How SM Entertainment cleverly uses the classics
Concerts show the 30-year-old entertainment powerhouse's confidence and long-term vision
On Friday night at the Seoul Arts Center, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra presented classical adaptations of hit songs from K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment, which celebrated its 30th anniversary that day. The concert was held again on Saturday at Lotte Concert Hall, another leading venue for classical music concerts, featuring Red Velvet's Wendy.
The concerts showcased many of SM's strengths and its long-term vision.
SM's power to draw a younger audience to a classical music performance was evident, as the crowd was noticeably more youthful than those of typical classical concerts. According to Interpark, a ticket booking platform, those in their twenties accounted for 41.3 percent of the bookings, followed by teenagers at 4.9 percent.
Yun So-yeong, 26, traveled from Gwangju City -- about 270 kilometers south of Seoul -- to attend the concert on Friday. She said, for her, that the primary attraction was Minho, a member of boy group SHINee. 'I thought Minho would be at the center of the stage, so I purchased a seat right in the middle of the first row,' Yun told The Korea Herald after the performance. Although she was disappointed to see Minho appear only for the opening remarks and from the side of the stage, she was thoroughly impressed by the concert. 'While I've been to classical concerts before, it was my first time attending one by a renowned orchestra like the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra,' she said. 'It was really, really good. I'd come again.'
Her younger sister, Yun Na-yeong, who accompanied her and is a fan of rock music, said she unexpectedly enjoyed the concert. 'My favorite was 'Growl,'' added the younger Yun, a 24-year-old college student. 'I was already somewhat familiar with SM songs because my sister listens to them often, but hearing them performed by an orchestra felt incredibly fascinating,' she added.
The older sister, an elementary school teacher, said that the orchestral renditions of SM songs could serve as excellent educational material. 'Kids really have short attention spans,' she explained. 'But if they listen to songs they're already familiar with -- like the recently released 'Boom Boom Bass' -- I think they'll really enjoy it. They'll find it very refreshing.'
Kicking off the concert with "Welcome to SMCU Palace," the intro track from the 2022 SM Town Winter Album, conductor Kim Yoo-won and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra performed a total of 18 songs: Red Velvet's "Red Flavor," "Feel My Rhythm," and "Psycho"; NCT's "Make A Wish" and "Golden Age"; BoA's "Tree"; EXO's "Growl"; aespa's "Black Mamba"; Jonghyun's "The End of a Day"; SHINee's "Sherlock"; NCT Dream's "Hello Future"; TVXQ's "Rising Sun"; Super Junior's "Merry U"; Wendy's "When This Rain Stops"; Riize's "Boom Boom Bass"; Girls' Generation's "Into the New World' and H.O.T's 'Hope.'
Most of the songs were arranged by multiple composers. For example, "Boom Boom Bass" -- originally by SM Entertainment boy group Riize -- was composed by four different songwriters, while its orchestration was handled by five.
SM Classics CEO Moon Jung-jae told The Korea Herald after the concert that they adopted the same approach SM Entertainment uses for its K-pop artists -- one rooted in collaboration and diverse creative input -- and he believes the results have been exceptional.
SM's latest concert showcased the company's clever utilization of its powerful intellectual property -- music crafted not only to captivate listeners today but also to potentially resonate with fans as they grow older.
The event also underscored SM's confidence in its long-term vision, a sentiment echoed in Minho's opening remarks.
'K-pop, the product of collaborations with today's top composers, meets the repertoire and musical language of the great classical composers accumulated over centuries, giving birth to a new form of orchestral music. I want to call it not only the classical music of 2025, but also the classical of the distant future.'
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