It’s time for K-pop monthly highlights of March 2023! There were a lot of great new releases, and I picked here, as usual, my favourites. What K-pop favourites do you have from March? These favourites below are my subjective view and songs I enjoyed this month. I hope you found new favourite songs for your playlists to enjoy!
You can check out new K-pop songs from my Youtube channel during the week. I pick three to five songs daily that are in some way interesting, and I give a short first impression of the songs. So if you are interested in new K-pop releases, I recommend checking out my videos! π
These videos are so fun to make, and I hope you enjoy them too as information for new releases. I listen to as many songs during the month as possible. Sometimes some songs I discover later, unfortunately. But I’ll try to do my best! π
Let’s hop on to the K-pop monthly highlights for March!
K-pop Monthly Highlights March 2023: big solo debuts and catchy pop tunes
When I went through all the songs from March, I was surprised positively because there are so many great songs this month. So, I had to be brutal this month to choose my favourite songs for this K-pop monthly highlights blog post. You can check all the songs I enjoyed this month on my Spotify playlist. I’ll add new songs as I discover them.
In March, we had group and solo debuts coming from various K-pop artists:
- Boy group debut: Xodiac “Calling” – A funky pop song with excellent dance choreography
- Boy group debut: xikers “TRICKY HOUSE” β Awesome K-pop dance song with a great beat
- Girl group debut: I didn’t find any this month.
- Solo debut: Ahri from Rocking Doll “Eyes On Me” – A cute spring pop song
- More solo debuts below in this K-pop monthly highlights
Addictive Melody: Jisoo “Flower” (EP, YG Entertainment)
Jisoo from BLACKPINK released a long-awaited single, “ME”; the title track is “FLOWER“. This is Jisoo’s first solo release, and she has been happy to deliver a new side of her with the new songs. I liked this song at first listen because it has a different approach to a pop song than what you could expect from Blackpink. This sounds like a solo song and fits well for Jisoo’s voice. This song has a calm melody and feeling. The chorus doesn’t have a long melody but an addictive loop.
The production sounds minimal, and the exciting sounds and vocals of Jisoo capture your attention.
Review of Jisoo’s “Flower”
The song is simple but addictive and fits the theme of the song. The production sounds minimal, and the exciting sounds and vocals of Jisoo capture your attention. The music video is very pretty and sophisticated, with different outfits and backgrounds. There is also a cute dance choreography! This song is definitely in my K-pop monthly highlights π
Fresh Springtime Pop: Ha Sung Woon “λ΄μλ΄” (Live Clip, Big Planet Made)
My favourite solo artist, Ha Sung Woon, released a new song on Youtube on his birthday for the fans. How lovely and amazing! This is definitely in my K-pop monthly highlights, as it is a fresh and catchy pop track that I listened to a lot in March. The song “λ΄μλ΄” translates to something like “Spring is here “/ “Spring has come”. Let me know if you have the correct translation.
Ha Sung Woon’s great vocals shine here as it is soft and comforting to listen to.
Review of Ha Sung Woon’s “λ΄μλ΄”
Ha Sung Woon is currently serving in the military, and having a new surprise song coming this month was so great! This song was prepared before the military for the fans, which is so sweet! The song has a great tune, and the chorus is catchy and fun to sing along to. Ha Sung Woon’s great vocals shine here as it is soft and comforting to listen to. Ha Sung Woon also released an excellent digital single, “Snowy Stars“, last month, and you can check out my review of the single from February.
A Pop Moment: MAMAMOO+ βλμλβ βChico Maloβ (Single, RBW Inc.)
MAMAMOO+ is a subunit consisting of the girl group MAMAMOO’s Solar and Moon Byul, and they released a great single, “ACT 1, SCENE 1”, including three new songs. I included the song “Chico Malo” in this K-pop monthly highlights, which I found the most engaging at the moment. But I recommend listening to the whole single, including “GGBB“, a feel-good melodic pop track, and “LLL“, a slow and soft pop track with beautiful lyrics. What a great single release!
This song has a laid-back hip-hop beat and K-pop style melodies…
Review of MAMAMOO+ βλμλβ
“Chico Malo” is Spanish, and here’s another translation today: “Bad Boy” π This song has a laid-back hip-hop beat and K-pop style melodies and arrangements. Some Korean instruments and elements also give the song a more organic sound, bringing the song additional character. There are many styles of music in this song. The melodies and raps are beautiful from Solar and Moon Byul.
Grand Pop: Jimin (of BTS) “Set Me Free Pt.2” (EP, BIGHIT MUSIC)
Jimin from BTS released his first solo mini album, “FACE”, this month, and before that came the pre-release single “Set Me Free Pt. 2“. I picked the pre-release single as the highlight for this K-pop monthly listing because I think this track is excellent! It also sounded original and personal and came as a surprise stylistically. As Jimin states in an interview, the style and emotional impact were carefully planned for the pre-release.
The choir parts sound amazing, and you got a laid-back hip-hop beat going on, but still, the song’s sound and message are powerful. So, every listener has a different reaction to this: I felt the voice effects, like auto-tune, were done well and modernly here. It was there to express and underline the song’s message and fit the overall entity.
…the song’s sound and message are powerful.
Review of Jimin’s “Set Me Free Pt.2”
What was also superb in the artistic music video of “Set Me Free Pt. 2” was the dance choreography (Dance Practice video). The mini album “FACE” also has a single release of the excellent synth-pop song “Like Crazy“, which went to number 1 on Billboard! The “FACE” mini album also includes an amazing hidden track, “LETTER”, a beautiful acoustic-style ballad allegedly with Jungkook from BTS.
This Should be Trending: TRENDZ “New Days” (Single, Global H)
I must say that “New Days” from the seven-member boy group TRENDZ was a song I immediately liked! So it is in my monthly K-pop highlights for the great melodies. The group debuted on January 2022, so they are a reasonably new boy group. “New Days” is from TRENDZ’s single release called “BLUE SET Chapter. [NEW DAYZ]”.
…a K-pop song with many different parts that keep the listener interested
Review of TRENDZ “New Days”
This song has fantastic melodies, and the vocals and harmonies of this group are excellent! The chorus of “New Days” is catchy, and the whole song is cohesive. I enjoy the guitar in this song, which brings a nice spice to the sounds and has a great flow. It is a K-pop song with many different parts that keep the listener interested. You can check out the excellent dance choreography with the Special Performance Video.
Dancefloor Filler: KAI “Rover” (EP, SM Entertainment )
KAI released this month his much anticipated mini album called “Rover”. KAI is from the boy group EXO. The title track for this album is “Rover“, a catchy dance track great for your K-pop parties! This song was released by artist and singer Dara in 2022. KAI’s version has been modified and has different lyrics.
This song fits stylistically very well for KAI as it is a groovy dancehall track, and KAI’s soft melodic voice sounds excellent in this song. The song has a catchy chorus, and the melodies sound mysterious. This is a dancefloor filler at K-pop parties! KAI is a great dancer, and “Rover” has a fun-looking dance choreography. The music video also engages with the identity changes, which keeps the viewer interested from start to finish.
Summing Up K-pop Monthly March 2023
This month my K-pop monthly highlights had some different styles of pop songs. There is something for everyone to pick from. Which of these songs did you enjoy the most? I’ll have a query on my Youtube for a short while to see which song is best in your opinion! π
This month was also a bit crazy for me time-wise, and I didn’t have time to do another blog post for this month. Which is a bummer. I am considering tweaking the concept for my daily highlights, so I’ll do a little query on my Youtube channel at some point. That way, I’ll have more time for my blog and music production! For this month’s drawing, I chose to draw a bunny inhaling the beautiful scent of cherry blossoms.
Thank you for being here, and I hope you enjoyed this post. I hope you had a fantastic March, and I wish you health and happiness! April is on the way, and let’s have a sunny April!
