We’ve got to speak about how good the Ok-pop needle drops are in Netflix's 'XO, Kitty'

• “XO, Kitty” is Netflix’s new spinoff of “To All of the Boys I’ve Cherished Earlier than,” set largely in Seoul. 
• The present has a wild quantity of Ok-pop needle drops — they usually’re actually nice. 
• Warning: Mild spoilers forward for “XO, Kitty.”

Lower than 10 minutes into its first episode, “XO, Kitty” blasts you full within the face with Seventeen’s 2022 “HOT” because the glamorous Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee) walks previous the titular Kitty within the airport. 

As Min Ho rigorously removes his sun shades and struts by way of the terminal, the 2022 anthem units the right tone — “We drop it like sizzling, sizzling, sizzling / Oh we feelin’ so sizzling,” Seventeen sings over Min Ho’s strut, a siren sound echoing within the background. 

—Trisha♡💛🐵🐧🐶🐥🍑 (@mingpout) May 11, 2023

Then, lower than a minute later, “XO, Kitty” hits you with “Telepathy,” a cool B-side from BTS’ 2020 album “Be” as Kitty arrives at Incheon airport. She races by way of the streets of Seoul with a big, vibrant yellow suitcase to the tune of Momoland’s 2018 hit “BAAM,” which fades into Blackpink’s 2022 anthem “Pink Venom” as wealthy woman Yuri retailers in a boutique. As Kitty and Yuri drive by way of Seoul, Jeon Somi’s daring pop banger “What You Ready For” units an auspicious tone for the journey forward. And later, Kitty will get her coronary heart damaged to the sound of Seventeen’s sentimental English-language ballad “Darl+ing” simply in time for the credit to roll.

All of that’s simply within the present’s first episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP9C33H6G3E

A derivative of the “To All of the Boys” movie collection targeted on Lara Jean’s youthful sister Kitty, “XO, Kitty” switches between up to date Ok-pop tracks as simply because it sows new seeds of chaos that may play out throughout the season. For a teen drama set primarily in Seoul, South Korea, the soundtrack makes good sense. That does not imply we won’t discuss how good the needle drops, which vary from chart toppers to deeper cuts, are.

In some instances, “XO, Kitty” combines tracks from the identical artist to nice impact. Stray Children’ “Venom” performs when Kitty opens the door into her new dorm, the track’s trickling, foreboding synths heightening the stress as she steps right into a cesspool of trash and takeout containers left by her gamer roommate. “Venom” is adopted up instantly by Stray Children’ single feverish single “Maniac,” echoing the observe sequence on the group’s 2022 album “Oddinary.”

Not solely does the transition seize Kitty’s contemporary housing hell, but it surely’s additionally a enjoyable Easter egg for listeners of the group.

(G)I-DLE’s “HANN (Alone in winter),” a somber energy ballad, is a very poignant drop, particularly given the present’s sturdy pop palette. The track’s lyrics, per a Colour Coded Lyrics translation, communicate of an incapacity to neglect somebody that results in nice ache: “I miss you at this time, so I resent you tomorrow,” the group sings over a thematically resonant sequence within the present that I will not spoil. 

Not each needle drop needs to be deep. A few of them are no-brainers, like ITZY’s “B[OO]M-BOXX” taking part in throughout a membership scene, or fromis_9’s “Keep This Approach” taking part in over a make-out montage. And naturally, the present’s soundtrack is not all Ok-pop: There is a wholesome dose of indie tracks like Claud’s “Delicate Spot,” or Korean-language tracks like songwriter and rapper Park Hye Jin’s “Y Do not U.”

Tears For Fears’ “All people Desires to Rule the World,” an ’80s basic that I imagine deserves its personal “Working Up That Hill” second, additionally options prominently all through the collection. 

In the end, the present’s Ok-pop soundtrack helps the present, a pleasant fusion of teenage hijinks and Ok-drama tropes, sing — and even for those who’re not already a fan, there’s an opportunity you will uncover some new favourite tracks.