"Candy" (Korean: 캔디) is a song recorded by South Korean boy groupH.O.T., released as part of the group's debut studio albumWe Hate All Kinds of Violence throughSM Entertainment on September 7, 1996. Along with "Warrior's Descendant", it serves as one of the two singles from the record. "Candy" is a "cheerful"bubblegum pop dance number, and was written and produced byJang Yong-jin [ko].
Upon the album's release, "Candy" was met with widespread recognition in South Korea and has been credited with sparking a new wave of mainstream music in the country's youth. H.O.T. promoted "Candy" with televised live performances on weekly South Koreanmusic programs in late 1996 and January 1997, and topped the chart rankings for several weeks. In a 2005 survey conducted byMTV Korea, it was voted the most popular song of 1996 in South Korea by netizens.[1]
H.O.T. made its debut on September 7, 1996, with the release of the albumWe Hate All Kinds of Violence. It experienced instant commercial success in South Korea and has since reportedly sold over 1.5 million copies.[2] The trainee system laid by SM with H.O.T. has led them to be considered the first idol group in K-pop.[3][4][5]
"Candy" serves as the second single from the album following "Warrior's Descent". It is a cheerfulbubblegum pop song that established the group's popularity in South Korea.[2][6] The fashion, rap skills and dance moves shown through "Candy" has been noted by popular cultural commentators for sparking a new wave of mainstream music in South Korea.[7]
Following promotions for the first single "Descent of Warriors", H.O.T. began promoting the album's second single, "Candy", on televised weeklymusic programs in November 1996. The stages for "Candy" exemplifies the level of coordination regarding idol costumes, with each member wearing a designated color and accessorized with face paint, fuzzy oversized mittens, visors, bucket hats, and earmuffs, and used stuffed animals, backpacks, and messenger bags as props. On October 13 and 14, 2018, H.O.T. performed "Candy" at their reunion concert "Forever [Highfive Of Teenagers]" at theSeoul Olympic Stadium, which attracted a total of 100,000 attendees.[8]
"Candy" won the Best New Artist award at the 11thGolden Disc Awards.[9] It achieved the top position onSBS'sTV Gayo 20 (former version ofInkigayo),MBC'sPopular Songs Best 50 (former version ofShow! Music Core), andKBS'sTop 10 Songs (former version ofMusic Bank).
The release of "Candy" presented a softer and gentler form of pop music with upbeat and cheerful melodies accompanied by energetic dance moves—a formula adopted by many subsequentKorean idol groups. Ranking it as the best K-pop song of all time in 2012, David Bevan ofSpin magazine wrote "Seo Taiji may have laid K-pop's foundation a few years earlier, but it was H.O.T., a boy band engineered in part by SM kingpin Lee Soo-Man, that ushered in the 'idol' cult that's propelled Korean pop cultural product as far and wide as it's come in the past ten years."[20] In 2014, Mnet included "Candy" in their countdown list of Legend 100 Songs, a list of 100 influential songs in Korean popular music history since the 1960s.[21]
That same year, music webzineMusic Taste Y ranked it at number 25 in their list of 120 greatest dance songs of all time, where critic Kim Yun-ha noted the multi use marketing that commercializes not only music, but also fashion and characters, and said that the song acts as sort of the ancestor of all those combined elements that the K-pop industry has become accustomed to in the present.[22] 35 music and pop culture critics organized bySeoul Shinmun andMelon ranked "Candy" at number 17 in a 2021 list of the 100 best K-pop songs of all time; critic Jeong Byeong-wook echoed that its beats, "dances, related fashions, various derivatives, and the fandom culture that surrounds it have all become pioneering models of the K-pop business today."[23]
South Korean boy groupNCT Dream released another version of "Candy" on December 16, 2022. It served as the lead single for theirextended play of the same name. The song was featured on a commercial. It debuted at number seven on theCircle Digital Chart.
On November 18, 2022, NCT Dream announced that they would re-record "Candy" and release it as the lead single for their Christmas-themedextended play of the same name.[30] Before its release, the song was featured in aKookmin Bank'scommercial starring the group.[31] A portion of the song was featured in promotional videos released viaYouTube Shorts.[32] A teaser for the music video was released on December 14.[33] The song was released on December 16, 2022, alongside an accompanying music video, showing the members seize a candy factory and celebrating Christmas.[30][34] NCT Dream performed the song at the2022 KBS Song Festival on the same day of release.[33] They performed the song alongside the b-side "Graduation" onSouth Korean music showShow! Music Core on December 17.[35]
"Candy" debuted at number seven on theCircle Digital Chart in the issue dated December 11 to 17, 2022,[36] and peaked at number three the next week.[37] The song peaked at number 63 on theBillboard Japan Hot 100 in the chart issue dated December 28, 2022.[38] It peaked at number 198 on theBillboard Global 200 in the chart issue dated December 31, 2022.[39]
^가요톱10 역대 1위곡 모음 1997~1998 [Collection of Top 10 Songs of All Time 1997~1998] (in Korean).Bugs!. September 27, 2012.Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. RetrievedDecember 24, 2023.
^Kim, Soo-jung (February 3, 2014).'동백아가씨'부터 '강남스타일'까지, 대중 사로잡은 명곡은? [From 'Camellia Lady' to 'Gangnam Style', which famous songs have captured the public?]. MediaUS.Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 3, 2022.
^2006 한국인이 좋아하는 가요 100곡 (in Korean). Gallup Korea. December 1, 2006.Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2022.
^가요계 역대 히트춤 목록 [List of hit dances in the music industry].OSEN (in Korean).Naver. November 21, 2007.Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2022.
^Kim, Soo-jung (February 3, 2014).'동백아가씨'부터 '강남스타일'까지, 대중 사로잡은 명곡은? [From 'Camellia Lady' to 'Gangnam Style', which famous songs have captured the public?].MediaUS.Archived from the original on October 2, 2021. RetrievedOctober 2, 2021.
^abJeong, Jina (November 18, 2022).NCT 드림, 겨울 스페셜 앨범 캔디 리메이크…내달 공개 [NCT Dream, winter special albumCandy remake... release next month].Newsis (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. RetrievedNovember 18, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Oh, Yoon-ju (November 18, 2022).NCT 드림의 캔디 어떨까…겨울 스페셜 앨범 기대 UP [How about NCT Dream'sCandy... Anticipation for the winter special album UP].MyDaily (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. RetrievedNovember 27, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Jeong, Jin-ah (December 6, 2022).NCT 드림, 캔디 유튜브 쇼츠 챌린지 시작…신곡 힌트 콘텐츠 [NCT Dream,Candy YouTube Shorts Challenge begins... New song hint content].Newsis (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. RetrievedDecember 6, 2022 – viaNaver.
^abHong, Se-young (December 14, 2022).NCT DreamCandy, 16일 '가요대축제' 최초 공개 [공식] [NCT DreamCandy, first released atGayo Daechukje on the 16th [Official]].Sports Donga (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. RetrievedDecember 14, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Yeon, Hwi-seon (December 17, 2022).'음중' 르세라핌 1위, NCT드림 'Candy' 재해석·WSG워너비 컴백 [종합] [1st place inMusic Core Le Sserafim, NCT Dream "Candy" reinterpretation WSG Wannabe comeback [Comprehensive]].OSEN (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. RetrievedDecember 17, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Seo, Ji-hyun (December 29, 2022).NCT 드림, '엠카' 1위 "'캔디' 리메이크 영광"→'보이즈 플래닛' 펜타곤 후이 포착 [NCT Dream, 'M Countdown' 1st place "'Candy' remake glory"→'Boyz Planet' Pentagon Hui captured].Sports Today (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. RetrievedDecember 29, 2022.
^Ahn, Yoon-ji (December 31, 2022).NCT 드림, '캔디'로 음악방송 2관왕..음원 차트도 '올킬' [NCT DREAM wins 2 gold medals on music shows with 'Candy'... The music charts are also 'all-kill'].Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. RetrievedDecember 31, 2022.
^NCT Dream (2022).Beatbox (photobook). South Korea: SM Entertainment; Dreamus. Credits.
