5 K-Pop Songs That Sample Classical Music To Create Modern Bops

K-Pop songs may not seem like they have much in common with classical music, but you’d be surprised!

A few K-Pop artists have managed to incorporate classical music into their songs with great success.

Here are 5 K-Pop songs that sample famous classical tunes!

1. “Lie” (Jimin of BTS)

BTS Jimin’s solo song from the Wings album interpolates the most famous piece from Spanish composer Manuel de Falla‘s opera La Vida Breve. While there is an orchestral score for the opera, many musicians perform the music from this opera on guitar.

A distorted guitar sample from La Vida Breve can be heard throughout “Lie.”

2. “Love Song” (7Princess)

This song was a huge hit when it was released in the early 2000s! 7Princess was a K-Pop girl group made up of children, and the melody for this sweet song was taken from English composer Edward Elgar‘s violin piece “Love’s Greeting.”

OH MY GIRL also did their own rendition of “Love Song” in 2018 and paid tribute to 7Princess’s hit.

3. “Chopstick” (NiziU)

Although NiziU is made up of Japanese members, and their songs are in Japanese, their songs are still considered K-Pop. Recently, they released the song “Chopstick,” which interpolates the popular waltz written for piano called “The Celebrated Chop Waltz.” This waltz is widely known as “Chopsticks.”

“Chopsticks” was written by Scottish composer Euphemia Allen, who wrote the waltz at the age of 16 under the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli.

4. “Song of the Moonlight” (Park Jiyoon)

Park Jiyoon is mostly known by newer K-Pop fans for the widely covered “Coming of Age Ceremony,” but her song “Song of the Moonlight” deserves to be in the spotlight, too!

This song interpolates the “Habanera” aria from French composer Georges Bizet‘s opera Carmen. “Song of the Moonlight” turns the famous aria into a very danceable K-Pop tune.

5. “Good Night” (Dreamcatcher)

Dreamcatcher’s “Good Night” turns a beautiful piece written for piano and harpsichord into a hard-hitting rock song! The song is based around German composer George Frideric Handel‘s “Suite No. 7 in G Minor.”

The original piece is performed on the piano and harpsichord, but the chord progressions and bits of the melody are played on the guitar in Dreamcatcher’s song.

Read about more K-Pop songs that sample classical music below:

These 8 Modern K-Pop Songs Used Surprising Samples From Classical Music