As leaves turn into brilliant shades of umber and the smell of a pumpkin spice latte haunts you at every corner, that’s when you know spooky season is officially here. With K-pop’s flair for drama and theatrics, Halloween is a match made in heaven – and the perfect reason for groups to dial up their concepts and productions to spine-tingling heights.
From TWICE cementing the early days of their pop legacy to NATURE’s most iconic music video (yes, we mean ‘Girls’), no one does Halloween quite like the K-pop world. Whether it’s hauntingly beautiful melodies, atmospheric instrumentals or deliciously eerie visuals, there’s no better way to get your spook on than with the best K-pop has to offer for Halloween.
Honourable mentions:
Purple Kiss – ‘Zombie’
EXO – ‘Obsession’
SHINee – ‘Married to the Music’
Red Velvet – ‘Peek-A-Boo’
G(I)-DLE – ‘Oh my god’
ARTMS – ‘Birth’
Think of ARTMS’ genre-ambitious ‘Birth’ as somewhat of a spiritual twin sister to Billie Eilish’s ‘bury a friend’ – it captures the same unsettling magnetism, just with a K-pop veneer. ‘Birth’ starts its delivery with creeping pianos and unsettling, distorted violins that culminate into an explosion of gritty buzzsaw-like synths, rock melodies and break-core while the girl group’s lingering vocals paint a thick, deliberate layer of dread – all wrapped up in a gorgeous visual feast of incomprehensible cosmic horror.
BIBI – ‘Animal Farm’
When George Orwell first published Animal Farm, his satirical allegorical novella about the corruption of ideals in 1945, there would’ve been no known universe in which he’d expect it to eventually inspire a soulful, R&B song drenched with noir elements – complete with a generously violent Kill Bill-esque music video. BIBI reminds us emotively through her iconic feline-like delivery in ‘Animal Farm’ that in a season of zombies, witches and all things spooky – nothing’s as scary as class inequality and the darker sides of human nature.
Dreamcatcher – ‘Scream’
With a longtime commitment to J-rock influences and dark concepts, it would’ve been a cardinal sin not to have Dreamcatcher on this list. Drawing inspiration from infamous witch hunts from a darker time, their 2020 single ‘Scream’ is as unrelenting and spine-chilling as the title suggests. Bolstered by a theatrical production of intense guitars in its rock-meets-EDM chorus, operatic adlibs and a string of dramatic synths, ‘Scream’ is a thrilling experience from start to finish.
DreamNote – ‘GHOST’
‘GHOST’ may be lesser known than most – if not all – of the other entries on this list, but it’s a brilliant hidden gem that effortlessly marries industrial rock elements with synth-pop over a lacey black veil of dark-wave musicality. ‘GHOST’ is haunting yet explosive, simple yet surprising – with wilful vocal layerings that transform DreamNote’s usual bubbly fare into a criminally underrated spooky rock anthem of epic proportions.
ENHYPEN – ‘Given-Taken’
ENHYPEN might’ve taken away the hyphens from their title tracks after a solid two-year run, but their debut single ‘Given-Taken’ remains a moody, vampiric pop banger. It builds on melancholic plucks of the harpsichord weaved with a tapestry of restrained vocals to create tension before the song coalesces into a meeting of euphoric, electric goodness and dramatic runs.
Key – ‘Killer’
Key puts on the mask of a guilt-ridden ex-lover in 2023’s ‘Killer’ – a funky number that unapologetically takes cues from sounds of the ’80s with all the complicated nuances of a 21st-century romance. Decadent, moody synthwave melodies set on a pulsating electronic beat paired with choreography that pays homage to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, breaking up and feeling bad about it too little too late never sounded so good.
Ladies’ Code – ‘Hate You’
Ladies’ Code take Halloween celebrations to a slower, sombre tempo on their 2013 release, ‘Hate You’. The emotional number captures the scary and complicated affair of still having feelings for someone who casts you aside like a doll (along with too many actual dolls on screen), all set to an atmosphere built perfectly with the help of groovy brass sections mellowed out with moody acoustic guitars.
NATURE – ‘Girls’
New eras and image overhauls are a dime a dozen in the ever-moving K-pop industry. But 2020’s ‘Girls’ was one hell of a pivot for NATURE, going from singing about how pretty they were in ‘I’m So Pretty’ to delivering languished, unaffected verses about a pained, obsessive love. ‘Girls’ balances a lush, dark-tropical dance beat with hauntingly beautiful and sinister visuals that serve as a masterclass in cinematic horror imagery, with an uncensored version of a music video that was deemed too explicit for broadcasting to boot.
Red Velvet – ‘RBB (Really Bad Boy)’
Though Red Velvet’s impeccably eclectic discography includes many, many strong contenders for this list – it is the underrated jewel ‘RBB (Really Bad Boy)’ that takes the crown. Referencing the best of pulpy horror flicks, Irene kicks off this infectiously spunky, brassy sequel to their previous single ‘Bad Boy’ with a high note worthy of a scream queen title. ‘RBB (Really Bad Boy)’ is unadulterated, campy Halloween pop insanity that only this quintet could embody.
Seulgi – ‘28 Reasons’
Seulgi might’ve had her reasons for you to run away when she embodied the dark ambiguity of toxic love back in her debut single ‘28 Reasons’, there are easily more reasons why the moody dance-pop track comfortably sits as a certified Halloween banger today. Whether it’s her compellingly apathetic yet sultry vocals that perfectly sell the persona of a heartless woman or the simple, subdued instrumental that explodes into a brilliant clash of dramatic arpeggio strings and a haunting whistle – what’s a reason for sure is how good she looked with those clip-on bangs.
Sunmi – ‘Full Moon’ (feat. Lena)
Halloween can be campy, it can be scary, but above all, it can be sexy – and nobody does spooky and sexy quite like Sunmi. Exactly ten years ago, we saw Sunmi transform into an enthralling creature of the night for her debut solo single ‘Full Moon’ – and the rest was history. Hypnotic, sultry “ehs” slowly draws you in as Sunmi casts her sultry spell over this groovy pop track embellished with swirling guitars, saxophones and immaculate chair-ography that is still being emulated on stages to this day.
TWICE – ‘TT’
At first listen, TWICE’s ‘TT’ might not sound like your average Halloween anthem, but anyone who’s seen the music video will instantly know it’s time to dust off your pumpkin buckets and get ready for trick or treating. Casting the group as a whacky assortment of fantastical creatures and characters, ‘TT’ is everything fun about Halloween in a gooey, pulsing dance-pop number.
VIXX – ‘Voodoo Doll’
‘Voodoo Doll’ may be celebrating its 11th birthday this November, but this VIXX classic remains a quintessential K-pop Halloween listen – and also a reminder of what early-2010s emo bangs looked like. The music video starts off innocently enough before it quickly spirals to an electrifying visual carnival of dismemberment, torture and mutilation – complete with a choreography that depicts members being “stabbed”. Throw in a robust electro-pop earworm of a chorus and you’ve got a timeless Halloween masterpiece.