2022 is here and one of the first highlights in K-Pop for the year is Sam Kim’s comeback! On January 7th Sam Kim released “Smile,” a dance track produced by R3HAB. Sam’s last comeback was in July 2021 with his single, “These Walls,” which had his signature R&B sound. Although Kim is known for his R&B and K-Pop genre-style, his upcoming single is “something fresh” as he puts it, as it is in a genre he has only explored a couple of times. Writing and performing dance tracks was “slightly out of my comfort zone,” Sam says of his two prior songs “The Juice” and “Dance.” But when asked if he had any fears about diving into this new genre, he replied boldly, “Not at all!”
Explaining the origins of his new track, “Smile,” Sam recounted “at first I wrote the song with a guitar; like I usually do. Then I sent it over to R3HAB and he worked his magic over it to completely transform it from the original.” Moroccan-Dutch DJ and record producer, R3HAB has past experience with KPOP and has worked on songs such as EXO’s “Power,” Chungha’s “Dream of You,” Amber and Luna’s “Wave,” and most recently TWICE’s title track “Scientist” in their latest album “Formula of Love.” When asked about the impression that listeners will receive from this new song “Smile,” Sam declared, “Sam Kim got funk!”
You can listen to “Smile” below.
If you want to hear more from Sam Kim’s diverse discography, you can also listen to his latest collaboration with Indonesian artist Raisa in their single, “Someday,” which was released on November 12th, 2021.
This article was written by KPOP-TV media team member Simone Snukst.