4 Heartwarming K-Pop “Company Collabs” You Might Not Know
Years ago, it was fairly common that any entertainment company with a decently popular roster would produce a song every year or so that featured all artists signed under that company. However, these kinds of collaborations don’t seem to happen with the frequency they used to. That’s not to say these collaborations won’t happen again in the future with companies’ new lineups, but until then, here’s a celebration of some of the most favorited, most well-known company/family songs we’ve yet to know.
1. JYP Nation: “This Christmas” (2010)
This JYP Nation carol features some of the label’s most well-known artists of all time, including 2AM, 2PM, miss A, and Wonder Girls. JYP Nation did release another family song in 2016, which included the few remaining members of 2PM and Wonder Girls, as well as newcomers GOT7 and TWICE. While both songs are catchy and sung by supremely talented artists, it’s “This Christmas” that makes our list, as both the song and the music video feature the legend himself, Park Jinyoung.
2. HAPPY PLEDIS: “LOVE LETTER” (2011)
“Love Letter” is the title track from Pledis Entertainment’s charity single Happy Pledis 2nd Album. It was released so the company’s artists could give thanks to their fans, with a portion of the album’s sales going towards UNICEF to help those in need. The song features some of the company’s most successful artists at the time, including Son Dambi and After School. It also shows a few noteworthy baby-faced trainees who are now quite successful in their own right.
3. Brand New Music: “Brand New Day” (2014)
While the label Brand New Music might be best known today for housing the latest generation’s idol groups AB6IX, MXM, and BDC, it was first known as one of the premier hip-hop labels. Present-day artists who perform that genre include Verbal Jint, Bumkey, KittiB, and Kanto, and the label once housed artists such as San E and Swings. This song features many of those hip-hop greats and more in a company-collaboration worthy of any end-of-year celebration.
4. SMTOWN: “Dear My Family” (2016)
This is SMTOWN’s second release of the song “Dear My Family.” Both versions feature all of the company’s vocalists (at that time), but it’s their 2016 version that is particularly emotionally charged. This video version, though dated with 2016, is a re-edited version, released on December 29, 2017, in honor of SHINee’s Jonghyun’s recent passing. It features the vocals of some of the company’s most legendary artists, including BoA, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, EXO’s Baekhyun, Chen, and D.O., Red Velvet’s Wendy, and the late singer himself, who was edited in from a prior performance. It’s a song that will tear at your heartstrings and more, while also showing you exactly what it means to be a family.
BONUS:
G20 Summit: “LET’S GO” (2010)
While not necessarily the same kind of collaboration as the above songs, this is still included for how unique it is. “Let’s Go” was produced for the 2010 G20 Summit, which was held that year in Seoul, South Korea. Since the G20 Summit brings together leaders of many nations, the K-Pop community also decided to bring together twenty top artists from all companies. Some of these artists are presently still active, and others have since retired from the spotlight. The song was released in both Korean and English and is coming upon its tenth anniversary this year. Just how many of these K-Pop icons can you recognize?
SBS Friendship Project: “You Are A Miracle” (2013)
If ever there was a song to define what it means to be a collaborative project, this song is the one. Performed as the closing song to the 2013 SBS Gayo Daejeon, this song features more artists from more entertainment companies than one could ever imagine. It includes artists from companies such as SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, CUBE Entertainment, and YG Entertainment. The list of participating idols is even more impressive. It contains solo artists IU and Sunmi, members from groups like SHINee, EXO, BIGBANG, KARA, Girls’ Generation, Apink, and BEAST (now known as Highlight), and all-time K-Pop legends like Lee Hyori, K.Will, Tiger JK, and Yoon Mirae. The song aims to encourage and inspire hope in the listener, with uplifting lyrics such as “you are already someone’s miracle, a beautiful miracle. You will make someone smile today.” It’s a song of pain yet also of triumph, full of compassion and understanding, and is delivered in a way that only these idols could do.
What are your thoughts on the company collaborations mentioned here? Which entertainment do you think should come together and release one next?
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