K-R&B Essentials

Korean artists have been putting their own spin on R&B since the '90s, taking cues from marquee American acts and wrapping their native language in soul. Introduced early in the decade by genre-blurring artists such as Seo Taiji, pop acts soon embraced slow-burning and emotional numbers; the duo FLY TO THE SKY's synth-soaked ballad “Missing You” showed Korean acts could be massively successful at executing R&B. K-R&B artists continue to create delicate midtempo electro cuts (Taeyang's “I Need a Girl”) and acoustic-guitar-backed laments (2NE1's “Lonely”) laced with the Motown touch.