of the same name from the soundtrack of Fast and Furious. The argument about the righteousness of doing so will possibly keep building, but no one can deny that KAI's Rover is an earworm that is as addictive as it is fascinating.
4) BTS's Autumn Leaves samples blackbear's deadroses
This might come as a surprise to some, but one of BTS' B-side tracks from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2, Autumn Leaves (or Dead Leaves), also contains an audio sample from R&B artist blackbear's deadroses. Upon closely listening to both songs side-by-side, the repeated melody at the beginning sounds similar and discernible.
To the credit of the producers of the BTS track (including SUGA), however, there are multiple layers of different tracks to make Autumn Leaves sound unique and different from its predecessor. This K-pop song is widely considered to be among the best and most well-produced by the band, a sentiment that famous fans like Naomi Osaka can attest to.
This list is not exhaustive, and if one looks hard enough, one can find audio samples used in many famous K-pop songs and groups. Eventually, the success of any song also depends on the star power offered by many idols, and one can hope that audio sampling and covers by K-pop stars spotlight newer and lesser-known artists.
