P1Harmony’s Twitter / D.O’s Instagram
Of course, we enjoy K-Pop because it is Korean, and we love the original lyrics and songs the best. But. it is always interesting to have some diversity from time to time. After so many years, idols singing in English is not a big thing anymore. Many idols are learning English, or even already bilingual. It is also true with Japanese considering that most K-Pop groups get to have a Japanese debut as well. So may it be English or Japanese, as K-Pop fans, we’re used to it, and it is nothing new, or surprising, anymore. But what about all the other languages?
In fact, many groups have sung, or at least tried to sing, in various foreign languages you probably never thought about. What about having a K-Pop group singing in Spanish, Thai, or even French? Well, that might come as a surprise, but many groups did sing in those languages already, and even more! May it be a cover, an original song, or even a compilation of multiple languages in a song, idols have done it all. Some were a success, and others gave fans more funny moments to enjoy, no matter the outcome, it was all worth the try. So let’s see some idols and groups who sang in various foreign languages apart from English and Japanese.
Note: This is not a ranking
1. DO – ‘If You Were Mine’
D.O. from EXO had already performed a Spanish song back in 2014, but in 2021 he released an original Spanish song ‘Si Fueras Mia’. Not only does that shows D.O’s skills as a singer, but also as a linguist. Having D.O’s angel-like vocals combined with the beautiful Spanish language is someone we didn’t know we needed!
2. Chan – ‘Why Don’t You Stay’ (Original song by Jeff Satur)
The song that Chan from A.C.E is making a cover of in this video is a Thai song that was used as an OST for the BL Series “Kinnporsche”. Chan was praised for covering a song from a BL series, and for having done such a great job with both the vocal and the pronunciation of the Thai language!
3. JiUng, Intak, and JongSeob – ‘Just Being Friendly’ (Original song by Tilly Birds ft. MILLI)
Another Thai song, covered this time by three members of P1Harmony! This song has been going viral in Thailand this past year as the storyline is about the friends-to-lovers trope, but it seems like the song made its way to Korea as well, and fans were more than grateful to have those talented boys making a cover of the song!
4. Go EunSeong – ‘The Desire To Love’ (Original Song by Daniel Lévi)
As much as French is hard, this singer made it seems so easy. His vocals were not only amazing and perfect, but his French was also immaculate! This song is an old French song from a musical, which explains the complexity of the song, yet Go EunSeong did an amazing job that will not be forgotten easily!
5. M.O.N.T – ‘Dommage’ (Original song by Big Flo et Oli)
M.O.N.T is not a very famous K-Pop group, yet they did something not many others achieved, they sang in French, and not any song. ‘Dommage’ is a song performed by a duo of french rappers, meaning that not only the members sang in French, but they also rapped, and fans were amazed by the talent of the members. Their pronunciation was so on point, it almost looked natural for them to sing in this foreign language!
6. Bae DooHoon – ‘Despacito’ (Original song by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee)
During his fan meeting, FORESTELLA’s Bae DooHoon performed this popular latino song that went viral for years. And as of today, people are still very hyped upon hearing this song as proved by the reactions of the fans during the event. They must all have been charmed and hyped up by this special performance!
7. FORESTELLA – ‘Je Suis Malade’ (Original song by Serge Lama)
FORESTELLA have proved their amazing vocals more than once already, by being this unique quatuor of the K-Pop industry. But by performing this French song, they proved their incredible vocal skills, along with their unlimited language skills. After singing in English and Spanish, they also sang in French, making it looks like there is nothing too hard for them to be done.
8. KyuHyun – ‘BLAH BLAH’ (Thai ver.)
If you are a fan of SUPER JUNIOR’s KyuHyun, you probably heard of the Korean version of this song, but what about the Thai version? If you knew about it, it’s a great occasion to listen to it again! If you didn’t know, we’re glad to introduce this incredible version of the song! How original is it to make a Thai version of a song? Most idols would have made a Japanese version for sure, but KyuHyun went for something different and quite unique for our greatest pleasure!
9. SUPER JUNIOR – ‘Now You Can Leave’
SUPER JUNIOR’s passion and skill for foreign languages strike again with this original song in Spanish! Once again, how delightful is it to get the music style of K-Pop combined with other languages? It makes great combos, especially when it falls right into the group’s style SUPER JUNIOR has released quite a few songs with Latino instrumentals or vibes, so this song is just like the cherry on top!
BONUS. All The Transonglations
The YouTube channel @KPOP created a new challenge for k-Pop idols called Transonglation. The concept is very simple, the groups are divided into teams of up to three members, each team is in charge of a language or part of the song, and they have to sing their original song in various languages, and the goal is to not make many mistakes in order to gain snack from different countries. Thanks to this new type of content, fans got to hear their idols singing in various languages, and sometimes even theirs! You can check out all the videos on this playlistas we cannot share them all – there are too many – we’re only sharing the last one released, enjoy!
That is all for the idols who sang in foreign languages, other than English or Japanese, how did you like it? Share with us your favorite song from this list or who you think did best at singing in a foreign language!