Revisiting the Masterpieces of H.O.T. on Their 30th Debut Anniversary... Recommended Songs Picked by Music Critics

From their debut on September 7, 1996, until their disbandment on February 27, 2001, H.O.T. established the standard for K-pop idols during their period of activity of less than 5 years, releasing 5 regular albums. According to media reports, 8 music critics selected songs such as 'light', 'Candy', 'We Are the Future', and 'I Yah!' as tracks that well demonstrate the musical color of H.O.T.

Critics highly evaluated the musical achievements of 'light', which is a self-composed song by Kangta and became a symbol of SM Entertainment, as well as 'I Yah!' and 'We Are the Future', which contain socially critical messages. Additionally, included tracks such as Tony An's self-composed 'Natural Born Killer' and 'Subsequently…' composed by Moon Hee-jun were also revisited as masterpieces with original compositions and completeness.

Experts evaluated the '99 Live in Seoul' album released in 1999 as an important historical resource that recorded the skills of idol concert sites at that time. They analyzed that H.O.T. left a large footprint in Korean popular music history by going beyond being simply idols for teenagers and building a unique genre called SMP (SM Music Performance).

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