Yui Kikuchi’s K-pop metal playlist for the ages
Yui Kikuchi’s blend of K-pop metal with shades of punk means she listens to kick-ass songs in her free time. Or, when she gets free time.
Like other artists, Yui’s her biggest critic behind her ‘Ethereal Princess’ on-stage persona and ‘me-first’ attitude off the stage, so she won’t listen to her own music.
As for the tunes she jams to? They reflect what she and the band T-Ice bring to the stage. An eclectic mixture of unforgettable K and J-pop tracks fused with punk, rock, alternative, and yes, metal elements.
And yep, before you ask, these songs are on my real-life playlist, but I made this short list easy for you to find.
1 – DNA, Yena
This may’ve been the first Yena song I listened to that made my jaw drop and mutter, “This girl ain’t so bubblegum after all. She’s a little punk rocker.” For Yui, DNA’s perfect because of its punk elements that flash an early-2000s flair. It’s a throwback hit in the 2020s that T-Ice uses for inspiration.
2 – The Way, Jeon Somi
I’ll never know why, but this one, like DNA, would’ve fooled me if I didn’t know what year Jeon Somi released it. It’s got those ‘gray skies in the fall on a rainy day’ vibes, almost an alternative rock feel I’d’ve listened to back in 2009. That makes The Way perfect for a slower, steadier song with shades of what they play in the middle of a show.
3 – Stomp, Dreamcatcher
An immediate favorite of mine the minute it came out, and it screams K-pop fused with bombastic metal elements. A song like Stomp’s what Yui and T-Ice play to invigorate the crowd from the second they step on the stage to open the show.
4 – Radio Dum Dum, Yuqi
This one’s got a bit of everything, from hip-hop elements to the strong yet elegant style Yuqi’s known for. Radio Dum Dum is that song fans clamor for Yui to perform a cover of during intermission. But that’s if she don’t show her true metal side and jams out to Mirror, Mirror by Blind Guardian.
5 – Good Bones, Le Sserafim
I’ve always said that if I could design a soundtrack for a NASCAR game, Good Bones by Le Sserafim would make the cut. The hard rock melody in this one inspires the unique style Yui and T-Ice bring to the stage.
6 – Fly High, Dreamcatcher
One of two songs on this list that I swear DragonForce inspired, with that fast-paced electric guitar playing in the background. When I say power metal’s T-Ice’s subgenre of choice when they fuse their music into a K-pop metal sound, songs like Fly High are what I’m getting at.
7 – From Me To You, Babymetal (feat. Poppy)
One of the newest songs on this list, something like From Me To You is ‘that song’ Yui and T-Ice throw in an album that’s less K-pop (or J-pop in this sense), and almost exclusively metal. Yui’ll listen to a song like this until inspiration strikes for her to write some fun lyrics.
8 – Good Morning, Yena
This is classic Yena fused with Simple Plan and other notable punk rock bands. It’s one of those songs that gives you a pop punk vibe, but with upbeat overtones, like it entwines with dance pop. With T-Ice going for something that sounds familiar but different, Yui’s got a few songs like this on her iPhone.
9 – No Celestial, Le Sserafim
One of those songs that’d make one hell of an encore after a successful show, No Celestial brings a vibrant sound and ‘go home happy’ lyrics. I always feel like I’m soaring above a massive city skyline in the middle of an action movie when I hear it, and I’m sure Yui feels no different.
10 – Bonnie & Clyde, Yuqi
One of Yuqi’s earlier hits that carries her signature powerful tone and a throwback style. It’s a song pop culture’s most iconic singers would’ve come up with back in the 1990s, giving Bonnie & Clyde a timeless aura. Something that harkens to another time that T-Ice injects into their songs when they’re craving a throwback feel.
11 – Like You 100, Gyubin
If I ever had a casting call for Yui Kikuchi, someone like Gyubin would be the first K-pop idol I’d think of. One reason is that she’s got hard-rock characteristics thanks to the way she jams on-stage (or off-stage) with a guitar. Like You 100 is the epitome of that.
12 – Road of Resistance, Babymetal
This is a DragonForce-style hit through and through with just enough J-pop vibes to keep it unique to Babymetal, and maybe my favorite song the band’s ever concocted. It’s so DragonForce-like, Herman Li and Sam Totman were guest guitarists for the hit, and something similar to what Yui and T-Ice play as their final act before the encore.
Yui’s playlist screams K-pop metal fused with punk and some emo elements. But for a metalhead like Quinn Cozens, my protagonist in Beyond the Lost Horizon? He don’t think Yui or T-Ice are metal enough. But that don’t mean Yui ain’t tough enough.
Meet Quinn and Yui in Beyond the Lost Horizon, and see just how much carnage Yui can take, even when she feels like giving up.
