Epik High Tablo on His 19-Year-Old Song's Viral Comeback: "Hard Work Bears Fruit When You Least Expect It"

Tablo is marveling at the late-blooming success of a song he dropped nearly two decades ago, calling the whole thing “pretty surreal.”

On a recent episode of his English-language podcast, the Epik High rapper talked about how the group’s signature track “Love Love Love” has suddenly surged back up Korea’s music charts. “At first I thought it was a prank,” he said. “Then my kid goes, ‘Dad, everyone at school is doing that dance.’”

According to Tablo, the revival kicked off when a high school dance team posted a cute routine on Instagram and TikTok, which spread like a short-form challenge. Soon, multiple idol groups were doing the choreography onstage and in content, and the track re-entered the upper ranks of the charts. “It wasn’t even a dance we used to do when we promoted the song,” he noted. “A brand-new choreo appeared ― and suddenly everyone was copying it.”

Riding the wave, another Epik High track, “Fan,” is getting fresh attention, too. “We have this ‘running’ move we do onstage,” Tablo joked. “If you’re not a fan, it can honestly look ridiculous. I still can’t tell if people are dancing with us or roasting us.” He added with a laugh, “Either way, that song’s climbing, too. It’s fascinating.”

Reflecting on the “viral comeback” phenomenon, Tablo offered a bigger-picture takeaway. “I don’t think the ‘why’ is the point,” he said. “What matters is that something you’ve done faithfully at any point in your life can suddenly bear fruit and surprise you. Nineteen years later, I’m just grateful we worked so hard on that album. Good art can be rediscovered, and sometimes the path back is through a meme. It’s not that our music is special ― we’ve just been consistently putting out a lot of songs, which raises the odds of being found again.”

He also name-checked MrBeast, the world’s most-subscribed YouTuber, to make his point. “It’s not about gritting your teeth and waiting for results,” Tablo said. “If you keep doing what you love, it’ll come back around ― maybe in two weeks, maybe in two years, or, like ‘Love Love Love,’ in 19.” 

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)