Ziyad

Eric Nam | Ooh Ooh

“Eric Nam might not be a household name to every pop fan in the Western World. And that’s kind of the point for him (as he talks) about his atypical start on the path to stardom, and what it means to navigate the K-Pop industry as an American,” (Rolling Stone Australia). “The Atlanta, US-born artist of Korean heritage found a voice in a country where he barely spoke the language (Korea), in a market that favors teenage groups and ballad-heavy rock bands. Then, he exported his sound to one of the most populous nations on Earth, and wound up on the cover of Rolling Stone India.

‘They wanted me to do power ballads and I can’t even do power ballads. Then I wanted to be in a group and [was told] I was too old. I was 23, and [they said] you’re way too old to be in a group,’ he says. ‘Then they said try to be in a rock band – rock bands don’t really work in Korea — or you could go and be a solo power balladeer … I can’t force you to think of me as not K-Pop. Whatever you want to think of me, just go for it, but I really want you to understand that there is a complexity within K-Pop where it’s not just these massive groups with massive numbers.'”

Nam’s track “Ooh Ooh” (2014) begins in G minor. Combining Korean and English lyrics, the tune shifts up to Ab minor 2:30 — just before a rap-driven bridge. Many thanks to our UAE-based contributor Ziyad for submitting this tune!

IU | Good Day

“Arguably the country’s most popular singer-actor of her generation, IU steadily gained recognition after kicking off her career in 2008, but was still finding her musical footing at the start of the 2010s. Then came 2010’s ‘Good Day.’ Upon first listen, it’s a bouncy, sweet tune, bolstered with orchestral instrumentation and synths. Then the production shifts into funk-inflected pop, as bold horns and dulcet, layered vocals emphasize IU’s bright, bold, and candied sensibility. ‘Good Day’ glides along key changes and soars with the momentum of confessed love — hitting a three-note jump in IU’s voice so singularly spectacular that it instantaneously launched her into the realm of legendary Korean singers.”

Rolling Stone Australia rated the 2010 tune #3 in its collection of The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music. Many thanks to our contributor Ziyad for sending in this distinctive track!

Starting in E major, the tune shifts to G# major at the chorus (2:05). At 2:52, we land in the original key for the next verse. At 4:14, there’s a shift up to A major as the chorus repeats. The orchestration fireworks that take us from section to section are not to be missed!

Abba | Hasta Mañana

“‘Hasta Mañana,’ an ABBA ballad released on their 1974 Waterloo album, never quite managed to reach the top of international charts, but is nonetheless included in most band compilations, including Greatest Hits and The Best Of ABBA,” (MusicTales). “The song was originally intended for the Eurovision Song Contest and was subsequently replaced by Waterloo featuring the lead vocals of both ABBA’s female singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad which followed the band’s promotion concept more closely.

‘Hasta Mañana’ is credited to the ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as well as their manager Stig Anderson, who scribbled the final version of the lyrics. It is reported that a draft recording was handed over to Stig to compose the lyrics before he left on vacation in the Canary Islands, where he snatched that catchy phrase ‘hasta mañana’ (meaning ‘see you tomorrow’ in Spanish) while listening to a radio broadcast.”

The tune is a slice of the quartet’s slightly simpler sound from the period just before the full effect of their worldwide fame took hold. Starting in F major, the tune shifts via a late half-step key change to F# major (2:33). Many thanks to our frequent contributor Ziyad from the UAE for this submission — his 21st!

Snuper | Platonic Love

It would be understandable to think that all KPop bands hit it big immediately, given the huge promotional machines backing them. But some develop only limited cult followings before fading away. One such band is Snuper 스누퍼, meaning “Higher than Super.” The group was a South Korean sextet formed by Widmay Entertainment in 2015, the first Korean pop group from that label.

The band debuted on November 16, 2015, with the EP Shall We, which included the single “Shall We Dance,” (KPopN). The group consisted of six members, many of whom had to go on hiatus to fulfill their mandatory national military service; the group’s resulting reduction in numbers slowed its momentum and it disbanded in 2023.

“Platonic Love” (2016), a showcase for the group’s dance chops, features multiple hook-driven instrumental breaks. After a rap break and a sudden grand pause, a key change from Eb major to E major hits at 2:27.

Many thanks to our multi-tune contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Tomorrow x Together (TXT) | Ito

“Tomorrow x Together, aka TXT, is … a boy band known for seamlessly switching between genre influences,” (Billboard). “The group first debuted in 2019 with EP The Dream Chapter: Star, which reached #140 on the Billboard 200 and became the fastest K-pop album to top the World Albums chart at the time. (The group) earned their first #1 on the Billboard 200 in 2023 with The Name Chapter: Temptation.“

“Ito” is a track from the 2021 album Chaotic Wonderland, the South Korean vocal quintet’s first release featuring Japanese language material. At 2:17, the bridge drops a key-of-the-moment passage, but it’s just a bait-and-switch anticipating a surprise half-step modulation which takes effect mid-phrase at 2:57 with next to no fanfare.

Many thanks to our frequent contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Stacie Orrico | (There’s Gotta Be) More to Life

Contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist Stacie Orrico released “her 2000 debut album, Genuine, is a combination of Christian pop with an urban flare and has been compared stylistically to both Christina Aguilera and Lauryn Hill.” (AllMusic) She has worked with noted CCM artist Michael W. Smith as a producer and served as an opening act for Destiny’s Child. After the pace of the music business led her to take a break and get a restaurant job, she returned in 2007 to release another album.

Orrico’s 2003 single “(There’s Gotta Be) More to Life” is “an inspirational mid-tempo number with the chorus ‘There’s gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me,’ (MTV). ‘I think so many times we feel like we’re lacking something in our lives and we try to fill it with the wrong things,’ she explained. ‘Sometimes it’s drugs, sometimes it’s a relationship you shouldn’t be in.'”

Orrico clearly demonstrates the same pop sensibilities of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who are her contemporaries. After a start in F minor, the tune shifts up a half-step at 2:03. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Jingle Bell Rock (from “Glee”)

Surprisingly, this is our first time featuring the classic “Jingle Bell Rock,” originally recorded in 1957 by Bobby Helms. There is some controversy over who wrote the tune; Helms claims that he, not Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe, who are recognized as the composers, deserves credit. Alas, all three are dead now, so we will never know. This cover was performed on the television show Glee, and modulates from D to Eb at 0:57.

Thanks to MotD regular Ziyad for this submission!

Taylor Swift | Mr. Perfectly Fine

“Taylor Swift is that rarest of pop phenomena: a superstar who managed to completely cross over from country to the mainstream,” (AllMusic). “Others have performed similar moves — notably, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both became enduring pop culture icons based on their 1970s work — but Swift shed her country roots like they were a second skin; it was a necessary molting to reveal she was perhaps the sharpest, savviest populist singer/songwriter of her generation, one who could harness the zeitgeist, make it personal and, just as impressively, perform the reverse.”

Originally released in 2008 on the album Fearless, “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is just one of the many tunes which Swift has re-recorded recently. After her original masters were sold in a way she deeply disagreed with, she decided to re-record and re-release her earlier material: “If she couldn’t own the rights to the recordings that made her one of the most successful musical artists of all time, at least she could undercut their value and present her loyal fan base with a way to enjoy that music without benefitting her nemeses,” (Stereogum). Billboard‘s ranking of the 50 best songs of 2021 included the tune as #46: “vintage Taylor Swift that still feels fresh in 2021.”

“Mr. Perfectly Fine” features a short instrumental interlude at 2:43; a bridge follows at 2:56 which tapers off to the point where the groove drops out altogether. The full texture returns with a bang at 3:45, along with a full-step modulation. Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for sending in this song!

Ariana Grande | Pink Champagne

Ariana Grande recorded the demo for “Pink Champagne” at 17. The track didn’t make the cut for inclusion on Yours Truly (2013), but Grande promised her diehard fans that “when she hit 10 million followers on Twitter she would release the studio version. Upon reaching the magic number on October 1, 2013, Ariana popped the champagne and dropped the song,” (Songfacts).

“Grande wrote the song with Pebe Sebert: ‘I knew Ariana well enough because I feel like it’s all about trying to know the person to know what’s going to be a real look for them,’ she said … ‘She was 17 and portraying this kind of goody-two-shoes on the Nickelodeon series. We didn’t want to go too far from that image at that age … You almost have to have a little movie that you’re writing in your head.'”

After a 30-second spoken intro from Grande, the effervescent, bouncy track unfolds amid Grande’s trademark upper-range ad libs and embellishments. Very close to the tune’s end (3:24), a half-step modulation hits between two choruses. Many thanks to regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!

Amer Mounib | Allah Alaik

The late Egyptian recording artist Amer Mounib “excelled at playing the Oud (a stringed musical instrument) through extensive learning sessions with the dean of Helwan University’s Faculty of Music, Atef Abdel Hamid,” (Egypt Today). “He further excelled at playing the piano and created a small band, performing covers of songs by the late singer Abdel Halim Hafez in major hotels around the country.”

During his career, the late artist accomplished 12 albums and enjoyed an acting career which spanned several popular films. Mounib passed away from cancer in November 2011 at the age of only 48.

Mounib’s release “Allah Alaik,” (God Bless You) shifts up a half step at 2:42. Many thanks to regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!