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How house music is reclaiming its place in K-pop
Girl group Hearts2Hearts performs "Focus," the title track of its album released in October 2025, during a media event in Seoul. Courtesy of SM Entertainment
By Pyo Kyung-min
As K-pop continues to move away from maximalist, drop-driven electronic dance music (EDM), house music is reasserting itself as an identity-shaping aesthetic and sound. The shift has become more visible in recent months as rookie acts KiiiKiii and Hearts2Hearts, both of which debuted early last year, placed house at the center of their musical direction.
Their releases have fueled renewed discussion among industry watchers that house is once again gaining momentum in K-pop, not as a novelty, but as a familiar and adaptable framework.
House music emerged from Chicago’s club scene in the 1980s and is defined by a steady four-on-the-floor kick drum, repetitive rhythmic patterns and restrained melodic structures. Rather than relying on dramatic drops, the genre prioritizes groove and continuity, often producing a sleek, urban atmosphere. These qualities have long made house well suited to K-pop, a form that depends on the close integration of music, choreography and visual concept.
In recent years, house’s presence within K-pop has become both more visible and flexible. Variations often grouped under the house umbrella, including deep house, minimalist house and U.K. garage-influenced rhythms, are now being tailored to fit individual groups’ identities.
Members of K-pop girl group KiiiKiii pose during local music show promotions for "404 (New Era)," the lead single from the group's second mini-album, "Delulu Pack." Captured from Starship Entertainment's X account
That approach is evident in KiiiKiii’s recent comeback. The group returned on Jan. 26 with its second mini-album "Delulu Pack," featuring the lead single “404 (New Era).” The song marks a clear stylistic pivot from the group's U.K. house and garage influence. This shift signaled a deliberate effort to reposition the group through genre, using house as its sonic foundation.
Hearts2Hearts followed a similar path. After debuting earlier in 2025, the group placed house at the forefront with “Focus,” the title track of its first mini-album released in October 2025. Built on polished deep house rhythms layered with mood-lifting piano chords, the song was widely praised as a refined example of SM Entertainment’s restrained approach to house.
While the current wave has drawn attention, house is not new to K-pop. The genre began to establish a clear foothold in the mid-2010s, when songs built around sustained grooves and repetitive basslines started appearing as title tracks rather than experimental B-sides.
What is emerging now is less a new genre cycle than a renewed use of a familiar framework. The following tracks highlight key moments in how house has been used within K-pop.
'4 Walls' — f(x) (2015)
Released at a moment when drop-heavy EDM dominated K-pop, “4 Walls” by SM Entertainment's iconic girl group f(x) marked a decisive shift. Built on a deep house framework driven by a looping bassline and restrained synths, the song demonstrated that groove and continuity could sustain a title track without relying on explosive peaks. It remains a foundational reference point for house in K-pop.
'View' — SHINee (2015)
Arriving the same year under the same label, SHINee's “View” brought house into boy group territory with equal confidence. Its emphasis on flow and continuity demonstrated that house music could simultaneously support performance-driven boy bands while maintaining a sleek, contemporary feel, helping solidify the genre as a mainstream option.
'Stay Tonight' — Chungha (2020)
“Stay Tonight” by Chungha also showed how house music could be fully realized by a solo artist in the 2020s. Built around simple beats and a clearly articulated four-beat rhythm, the track treated house as a complete musical language rather than a stylistic, pop sound detour.
'Cool With You' — NewJeans (2023)
Often seen at the forefront of K-pop's stylistic shifts, girl group NewJeans reframed house not as club music but as an emotional rhythmic foundation on “Cool With You,” a two-and-a-half-minute track built on minimal beats and basslines. The subdued, everyday quality of the song aligned with the group’s aesthetic, and exemplified a newer approach to house in K-pop that favors nonchalance over drama.
RIIZE’s take on house reflects its present-day evolution within boy groups. Built on future house, a substyle that blends traditional house rhythms with festival-ready EDM, “Impossible” layers pop melodies over steady rhythmic repetition, aligning with recent K-pop trends that balance performance-driven staging with beats that are easy to the ears.
'In My Lotion' — RESCENE (2024)
Rookie girl group RESCENE also uses house in its track, “In My Lotion” to define a clean, minimal group identity through deep house. With a clearly articulated bassline and sustained, feminine groove, the track approaches house as an already fully formed expressive framework in K-pop rather than another experiment.