written by: renshukki

OSTs should literally be the next K-Pop because they seriously crap over some of today’s ballads, or even perhaps lead singles, sung by today’s Korean idols. OSTs aren’t there because they weren’t written for nothing, but rather to drive the storyline and emotion of a drama. Without OSTs, the Korean drama you are probably watching right now would be less than nothing; to put it simply, without OSTs you wouldn’t understand what is going on. This is also something American Dramas need to learn too, but there is a major difference between Asian and American culture, so playing a random pop song or an instrumental in the background is fine too.

Xia’s “Love Is Like Snow” (OST for KBS2 drama, Nice Guy), is simply a masterpiece which lies on a pretty orchestration mixed with heavy synths that grabs the tension and emotion of its listeners. Xia Junsu’s vocals itself inches up the balance of the song to pull you in, something I haven’t heard for a long time since his TVXQ days. What amazes me is how Junsu’s able to control his vocals when he’s reaching the high notes over a long period of time, although at times shaky a bit too, yet bringing the feeling and meaning of the song at the same time.

What I hate to admit is that somehow my musical taste doesn’t fit to the song itself, as I’m not a huge fan of high notes and high pitch sounds. However, because the fact that the drama continuously plays the OST over and over again, it eventually changed me from a hater to a fan of the song.

The structure itself isn’t much like a simple OST, but more of a ballad; from a soft-warmed feeling verse to a heavy high chorus, not repeating itself from the middle 8 until reaching the bridge which builds and links the whole song together, ending with a nice sweet touch. The song intensifies from beginning to end, yet always kept under control, making it easily playable on repeat and a good listen to the ear (that’s if you have feelings.)

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OSTs are pretty much the same to each other, but if the singer is able to make the song their own, then that’s totally different. Xia Junsu, an ‘artiste’ in K-Pop, always had the ability to make it on his own back in the olden days, but with mis-opportunities and little backfire, that eventually pulled him back in terms of stretching and developing his vocal abilities. His vocals are on another level compared to K-Pop idols who are currently promoting.

Overall, the song is really attractive, better than his “Rooftop Prince” OST, which I have somehow reluctantly forgotten about.

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Score: 4.3/5

Singles of any kind are not rated using the same rating system used for mini and full albums.

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