To. Jenny (투제니) is a 2-episode musical drama/ TV movie from KBS, which I just happened to watch because… procrastination. And, music! It stars Kim Sung-cheol (who I loved as Jailbird in Wise Prison Life) as a musician who is 모태 쏠로 (motae ssollo, or single since birth) and Jung Chae-yeon (who I also really liked in Reunited Worlds) as his first love. Typical guy-meets-his-first-love-again story, but elevated by the humor, the lovable characters (especially his sister, Ok-hee-YAAAHHH!), and of course, the music that matched each scene perfectly.
I would not call myself a K-pop fan, but I have quite a number of Korean songs in my playlist/ list of songs to sing at a noraebang (mostly from drama OSTs), and could even recognize certain idols if they have forayed into acting. Case in point, Jung Chae-yeon. And I already knew that Kim Sung-cheol was a musical actor, so I really wanted to hear him sing (read on my bias for actors singing for soundtracks here). And he did not disappoint at all, but just made me all the more excited for episode 2!
This will be more of a music appreciation post, since I learned that the songs from the soundtrack are actually existing songs by indie Korean artists (or at least those that are not as well known internationally). Here is my attempt to enumerate the original songs that were featured / covered in To. Jenny. (Post to be updated after episode 2).
Kiha & The Faces(장기하와 얼굴들) – Kieuk(ㅋ)
The drama starts off with various buskers playing this brilliant guitar riff, of a funny song about the letter ㅋ, used by Koreans in messaging to express laughter (or scoffing). This is actually not part of the soundtrack, but it immediately made me take notice of the use of music in the drama.
알고보니혼수상태 (feat. 포도쨈) – Nonhyeon-dong Samgyeopsal (논현동삼겹살)
How good of a composer is our Jung-min? His first song that we hear is of him eating samgyeopsal with his friends, and cursing out all the couples around them. Heh. Without subtitles (especially the oinks at the end), you would not know that this isn’t your typical ballad.
We Are The Night(위아더나잇) – Tiramisu Cake (티라미수케익)
I challenge you not to sing along with Choi Yu-ri while listening to this song, which sounds like the techno version of Bohemian Rhapsody’s intro. And to not crave anything sweet afterwards. I also want to get a free slice of tiramisu at the convenience store.
Choi Nakta (최낙타) – Grab Me
Another catchy tune, which we thought could be used by Grab for their ads :p. Although the original MV is a bit weird, and there are questionable lyrics. Still, this song is responsible for putting Lee Sang-yi under my actors-who-could-sing radar.
Melomance (멜로망스)- Reason to be cautious (조심스러운 이유)
I have already heard songs by Melomance before (my favorite being this one), so knowing that this song was their original was a really pleasant surprise. It is a sad song, but I love dramatic songs! And I especially loved how this song was used in the drama.
That’s it for episode 1! If you haven’t watched To. Jenny yet, and would like something light, not too long, and puts music to good use, I would highly recommend it. If you have, just a few more nights of waiting! :D
The Travel Experience-er 