With SMTOWN LIVE 2025 [THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE] landing in Europe for the first time in fourteen years – and marking the company’s 30th anniversary – this playlist is your essential primer.

For over 30 years, SM Entertainment has shaped the sound, look, and logic of modern K-pop. As the company behind genre-defining acts like TVXQ!, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, EXO, and Red Velvet, SM turned experimental production into a pop blueprint.

The label’s signature sound is easy to spot, impossible to replicate: stacked harmonies, unpredictable beat switches, and vocal arrangements as intricate as choreography. Meanwhile, their artists visually pioneered the concept-driven eras, expansive lore, and theatrical staging that made K-pop a global spectacle.

Now, with SMTOWN LIVE 2025 [THE CULTURE, THE FUTURE] landing in Europe for the first time in fourteen years – and marking the company’s 30th anniversary – this playlist is your essential primer. These are the songs that define the SMTOWN line-up’s history, capturing a piece of the innovation, energy, and sheer audacity that still sets SM apart.

Red Velvet – “Red Flavor”

The ultimate K-pop summer song: fizzy, technicolour pop with one of the most addictive choruses in the genre. No group moves between sweetness and sophistication quite like Red Velvet. An example of how SM leans into conceptual work without sacrificing musicality, Red Velvet’s genius lies in contrast – and this song balances their bubblegum ‘Red’ persona with underlying sophistication and control. It’s no surprise that this track helped redefine what a summer comeback could sound like, setting the bar high for K-pop’s bright, effervescent seasonal hits.

aespa – “Next Level”

Built like a digital jigsaw puzzle, the abrupt beat changes, theatrical delivery, and cyber-fantasy visuals of “Next Level” marked a new chapter in SM’s commitment to boundary-pushing sound. Where most K-pop songs build to a hook, “Next Level” breaks structure entirely, jumping from hypnotic chant to rap verse to power vocals without warning. aespa’s hyper-stylised universe (including their AI counterparts) made headlines, but the song itself became a cultural reset. Both baffling and addictive, it’s SM’s metaverse in musical form.

TVXQ – “MIROTIC”

A masterclass in vocal drama and seductive energy, “MIROTIC” was a game-changer for late 2000s K-pop. With its sleek pop-R&B influences and unforgettable chorus, the track pushed TVXQ into pop culture royalty. It’s also one of the best examples of SM’s vocal architecture, with layers of harmonies stacked for maximum impact. From its iconic choreography to its chest-bearing styling, “MIROTIC” helped usher in a more mature, performance-driven era of idol music. Almost two decades later, its influence is still felt in how male K-pop groups approach power and polish.

NCT 127 – “Kick It”

Loud, theatrical, and endlessly quotable, “Kick It” channels NCT 127’s rebellious spirit into one of SM’s most unapologetically aggressive anthems. With a stomping beat blending rock riffs and trap drums with Bruce Lee references, it’s as much a performance piece as it is a song. True to NCT’s experimental DNA, “Kick It” is a mesh of martial arts energy and swaggering noise-pop. But behind the attitude is tight production and razor-sharp arrangement, proving SM’s approach to controlled chaos.

EXO – “Growl”

Arguably one of the most recognisable K-pop songs of the 2010s, “Growl” is SM at its most deceptively minimal. Riding a slick, funky bassline and clean vocal layering, the production lets EXO’s precision shine. The one-take-style choreography video became an instant classic, emphasising style, symmetry, and stamina as its spectacle. It was a sharp pivot from the group’s earlier supernatural concept, proving that confidence and cool could be just as impactful as complexity. 

SHINee – “Lucifer”

“Lucifer” is pure choreography in sonic form. Its robotic rhythms mirrors the sharpness of SHINee’s movement, while the vocal arrangement weaves power and vulnerability into a seamless whole. The song affirmed SHINee’s identity as performance-forward idols who could balance futuristic production with vocal artistry. Released at the height of second-gen K-pop, “Lucifer” helped set a new benchmark for what tightly constructed, concept-driven K-pop could be.

Girls’ Generation – “I Got a Boy”

It shouldn’t work. But it absolutely does. “I Got a Boy” is the genre-hopping, tempo-shifting, head-spinning masterstroke that shattered K-pop norms. A smooth hip-pop intro, bubblegum chorus, hairpin beat drops, hints of rock and dubstep, and multiple tempo resets (“Let’s bring it back to 140,” as JESSICA commands) – the song is pure chaos, but that’s exactly why it changed everything. Released at the peak of Girls’ Generation’s fame, it was a career-risking curveball that tore up the K-pop playbook and dared listeners to keep up. Critics were baffled. Audiences are still split. But the gamble paid off – winning YouTube’s 2013 Video of the Year and pushing K-pop’s structural boundaries into uncharted territory. Girls’ Generation aren’t in this year’s line-up (besides HYOYEON), but this track remains a definitive moment – not just for SM, but for K-pop as a genre.

WayV – “Love Talk”

“Love Talk” is sleek, sultry, and unmistakably aimed at a global audience. With its smooth R&B production, English-language version, and hushed vocal delivery, the track marked a stylistic departure for SM that signalled increasing focus on international crossover. It’s not a power anthem or a performance juggernaut: “Love Talk” leans into subtlety and mood, showcasing a late-night palette. As a unit of NCT, WayV expands SM’s sonic and linguistic borders – and “Love Talk” is the kind of song that lingers long after the lights go down.

RIIZE – “Get A Guitar”

When RIIZE officially debuted with “Get A Guitar”, it made for an intriguing entry point. A breezy, retro-tinged groove built on rhythm guitar and 2000s-style synths, the production fuses easygoing charm with precise, polished structure. It’s light on its feet but never hollow: a slick, bubblegum earworm that taps into the emotional warmth of early pop while carving out space for something new. It’s proof that SM’s innovation doesn’t always mean complexity; sometimes, it’s about the art of keeping it simple.

NCT DREAM – “Hot Sauce”

At first listen, “Hot Sauce” is chaotic; bratty chants, warped synths, and a hook that shouldn’t work but does. But underneath the playful weirdness is classic SM craftsmanship: layered textures, dynamic shifts, and vocals that snap into perfect formation. NCT DREAM, originally conceived as a teen unit, stepped into a new era with this track, and “Hot Sauce” cemented their identity as the most unpredictable unit of the NCT universe – showing how SM continues to reinvent the idea of youth-driven pop with wild flair and precision.

Words – Hasan Beyaz