We have to talk about how good the K-pop needle drops are in Netflix's 'XO, Kitty'
- "XO, Kitty" is Netflix's new spinoff of "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," set mostly in Seoul.
- The show has a wild amount of K-pop needle drops — and they're really great.
Less than 10 minutes into its first episode, "XO, Kitty" blasts you full in the face with Seventeen's 2022 "HOT" as the glamorous Min Ho (Sang Heon Lee) walks past the titular Kitty in the airport.
As Min Ho carefully removes his sunglasses and struts through the terminal, the 2022 anthem sets the perfect tone — "We drop it like hot, hot, hot / Oh we feelin' so hot," Seventeen sings over Min Ho's strut, a siren sound echoing in the background.
Then, less than a minute later, "XO, Kitty" hits you with "Telepathy," a groovy B-side from BTS' 2020 album "Be" as Kitty arrives at Incheon airport. She races through the streets of Seoul with a gigantic, bright yellow suitcase to the tune of Momoland's 2018 hit "BAAM," which fades into Blackpink's 2022 anthem "Pink Venom" as rich girl Yuri shops in a boutique. As Kitty and Yuri drive through Seoul, Jeon Somi's daring pop banger "What You Waiting For" sets an auspicious tone for the journey ahead. And later, Kitty gets her heart broken to the sound of Seventeen's sentimental English-language ballad "Darl+ing" just in time for the credits to roll.
All of that is just in the show's first episode.
A spinoff of the "To All the Boys" film series focused on Lara Jean's younger sister Kitty, "XO, Kitty" switches between contemporary K-pop tracks as easily as it sows new seeds of chaos that will play out across the season. For a teen drama set primarily in Seoul, South Korea, the soundtrack makes perfect sense. That doesn't mean we can't talk about how good the needle drops, which range from chart toppers to deeper cuts, are.
In some cases, "XO, Kitty" combines tracks from the same artist to great effect. Stray Kids' "Venom" plays when Kitty opens the door into her new dorm, the song's trickling, foreboding synths heightening the tension as she steps into a cesspool of trash and takeout containers left by her gamer roommate. "Venom" is followed up immediately by Stray Kids' single feverish single "Maniac," echoing the track sequence on the group's 2022 album "Oddinary."
Not only does the transition capture Kitty's fresh housing hell, but it's also a fun Easter egg for listeners of the group.
(G)I-DLE's "HANN (Alone in winter)," a somber power ballad, is a particularly poignant drop, especially given the show's strong pop palette. The song's lyrics, per a Color Coded Lyrics translation, speak of an inability to forget someone that leads to great pain: "I miss you today, so I resent you tomorrow," the group sings over a thematically resonant sequence in the show that I won't spoil.
Not every needle drop has to be deep. Some of them are no-brainers, like ITZY's "B[OO]M-BOXX" playing during a club scene, or fromis_9's "Stay This Way" playing over a make-out montage. And of course, the show's soundtrack isn't all K-pop: There's a healthy dose of indie tracks like Claud's "Soft Spot," or Korean-language tracks like songwriter and rapper Park Hye Jin's "Y Don't U."
Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," an '80s classic that I believe deserves its own "Running Up That Hill" moment, also features prominently throughout the series.
Ultimately, the show's K-pop soundtrack helps the show, a delightful fusion of teenage hijinks and K-drama tropes, sing — and even if you're not already a fan, there's a chance you'll discover some new favorite tracks.