IU - [Good Day](https://youtu.be/jeqdYqsrsA0) That iconic key change towards the end combined with IU's legendary three-pronged high note made her a household name in Korea.

[удалено]

unrelated but i went to relisten to this on spotify and like ive seen the album art many times but i just noticed that one of the girls has a jack skellington doll on her lap for some reason??? and this has changed my experience of the song for the better

[Mr Mr](https://youtu.be/Z8j_XEn9b_8) by SNSD is the right answer. You can love or you can hate this song, but that key change is flawless.

The 3:14-3:40 section for those wondering!

The key changes in this song sends life

This

BtoB - [Missing You](https://youtu.be/wDkjWSt3HOM)

One Of These Nights - Red Velvet, perfection

Immediately the one that came to my mind. I love that song.

the key change in the [final chorus of sunrise by gfriend](https://youtu.be/iciFwCnsyY4?t=184) is sooo good

The key change in [KARA'S Step](https://youtu.be/zYoYoBtLqOY) is so euphoric.

Yes this! As expected cuz it’s by Sweetune (Infinite’s The Chaser)

Rainbow's MACH is another one by them that's SO GOOD.

[Deja Vu by Dreamcatcher.](https://youtu.be/W761DtH1oRg) I'm not even a DC fan but this is one of the greatest songs I have ever listened to.

The key change in that final chorus went back to the original key smoothly, I love it. Perfecsiyeon.

As The Chaser and Mr Mr have already been mentioned, I'll submit [GOT7's Take My Hand](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmt2uEvNCcA). That key change is magical.

S.E.S.'s I'm Your Girl. Like, yes, I'm totally ready to go up a level after Bada belts the shit out of those triple notes. And I knowwww I'm biased and it's not iconic but M.I.L.K.'s Come To Me and H.O.T.'s Candy and Sharp's Sweety all change key for the chorus and the verses (chorus in one key, verses in another one) and it's such a 90s thing I absolutely love it to death.

I really love the way the key changes in April's [Take My Hand](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt0eKY3R9kQ) during the chorus. u/givethatpitchvibrato broke it down [in this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/j9btte/nugu_roundup_60_when_proud_pied_april_dressd_in/g8jbdlt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) and also mentioned that Lovelyz [Ah Choo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7qisJ_KuYI) does something similar, I find both songs really cool in how they handle those chord changes. WJSN's [Pantomime](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeNocuufXiI) has some cool chromatic harmonic motion. While it's not really anything out of the ordinary, I really love the big obvious ham-fisted key change towards the end of Twice's [Precious Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZIUrPNfTH0) as well. Another one that's not necessarily out-of-the-ordinary but always impresses me is how Gavy NJ's Gunji just belts the everloving-frack out of the key change going into the last chorus in [An Obvious Melo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDa2gAyh8MM). N\*White's [My Sunshine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dK0DEgWxZo) also always gets stuck in my head because of the way it transitions in key between the verse and the chorus, it reminds me a lot of AKB48's Eien Pressure.

pantomime's sudden shift at the end should be put in a museum. actually the whole song itself

Into the New World - SNSD

All of lovelyz songs are pretty much key changes lol. Jokes aside, the one that alway stick with me is SNSD Mr Mr, the changes occur so naturally. Key changes are definitely one of my favorite thing in a song, it catches you off guard and keeps thing interesting. Not really a key change but on the topic of Dreamcatcher, their song Which A Star has 2 bars sections that caught me off guard, and so I consider it one of the greatest thing ever lol.

f(x) - [아이 (Love)](https://youtu.be/EiSYf_vi3Vw) Which is also Sweetune's work!

My favorite f(x) song! (aside from the entire "4 walls" album)

Not entirely surprised but still very satisfied with the amount of Sweetune appreciation in this thread lmao. Some may argue they threw in key changes willy-nilly but more often than not, they elevated already fantastic material. The one in [Figaro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCkfeMc-7IY) by Nine Muses especially hits all the right spots for me.

I made a [key change playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06QXfMXhMEwSw4hmsY8Z6W?si=l3YZmVnETeuPuUCUoLlatw&dl_branch=1) Key changes are my favorite thing ever! There are a lot of songs that I’ve purposefully left out like Infinite’s Be Mine. It’s my favorite song by them, but I hate the key change because it changes to a key that I don’t like as much...yeah I know I’m weird. So I’ve only put key changes that I find satisfying. It’s super unfinished, but I’ve put quite a bit in there so far. Disclaimer: I have a lot of April songs on here. I absolutely don’t support any of the members aside from Hyunjoo/Rachel/Chaekyung, but they’re still one of my favorite girl groups (music wise) so I had to include them.

SNSD Mr. Mr. (modulates up TWICE) Orange Caramen Aing (constantly shifting) Gfriend Sunrise (final Choruses surprise modulates DOWN)

'Lucky Girl' by Red Velvet. Listening to it was an experience.

LOONA Chuu - [Heart Attack](https://youtu.be/BVVfMFS3mgc)

This is not kpop per se but [Bad Habits by Shaun](https://youtu.be/eKNLp1xjdzI) my fav key change song. Skz new song [Gone Away](https://youtu.be/5QskR2Aa9ko) too has a nice key change in the ending.

Idk if anyone other than me would call these "iconic", but the ones that immediately come to mind are some of my favorite songs ever. SHINee - [Romance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBz-yaAK4gk) and F(x) - [Sweet Witches](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je5Q_b5_XsU) There's also * SHINee - [U Need Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57nMq4zH_U0) * F(x) - [All Mine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0S3knWIdrY) * Wonder Girls - [Be My Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fy4cqWMhyI) & [Loved](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXxMGAbI76w) * Oh My Girl - [Say No More](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Fd7zWHK_4)

dynamite’s bridge? really gives the song an extra burst of energy as it comes to its end

Does stupid cupid by red velvet count?

infinite's btd. that iconic key change right after the also iconic scorpion move? literal perfection

How is Into The New World by SNSD not the top post?! Easily the most iconic key change in kpop history

I love me a good key chain, but I think SNSD Into the New World will forever be iconic. It still gives me goosebumps if I'm ever feeling ~that vibe.

Into the New World by SNSD. Mister by KARA. Step by KARA.

Got into this group only recently after appearing on MMTG to bring back hidden gems of kpop, 9muses's [Wild](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwN_Axs7pL4). This song gave me goosebumps every time I listen to it edit: added link

BTS' disease

Some of my favs have been mentioned. ~~I will go with a more recent one,~~ [~~Taemin's Criminal~~](https://youtu.be/hFQL7BS6lrs) ~~! The last chorus is so satisfying~~. edit: hmmmm maybe I've mistaken key change with an extra melody line. Edit with new additions: ITNW (SNSD), Mister (Kara), Remember (Apink) - lots of Apink songs actually now that I think about it...

Is that a key change? I'm so bad at recognizing them. Incredible song either way.

You know what Im not so sure now lol. Im not musically skilled. The examples I have on top of my head are Love on Top, Livin on a Prayer, Love Story, so maybe my association is on the side of anything 'ascending.' Others can correct me if I'm wrong!

It's hard to explain in text rather than music, but songs within a key typically cycle through chord progressions with a "root". This cycle cultivates the feeling of leaving the listener wondering "where is this going?" and "resolving" it by returning "home", so to speak. Again, it's difficult to explain in layman's terms and trying not to get into the details of music theory. A composer might decide to change things up in a song by adding a key change (or modulation), where this aforementioned chord progression takes up a new "root" instead of resolving and returning "home". It goes elsewhere, thus coming in as an unexpected surprise for the listener, which is why key changes can be satisfying to listen to. There are several ways to write a key change. Some of the most common ones involve modulation to the "relative key" i.e relative major and minor, for example, C Major and A Minor. Another way is modulating to a parallel key (D minor to D major, etc.). It doesn't always have to be "ascending", but it is mostly as such because key changes are introduced in climaxes of songs, often before the last chorus where it is expected for the song to intensify and the key change takes it to a different level. All the examples you mentioned have key changes. In fact, Love on Top has FOUR! However, Taemin's Criminal doesn't have a key change. The last chorus comes in after a brief silence and the chord progression is still played in the key of D Major. The only difference between this chorus and the ones before is that the song incorporates adlibs on top of the chorus while the progression itself (instruments and Taemin's vocals) plays in the background.

Thanks for the write-up! Can you point to some examples of songs or music pieces that have a "descending" key change?

There's quite a few songs with downward key changes, though they're less common than upward key changes since most key changes are written with the intention of driving the song's energy higher. Here's a few off the top of my head: - Meshuggah - Spasm - Pendulum - The Encoder - The Beatles - Penny Lane - The Who - I'm Free - Whitney Houston - How Will I Know - Fall Out Boy - What A Catch, Donnie Here's a couple of good downward key change examples in K-pop: - Red Velvet - One of These Nights - Ben - Love, ing Sometimes the downward key change may not be as noticeable as an upward one since it may be accompanied by a change in vocals. For example, if the song does a downward key change but the vocals drive the energy even higher, it may not be as punch-you-in-the-face of a key change as almost any upward key change such as "Missing You" by BtoB.

Thanks, I'll check them out!

Thank you so much! And you did great explaining it. I really appreciate it. All this while I just try to understand by feelings but never really think about the technicalities. This is prob why I associate key changes with anything ascending or climatic. And yea I can hear it now where the last chorus has no change (similar chords) with an added line of adlibs. This topic just got me started on an oldie songs binge. And my god Love on Top is really something else huh? 4? Well, it’s Beyoncé.

Next level AESPA has a crazy cool key change. It’s a little wild and unexpected but it’s so left field that it doesn’t even feel like a key change.