Top 10 Instrumental OSTs (as of March 2016)

Okay, to be completely honest I started writing this post in January or so and have only gotten around to finishing it off now. So some newer instrumentals weren't considered while selecting those on this list :)

Please just interpret this as '10 Awesome Instrumental OSTs' ... I realised as I was figuring out my top 10 that it was almost an impossible task! There are so many instrumentals, and they all have their own charm. I compiled this list by selecting my favourite 2 from each drama, then picking my top 10 from those. There are so many more which could have made the list!

I've excluded all OSTs which are either instrumental versions of or based off an OST with lyrics - simply because if I love the OST I'll love the instrumental as well, and this will just turn into an instrumental version of my Top 10 OSTs :P


10. Oh Joon Sung - Endless Crying (Cyber Voice Ver.) (City Hunter)

This instrumental reminds me of the prosecutor's death scene :( I really like how eerie the 'cyber voice' sounds, and the beats in the background have a really 'City Hunter' feel. I know it's probably because Oh Joon Sung composed all the tracks, but he's managed to slip something into the City Hunter ones which differentiate them from his other drama instrumentals.

9. Leekeugeobook - My Man, Kim Boong Do (Queen In-Hyun's Man)

I'm actually finding it really difficult to talk about why I like the instrumentals I've picked :/ They just sound good! I really like the part starting at 0:30 for this track. And it makes a lot of sense how they used traditional-sounding instruments (oh gosh my music knowledge is zilch) since this is a time-travelling drama.

8. Kim Jang Woo - Promise (Doctor Stranger)

To be completely honest I didn't pay this instrumental much attention until I saw it mentioned in a Top K-drama Instrumental OSTs video. According to my brother I have a bias towards 'epic' music (you'll see in the coming few), so I often neglected the slow instrumentals. But this track is so beautiful! Especially in the context of the storyline ... as delicate as the soft piano is, the song becomes progressively twinged with the sadness of the strings. It really reminds you of how the pure love between the leads becomes corrupted by the politics around them :'(

7. V.A. - To Battle (Healer)

I actually have a hard time differentiating 'To Battle' from 'Trouble', another Healer instrumental OST. Am I the only one who thinks they sound really similar? Anyway, this one's really good at heightening suspense. I keep seeing that creepy Secretary guy whenever I hear this.

6. V.A. - Hold On There (Sassy Go Go)

Ooooh we've finally gotten to this one! If you've seen my Sassy Go Go unboxing post you would probably know that there was a bit of a commotion about this instrumental ... in short, fans were divided between thinking the singer was or was not Eunji. Turns out the singer was not Eunji, and was in fact someone called Jang Mi Young. Anyway this OST's got a really unique feel-good vibe about it, something which is also characteristic of Sassy Go Go :P I get flashbacks to the time when Kim Yeol tries to kiss drunk Yeon Doo whenever I listen to this hahaha. 

5. Kim Jang Woo - I Am A Stranger (Doctor Stranger)

I'm sure everyone who watched Doctor Stranger searched up this OST! This plays almost every time an intense operation takes place ... and rightly so! Everything becomes so much more dramatic when this is playing hahaha.

4. Oh Joon Sung - Endless Run (Scholar Who Walks The Night)

Is this the only Scholar Who Walks The Night instrumental which made it onto here? Seems like another case of Master's Sun OSTs missing out on my Top 10 OSTs ... they're all consistently good unlike most dramas where there're only 1 or 2 excellent highlights, but because of that they tend to miss out on top 10 lists ><

3. Oh Joon Sung - City Hunter (City Hunter)

So. Many. Good. City. Hunter. Instrumentals. I struggled a lot with deciding between Hot Spade / Gun Fighter / Sad Run / City Hunter because they're all awesome instrumentals. I guess I went with the eponymous one!

2. V.A. - Healer 힐러 (Healer)

And here comes my ringtone :P I usually get sick with hearing whatever song I set as my ringtone since I hear it so often ... but not this one! I can't put it into words but this song is really ... uplifting? Empowering? It's probably a result of the drama though cause this instrumental was used really well, so if you haven't watched it you probably have no idea what I'm talking about haha. There's another version of this instrumental called 영원한 기억, which is slower and more delicate. I really like that one as well, you should check it out :)

1. V.A. - Circus In Court Strings (I Hear Your Voice) 

Finally number one! Whenever I refer to the name of this track my mind always seems to think 'court strings' is something and that there's a circus in there hahaha. But yeah it's more Circus in Court (strings). Just like no. 2, I think a huge part of this track is the underlying emotions embedded within the drama, so the instrumental might be mediocre to someone who hasn't watched the drama. I can almost feel Park Soo Ha's desperation whenever I listen to this ...

And that's it! Top 10 Instrumental OSTs as of early 2016. It really did take a while to write this up because I'm less familiar with instrumentals, so I might not be doing another one in the near future. See you again in my next post!

Top 10 OSTs (as of October 2015)

Yes, another top 10 OST post! As you guys have probably figured out by now, most of the music I listen to are kdrama OSTs :P I obviously go through OST phases so none of the top 10 here were part of my previous top 10 post earlier this year. This isn't to say that I don't like those OSTs anymore, but just that the below 10 resonate with me more immediately when trying to come up with a list of my current favourite OSTs.

Last time I didn't use any MVs and deliberately embedded videos with only the album art or similar ... I think it was because a lot of official OST MVs have external sounds in place of some verses and I wanted to make sure you guys could appreciate the song in its entirety. But this time I've included official MVs where available, cause I think it's only right to acknowledge the people who release the song ... and also cause this time none of the official MVs have too much external sounds going on hahaha.

Okay enough of me talking and onto the OSTs! :D


10. G.NA - Don't Cry (Scholar Who Walks The Night)

Here's a Scholar Who Walks the Night OST to kickstart this list! The Night Scholar OSTs are really beautiful, having made their way into my shortlist of favourite OST albums. See me fangirling over the OSTs here! I think a large part of it is the unique charm that accompanies historical drama OSTs, considering it was Gu Family Book which dominated my previous list. The simple vocals and instrumentals just work together really well and make this OST really relaxing to listen to.

9. Ben - Stay (Oh My Ghost)

I actually had quite a hard time deciding whether this song would make it onto this list. On one hand the chorus is so delicate and beautiful that you're tempted to hold your breath and just listen ... whereas on the other hand the beginning verses are just a little too slow for me. I guess you can see that the chorus won me over :P

8. Loco & Yoo Joo - Spring Is Gone By Chance (Girl Who Sees Smells)

This song is just really catchy! Especially the female part ... I found myself singing to it all the time!

7. Ali - Hurt (Rooftop Prince)

As much as I liked Rooftop Prince, this was the only OST that stood out for me. I've actually noticed that a lot of my category 1 dramas have mediocre OSTs :/ Anyway this song really brings out the sad emotions and memories of this drama. I once showed my mum a really well put together fan MV to this song and my mum questioned why I was listening to such sad songs ... so it isn't just me! The people who've watched the drama will know what I'm talking about, but I associate this song much more strongly to the Joseon story rather than the modern story.

See my Rooftop Prince review here! Don't worry I clearly mark where spoilers start (I'm a super no-spoilers-please person).

6. Beast - Without You (Scholar Who Walks The Night)

Would you guys believe me if I say that this is the first Beast song I've properly listened to? Well it is haha, I never really followed them despite listening to kpop. This song first drew my attention when it played at the end of episode 16: 

*spoilers start* Mr Evil Vampire is strangling poor Yang Sun, who struggles to breathe. Suddenly a whoosh - the camera pans and it turns out Mr Good Vampire has arrived to save the day. Cue OST! Mr Evil Vampire turns around to make eye contact with Mr Good Vampire and subsequently casts Yang Sun aside - someone much more important has appeared. Episode ends with Mr Evil Vampire looking really happy to see Mr Good Vampire, who looks like he's ready to bite. *spoilers end*

In short, this song screams Gwi and Sung Yeol bromance to me. Pretty sure it's because of that precise scene. There's this bit a little after 2:09 where it seems like they're saying Gwi and I keep imagining that they're singing about getting rid of Gwi but I checked up the lyrics and .... no hahaha.

5. Eun Ga Eun - Sad Wind (Scholar Who Walks The Night)

Yes another Night Scholar OST! This was actually the first OST from this drama that I fell in love with. It's got the really strong 'historical vibe' which I mentioned before (sorry about my lack of proper terminology haha), and Eun Ga Eun's voice complements it so well. I only recently found out that Oh Joon Sung actually composed the entire Night Scholar AND City Hunter OST ... yes two of my favourite OST albums! I know he's all over the music scene but I used to just recognise him as the City Hunter The Score composer ... but didn't realise he composed the non-instrumental tracks as well! The official Night Scholar MVs I've linked to are actually from Oh Joon Sung's youtube channel ... here's some love from a fellow fan ♥

I actually posted about Sad Wind just as it got released, check it out here!

4. Kim Bo Kyung - Suddenly (City Hunter)

What a perfect transition to City Hunter! No seriously it wasn't planned. This OST was used really well in the drama ... if I remember correctly it was used quite frequently at the end of each episode as well as during the show. I could sing along to it just from hearing it in the drama! Aside from that Kim Bo Kyung's unique voice really plays a huge role in making this song as amazing as it is. Love it!

3. Michael Learns To Rock - Eternal Love (Healer)

I think I've just dropped into feels land. To be completely honest if I had to judge this song on its own it would rank quite averagely. BUT once again this OST was used really well in the drama, and listening to it gives me really strong Healer feels. So overall, high satisfaction after listening to this song means high ranking! ;D

And to those of you who haven't watched it, I strongly recommend Healer. That is all.

2. M.C THE MAX - Because Of You (Girl Who Sees Smells)

I find this OST really beautiful and heart wrenching :') Just like Eternal Love, it drops me into feels land every single time I listen to it - the only difference is that the feels would still be there if I hadn't watched the drama. I absolutely love the way the vocalist has conveyed this song, it's chest-thump-worthy!

1. Yang Hwa Jin - It's Alright (City Hunter)

And finally the number one! This song is captivating from the first few seconds ... there's just so much energy and you can't help but jam to it! I get so caught up in the song it ends before I realise it. It also really reminds me of Lee Min Ho's badass scenes in City Hunter :P

Hope you've enjoyed listening to my top 10! Let me know what you think of these OSTs and if I've missed any of your favourites! I'm considering doing a top 10 instrumental OST post, but it might be more difficult since there are so many and I pay much more attention to the non-instrumental OSTs. I'll see how things go - let me know if you'd like a top instrumental OST post! Until next time ~

edit: urgh this is really bugging me but I started this post in September so the working post title was always "Top 10 OSTs (as of September 2015)" but I forgot to change it before I posted ... I realised a couple of minutes later but even when I change the post title the permalink still says September >< sigh ...

Top 10 K-Drama OSTs (as of Feb 2015)

Helloooo! Welcome to my first post :D Hopefully I'll be able to think through what I'm going to say carefully and avoid making this a pile of word vomit :L

After quite some time agonising over my iPod I've finally managed to pick my top 10 Korean drama OSTs as of now! The first 6 or 7 are quite straightforward - everyone has their favourite OSTs - but then you get to the latter 3 or 4 and you realise that you've got about 20 songs sitting at the same like-level. Uh oh. Anyway this is my top 10 ... if I spend any more time thinking about this I'll find another song which belongs here more than one of these. I'll try to write a little description under each song.

10. A'ST1 ft. T-Max - Something Happened To My Heart (Boys Over Flowers)

Pretty sure every K-drama fan has heard of Boys Over Flowers! A lot of people don't seem to like it because it's overrated or overly cliché, but I remember enjoying it when I watched it :D I've watched the Taiwanese, Japanese and Chinese versions as well (the Taiwanese twice actually! the first time when I was too young to remember *sigh*). The Taiwanese and Korean versions stand to be my favourite :)

9. Suzy - Don't Forget Me (Gu Family Book)

Gu Family Book is one of the only historical Korean dramas I've watched. It's also one of my favourite Korean dramas! And it probably houses my favourite OST album overall - you'll see quite a few Gu Family Book OSTs popping up here.

I recognised Suzy's voice during the drama since I find it quite distinct. I think Suzy's a good singer, although her voice is a little ... unstable? I'm not qualified to give an expert opinion ... apart from the fact that this song is really hard to sing!!! Every single time I try to (whether it be in the shower or on my imaginary stage *ahem* my room *ahem*) I end up screeching like a strangled car tyre.

8. Hyorin - Hello, Goodbye (You Who Came From The Stars)

You Who Came From The Stars! Another drama home to quite a few good OSTs. Not much more to say about this other than it's a good song :)

7. Choa - Words I Couldn't Say Yet (Bride Of The Century)

Bride of the Century revolves around a rumour circulating about a prestigious family, that states that the eldest son's first wife will die the day after their wedding as a sacrifice to a ghost protecting the family. Lee Hong Ki from F.T. Island plays the male lead ... lo and behold he's the eldest son of that family. There's more to the storyline but I don't know where to start without spoiling it so I'll stop there :P

This is the female version of this OST; Lee Hong Ki sings the male version. I prefer the female version since it was the really nice voice of the female singer which brought this song to my attention. Ha 'nice' ... that's the extent of my vocabulary sorry. It was because this song highlighted how good Choa's singing was that I first paid some attention to AOA!

6. The One - Best Wishes To You (Gu Family Book)

Choi Jin Hyuk (an actor in the drama) sings an acoustic version of this song. When I first listened to both versions I didn't notice major differences ... but having listened to them many times I prefer The One's version :D Choi Jin Hyuk did a really good job though since he's an actor taking on a song sung by a super experienced singer like The One!

5. Jiyoung - Rainbow Rose (Rainbow Rose)

I struggled quite a bit deciding whether this song would make it into my top 10 ... I decided that it would, and surprisingly when I was ordering the 10 this landed at 5! It's just a really catchy song you'd bob along to ... okay okay, me liking Jiyoung might have played a teeny role. But it's still a bright and cute song that puts a smile on your face :)

4. Eunji & Seo In Guk - All For You (Reply 1997)

Yessss how can anyone not like this song??? The way Eunji always makes singing look so easy amazes me! Their voices blend together really well ... and what can give more feeeeeels other than the much loved female and male leads singing a song together? And doing a really good job at it too?

3. Jang Jae In ft. NaShow - Auditory Hallucination (Kill Me Heal Me)

This is the only OST in this list that comes from a drama I haven't finished watching. Because it's still airing. I know I'm not the only one who loves this OST because the moment it played during the very first episode the comments section was filled with people asking about this song. It was a mix of the song itself sounding beautiful and it being used really well in the drama.

Kill Me Heal Me is a drama about Cha Do Hyun (Ji Sung) who suffers from DID and has 7 different personalities. These include the violent Segi, bomb expert Perry Park, the teenage girl Yona, suicidal Yoseob, young child Nana, Mysterious X (yet to appear) and himself. While the other personalities take advantage of whatever time they're given, Segi is set on eliminating Cha Do Hyun and taking all of his time for himself.

I don't usually check up the English translation of song lyrics (I know, how did I even compile this list without considering the lyrics) but I did for this one when I heard a lot of praise about the lyrics going really well with the drama. And they do. Which is why I gave that drama summary up there. I mean hearing "There are so many things hidden inside of me ... It put me to sleep, tied my hands and feet and trapped me in a dark room" just makes me want to give Do Hyun a big hug :'( And you can basically feel the male lead's frustration in "the memories of love that I threw away, they have been deleted and thrown away".

Since this is quite a new OST it's my latest jam ^^

2. Yisabel - My Eden (Gu Family Book)

Woohoo Gu Family Book strikes again! The male and female leads of this drama basically don't appear in the first two episodes, which instead looks at what happens in the leads' parents' generation. This OST goes with male lead Kang Chi's (Lee Seung Gi) parents' love story, and I think it's perfect for it. As well as sounding really delicate, beautiful (the amount of times I've used this word ...) and almost magical (fittingly for a historical fantasy drama), there's an underlying tone of sadness which forebodes the tragedy that unfolds. I get all them feels again listening to this song :'(

... oh and the song's in English, which is a plus :D there's a Korean version but I don't think I've heard that one yet (oops).

1. Chen - Best Luck (It's Okay, It's Love)

I actually had a hard time deciding between 1st, 2nd and 3rd but in the end EXO Chen's Best Luck got the top spot! A bit of a happy change from the other two.

This song seems to hold a "sing along really loudly" command for my brain (maybe cause I actually can for once) and the whole song just makes you feel really good and empowered (for loss of a better word)! My favourite bit is the looooong note during the last part of the bridge and the chorus following it, cause I can imagine myself belting that bit out on the top of a mountain eheheheheee ... talk about empowered!!

And that's it!! Seriously this post has taken me way longer to write than I thought it would. Hope you guys like my top 10! Let me know your opinions and what other OSTs you think should be on this list :D Catch you next time ~~~