H.O.T. 30th Anniversary: The Prototype of K-pop that Grew from a Subject of Planning to a Subject of Agency

H.O.T., who debuted on September 7, 1996, represented the voice of teenagers and presented the standard for K-pop idols. They built a unique musical color through a strategy of alternating intense, socially critical title tracks such as 'Warrior's Descendants', which dealt with school violence, with popular follow-up tracks like 'Candy' and 'Happiness'. This method became the foundation for 'SMP (SM Music Performance)', which is the representative style of SM Entertainment.

Music experts highly evaluate the fact that H.O.T. did not merely remain as planned idols but evolved into musical subjects. Starting from their 3rd studio album 'Resurrection', they began to include self-composed songs, and in their final album, the 5th studio album 'Outside Castle', they proved their producing capabilities by filling all 14 tracks with songs composed by the members. This became an important milestone for idol groups to move beyond being entities that perform given music to becoming artists who create their own colors.

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