More K-pop singers contribute to animation soundtracks

A scene from a music video for "Be Yourself Shinbi x SINB song)" in a screen capture from YouTube

By Park Ji-won

Animation soundtracks have usually been sung by voice actors here, but things have started to change as more K-pop singers have started to croon songs for famous animated works, which has turned out to be beneficial for both sides.

K-pop boy group TREASURE's "Beautiful," which is the closing track for the Japanese animated film "Black Clover," was released Jan. 22, and has already attracted more than 840,000 views on YouTube.

In November last year, Sinbi of K-pop girl group GFriend, released "Be Yourself (Shinbi x SINB song)" sung with a character called Shinbi from the animated film "Shinbi Apartment: Doomsday." The collaboration attracted huge attention, drawing more than 865,000 views on YouTube and prompting people to participate in its TikTok dance challenge.

"Sinbi of GFriend and Shinbi from Shinbi Apartment: Doomsday who have the same name, joined hands to deliver heart-warming messages to children who may have become depressed by the spread of COVID-19," an official at CJENM said.

A poster for the animated film "Noblesse: Awakening" Courtesy of crunchyroll

Kim Jae-joong of JYJ, a K-pop star famous in Korea and Japan, sang "Breaking Dawn," the opening song for "Noblesse: Awakening," (2020) an animated series adopted from the Naver web comics "Noblesse" written by Son Je-ho and illustrated by Lee Kwang-su.

The comic series revolves around battles and friendships surrounding its lead character Raizel in a supernatural world and was released between 2007 and 2019. It was one of the most famous web comics on the platform. The song was performed in Korean, Japanese and English to appeal to a wider audience, according to its production company.

"Etoile," the ending track for the film, was sung by K-pop group OH MY GIRL in the three different languages.

K-pop girl group Momoland and lead character Pororo of "Pororo the Little Penguin" released "BANANA CHACHA" in April 2019, attracting more than 47.5 million views on YouTube as of Tuesday. Thanks to the popularity, they released another song called "TIKI TAKA" together in May of 2020, which has already gathered nearly 4 million views.

K-pop groups singing theme songs for animated features is apparently a strategic move by the groups and production companies to expand their fan bases, while some point out that such collaborations do not always add to the consistency of storylines.

"For K-pop singers, their participation can help bolster their friendly image and draw younger fans. Animation companies that join hands with K-pop idols also enjoy the popularity of the fandom of the idols rubbing off on their animated features," an official at a music company said.

"However, some criticize such collaborative works, because the songs have been sung better by voice actors who are starring in the series and thus are aware of the storyline and characters."

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