10+ Iconic K-Pop Songs That Were Originally Meant For Other Artists
To produce all the bops that our faves are known for, music often comes from far and wide with a little bit of tweaking to become the song for K-pop groups. A lot of times, songs are written and even recorded, when plans change and they’re given to other groups or singers. So, here is a list of 10+ iconic songs that were originally meant for other artists!
1. EXO’s “Ko Ko Bop”- Red Velvet
One of EXO‘s most iconic title tracks, “Ko Ko Bop” was confirmed to have been originally written for Red Velvet in December 2019! The producer, Styalz Fuego revealed that they even recorded the demo with a female’s voice at a pitch that was 3 times higher than the one that EXO recorded.
2. EXID’s “Up&Down”- Jessi
EXID‘s breakthrough song, “Up&Down”, was produced by member L.E. and producer Shinsadong Tiger. L.E. revealed that the two had originally produced it for Jessi‘s solo album, but upon hearing it, Jessi recommended that EXID take the track instead, as she felt it suited them more than her.
3. Girls Generation’s “Into The New World”- M.I.L.K
Girls Generation‘s iconic debut song, “Into The New World”, was originally meant for a group called M.I.L.K that was under SM Entertainment‘s sister label, BM Entertainment. Unfortunately, M.I.L.K disbanded before they could record the song, and so the song was passed down to Girls Generation.
4. f(x)’s “No More”- Ariana Grande
Fans were in for a shock when it was revealed that f(x)‘s “No More” for their album Pink Tape was originally intended to be released by Ariana Grande! Ariana Grande was supposed to release the song under the title “Boyfriend Material” as part of her 2013 album, Yours Truly, but ultimately scrapped it from her final list.
After she decided not to use it on her album, SM Entertainment bought the rights to the song, and “No More” was born!
5. IZ*ONE’s “La Vie En Rose”- CLC
Probably one of the better known instances on the list, fans everywhere know that IZ*ONE‘s iconic debut song, “La Vie En Rose” was originally meant for CLC! CLC even recorded the demo, but the song was ultimately passed on in favor of “No”, which brought them immense success!
6. Red Velvet’s “Red Flavor”- Little Mix
One of the pleasantly surprising instances on the list is this one! Originally, Red Velvet’s 2017 summer hit “Red Flavor” was meant to be released by UK girl group Little Mix, under the title “Dancing With Nobody”. The producers, however, felt that the song would suit Red Velvet very much, and sold it to SM Entertainment, thus creating one of the most iconic summer anthems of the new generation!
7. IOI’s “Very Very Very”- TWICE
Back in November 2019, TWICE‘s Jeongyeon revealed that IOI‘s 2016 hit “Very Very Very” was originally written by JYP for TWICE! The song was ultimately passed to IOI, and TWICE were then given “TT” instead!
8. Taemin’s “Press Your Number”- Bruno Mars
SHINee Taemin‘s “Press Your Number” from his 2016 album Press It was originally written and recorded by Bruno Mars, under the title “Press It”!
He originally wrote it years before SM bought the rights for the song, opting instead to sell it instead of using it for himself.
9. EXO’s “Lucky One”- SHINee
EXO’s hit song, “Lucky One”, was originally meant to be given to SHINee! But SHINee rejected the song, which is when it was passed over to EXO.
10. Lee Hi’s “Scarecrow”- Park Bom
On an episode of Queendom, Park Bom revealed that Lee Hi‘s song “Scarecrow” from her debut album First Love was originally meant for her! Park Bom had even finished recording the song, as well as the MV, but the song remained unreleased until it found its way into Lee Hi’s album!
11. Red Velvet’s “Look”- BoA
Red Velvet’s “Look” was originally meant for BoA! The producer for the song, Jinbo, revealed that the song was written with BoA in mind, with the Korean pronunciation of the song being “bwa”, which sounds like BoA. The song, however, ended up becoming a much loved B-side track to Red Velvet’s 2017 Perfect Velvet album, and has some pretty sharp choreography!
12. Girls Generation Taeyeon’s “I”- Girls Generation
This one was really surprising! At KCON New York, a fan approached the SM Entertainment Producer’s Panel, and asked them a bunch of questions regarding their favorite artist, track, etc. In the Q&A session, the producers revealed that Girls Generation Taeyeon‘s iconic solo debut track “I” was originally meant to be for the whole group instead! The song ultimately was passed on, and became Taeyeon’s much-loved debut track!
13. Girls Day’s “Something”- Hyolyn
Girls Day‘s hit song “Something” was originally meant to be for former SISTAR member Hyolyn‘s solo song! The producing team Duble Sidekick offered the song to Hyolyn, but she rejected dit because she felt it did not sync with her musical style, and after some thought, the song was given to Girls Day. This song is now one of Girls Day’s biggest legacies!
All the songs now have their own respective owners, who each do it justice in their own way!
