[2023 K-pop in a Nutshell] Easy listening, new trending genre in K-pop

Easy listening, a popular music genre of soothing vocal and instrumental sounds that first appeared in the 1940s, or also sometimes called "elevator music," hit the K-pop scene this year.

In a departure from their typical conceptual-driven songs, many K-pop groups started introducing easy-listening singles.

Releasing a single of this genre was one of the key factors in girl group Fifty Fifty's record-breaking feats on the biggest music charts in the West, the US-based Billboard and the UK-based Official Charts.

Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” is the first K-pop girl group single to stay on Billboard’s Hot 100 for 25 consecutive weeks and on the Official Charts’ Singles Chart Top 100 for 22 consecutive weeks.

“Fifty Fifty exercises subtle vocals that are easy to listen to. They did not focus on the performance or the impact of the hook. Rather, they focused on making a good song that makes you want to listen to more,” said music critic Jung Min-jae.

The easy listening continued with SM Entertainment debuting its new boy group Riize with the mellow and bubbly single “Get a Guitar,” a switch from previous rookie debuts that came out with conceptual singles composed of strong beats.

“Get a Guitar” quickly went viral on social media through dance challenges, which translated into commercial success.

Riize's Wonbin attributed the song's success to people's change in preference to songs that are easy and comfortable on the ears.

“The easy-listening charm of ‘Get a Guitar’ much like music you can enjoy while driving, probably contributed to its appeal,” Wonbin said during an interview with the US magazine Vanity Teen earlier this month.

K-pop giant Hybe also debuted its rookie boy group Boynextdoor in May with an easy and comfortable medium-tempo single composed of a soothing melody, accompanied with an abundance of enjoyable choreography.

The group has emphasized “natural” is the key to their music.

"We hope the public can sing along and empathize effortlessly with our music. When they look back on this period, we hope they can remember our songs,” said Taesan of Boynextdoor during the group’s debut press conference in Seoul.

Not only rookies but also well-known K-pop acts made their comebacks with easy-listening singles.

That includes boy group Cravity which dropped its sixth EP, “Sun Seeker,” with the lead track “Cheese,” an R&B pop tune filled with uplifting energy.

“We wanted this single to be one of our two lead tracks because easy-listening songs are the thing these days,” Taeyoung of Cravity had said during an interview with reporters in Seoul in time for its album release.

Seven-member boy group Enhypen also targeted Billboard charts by leading its fifth EP “Orange Blood” with an easy-listening track for the first time since its debut.

The globally popular act ditched its dark and strong image for the single "Sweet Venom,” which revolves around a mellow and easy melody that everyone can sing along to after listening to it once.

The album landed at No. 31 on the Billboard 200 dated Dec. 9.

“There were many listeners who had a hard time understanding K-pop music which used to be heavily conceptual. This led the groups to pursue music that the general public could easily perceive,” said Kim Do-heon, a music critic.

This article is part of a series examining the K-pop scene in 2023. -- Ed.