This has been a year full of amazing dramas and equally amazing music, so it is only right that we give our favorite OSTs (Original Sound Tracks) their due and wax poetic about their power to move us. So come check out The Fangirls favorites and let us know if yours made the list this year.
KMUSE:
Cinderella and the Four Knights – The show was slightly underwhelming. Despite that, it is one of my favorite OSTs of the year. Jessi’s My Romeo especially fills that perky pop style song need that just sometimes bursts forth. Not every song can be all angsty and intense sometimes a girl needs just a tiny bit of musical fluff.
Scarlet Heart Ryeo – This drama had such beautiful songs for the various romantic moments. Divichi & Lee Hi’s voice was made for OSTs. They also are constantly played on the Korean OST channel on Pandora so I am being bombarded by the pretty vocals on all fronts. Either way, they rank high in my favorite drama songs of the year.
Beautiful Mind – This is definitely a break out drama for me and its soundtrack is no exception. To this day I still play Bernard Park’s Dirt daily. A strong song for a strong drama.
Uncontrollably Fond – It takes a pretty amazing soundtrack to end up as my phone’s ringtone. Two of the songs from Uncontrollably Fond made the list which means it has to also be on my favorite of 2016 list right?
DramaGeek
Signal – It is rare when I make it all the way through a Kdrama without never wanting to hear the main song again. They just overplay them so much that even if I liked the song to begin with, by the end I’m sick of it. But with this show I could listen to the sound track every day and not get tired. The moment that low voice comes on for I Will Forget You, I’m instantly transported back into this story and relive everything these characters lived.
Kim Yuna’s voice along with the MV guts me almost every time. I tear up as her voice starts singing the song. I really do love older Korean music. It has this timeless feel. (I swear I didn’t read Kmuse’s comments first).So much better than the power ballad. At least, in my opinion.
Kmuse: This soundtrack is AMAZING! I love how timeless it feels. Every time I hear any of the songs it sucks me right back to the feelings I had watching the drama…… even a year later.
Jealousy Incarnate – First, the moment Ra.D voice filters out of the speakers my body immediately relaxes. I anticipated hearing this song every episode. On top of this song, I just loved almost every one they used. Each creating a certain mood or feel without overshadowing the acting that was taking place on screen.
The music director was fantastic at using the music to give the perfect extra touch to each scene. Like the song below. They played it at so many perfect moments.
CLSunbae
The K2 – I was surprised by how much I loved the music in The K2. Not the cheesy, melancholy pop songs. They were bearable, as far as those go. But what really lit my eardrums up were the operatic compositions behind the epic fight scenes and freeze-frame moments of betrayal. I wish I was more of a connoisseur so I knew how to describe this music. I don’t even know what genre it is, technically, or what terms to use so I can find a related station on Pandora.
Cinderella and the Four Knights -Like Kmuse, I enjoyed the soundtrack to Cinderella and the Four Knights more than the show. Which is to say, I liked the soundtrack and hated the show. I don’t think I would’ve hated it so much but for all that squandered potential. *sad sigh*
As for the soundtrack, my favorite jam was For You by BTOB. It has all the epic cheesiness one needs when driving down the freeway with the windows down and the radio on full blast.
CLKYTTA : It’s fun and catchy and I really wished that I was as fond of the drama as I was the OST. This drama had great music, but I never actually finished the drama.
Kmuse: The show was slightly underwhelming. Despite that, it is one of my favorite OSTs of the year. Jessi’s My Romeo especially fills that perky pop style song need that just sometimes bursts forth. Not every song can be all angsty and intense sometimes a girl needs just a tiny bit of musical fluff.
Another Miss Oh – I love this song. I might love it so much because I loved the show so much and this was one of the title songs for it. But even with that bias acknowledged, it’s such a sweet, light love song. It has longing in it but not the over-wrought, Celine Dion kind (which gets old SO FAST). It’s just, like, a chilling sort of longing. Not too needy but still sincere.
Descendants of the Sun – You know this show had to make the list somehow. And yes, this song is kind of like an earworm that WILL NOT STOP replaying in your head. But it’s catchy and hopeful and fun. Listen to it and try not to smile. If you get through the whole video (below) and your frown doesn’t turn upside down … you’re dead inside. That’s not me talking — that’s just science.
CLKYTTA
Uncontrollably Fond Kim Woo Bin’s Picture in My Head. I need Kim Woo Bin to sing me lullabies at night, I just love the gravelly sound of his voice. I really liked the soundtrack to this drama, I have 3 of the songs on my current favorites playlist.
W N (Vixx) and Yeo Eun (Melody Day) Without You. This song made me cry because it was so beautiful and it was such a perfect fit for this couple.
Let’s Drink /Drinking Solo Key Drunken Truth. I will happily admit that I watched this drama all the way through purely because I loved Key. I adored his character and this song was perfect for his character.
Award for Best Use Of Music in a Drama
Shopping King Louie
CLKYTTA: This movie had the BEST music! Tiger Moth probably is my favorite song from any OST this year.
Drama Geek: I agree they used the music the way it should be used in a show. But… every time they sang the words tiger moth I cracked up so hard. But I completely loved this song.
KMUSE: I have yet to see a more perfect mix of music and drama. The use of US shows in this drama was AMAZING and so absolutely perfect. I also give them kudos for the extreme diversity. They had Disney, Sinatra, Queen, and everything in between. I say let’s close it out with some of the best music moments.
A Whole New World 37 sec.
I Was Born to Love You Queen
This is the Moment
This concludes our favorite OST list of 2016. Be sure to let us know yours in the comments and check out our other 2016 countdowns HERE.
Til next time,
The Fangirls
I second all the songs from Signal! I still have them on my play list almost a year later. In fact, that drama had such an impact on me that I rewatched it twice since then. And still think it’s the best of 2016.
Beautiful Mind OST – can anyone tell me how to find it on itunes??? I LOVE LOVE LOVE that song so I want to buy it. Spotify has it. Itunes doesn’t.
The question is, where to get the OST for Jealousy Incarnate! But yeah, agree with pretty much this list.
The complete soundtrack from Signal (OMG amazing!) & Drinking Solo’s intro which I still smile about are the two that stayed with me 😀 The others mentioned are fine – I do like the Descendants of the Sun & W OST – and Shopping King Louis has made my top 5 KDrama list for being so adorably consistent – which includes the OST! Seo In Guk – just love everything about him, including his voice 😀
But the song from Signal is beyond everything. Love it completely.
Been a crazy year for me, hence not much time on hand to keep up to date on the music and OST scene of 2016 apart from the OST from Cinderella and Four Knights. Will definitely check those listed on this list out this weekend. Thank you so much for sharing.
Best use of karaoke in a drama this year was Wrongful Meeting in Jealousy Incarnate. Jo Jung suk’s version was great and perfect for the scene.
It was the best use of Wrongful Meeting. Never has someone used it better and that appropriately.
The Lucky Romance OST was my favorite this year. Nearly every song is on my playlist. I enjoyed the music in SKL but not enough to play it over and over other than his song. His voice is amazing.
The best OST for me this year is definitely Moon Lovers followed by DoTS, Moonlight drawn by clouds and Another Oh hae youg! I also liked the musical atmosphere in Signal.
If I have to choose one song for this year it would be Ben with Mytic Road (from MDBC) . I’m addicted to the song, have to listen to it twice a day 🙂 The melody is gorgeous and Ben’s voice is sublime!!
Cinderlla & the four knights isn’t on my watch list but now I’ll download the ost and check 😉
Best OST was hands down Jealousy Incarnate! I have never seen a perfect mix of songs and instrumentals in a show, both being amazing. I don’t remember disliking any OST, all of them were great. Louis had good music too and I love Inkii’s songs in W and Signal. Kim Yuna sings through my heart and that OST is my favorite.
I am still in Scarlet Heart:Ryeo mourning – a good part of which is that I listen to the soundtrack almost every night when I’m trying to go to sleep.
My eye-opening soundtrack, however, came from the surprising Refresh Man Taiwanese drama. Mainly because it introduced me to William Wei (also known as Weibird Wei) who sings the closing theme, “Think of you first.” He’s also in there with “This isn’t Love” but I love the whole slightly mournful yet wordy (you know, using a lot of words to say “I’m sorry”) soundtrack. William Wei also sings on a ton of other soundtracks – especially the great “Still” from the soundtrack for In Time With You.
I love the whole soundtrack from Signal so much that I still play the entirety of it from time to time. The others that I love too are from Jealousy Incarnate, Oh Hae Young Again, K2 and Moonlight Drawn By Clouds.