Five March Releases You Must Listen To This Weekend
From SEVENTEEN’s THE 8 to ADORA, Rad Museum and more. Here are 5 tracks of the month that left a lasting impression on their listeners
From Right (R) to Left (L): SEVENTEEN's THE 8, ADORA and WINNER's Kang Seung Yoon. Photo: courtesy of the artists
“The Little Name”- ADORA
Former BigHit Music producer-turned-solo artist ADORA kicked off March with her second pre-release single “The Little Name.” Co-written by the multifaceted artist alongside Strawberrybananaclub, the medium tempo pop-ballad track allows listeners to savor ADORA’s dulcet vocal performance, as she sings about a fading romance; “We were the stars and the light/ Shined like the stars in the sky/ Once like a shining star, but now faint.” The music video deploys the comfort of animation to narrate a fantasy tale. Inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s novel The Little Prince, we see ADORA embark on a journey through space along with a unicorn and rose. The music video’s execution is a fitting medium for a track as sentimental and heartfelt as “The Little Name.”
“Born To Love You”- WINNER’s Kang Seung Yoon
Co-written and co-composed by TREASURE’s Bang Yedam, “Born To Love You” is a sentimental R&B ballad that effectively spotlights Kang Seung Yoon’s emotive vocalizations. Attempting to come to terms with the harsh reality of life, the vocalist embodies the emotional turmoil of a protagonist yearning for love; “How can I/ Possibly forget you?/ I was born to love you/ But now we hate each other.” Despite knowing the root cause of the break-up, the protagonist makes several attempts at winning his love interest back; “I was born to love you, as more time passes/ You can’t trust me and it’s hard for me to look on/ You’re the best mistake I ever had.”
“Off-Line”- Rad Museum ft DEAN, LeeHi
Rising K-R&B singer-songwriter and producer Rad Museum returns with his first full-length album RAD. Forayed by the lead single “Off-Line,” the singer is joined by fellow artists DEAN and LeeHi (who has also been credited as one of the songwriters on the track.) The groovy alternative track sees Rad Museum present his commentary on social media, encouraging his listeners to “get offline”; “I don’t wanna come back/ Now, I hate it anymore, e-comfortable world/ Overflowing thumbnails/ Someone turn off my phone, please.” Further elucidating on the effects of social media, Rad Museum criticizes the system, highlighting how mindless usage of social media leaves humans in a machine-like state; numb, robotic, unable to form opinions of their own; “This is beforе I become a real machine, oh well/ Fuck it, I don’t care/ Let me out of the black screen, yeah.”
The music video is equally thought-provoking, with several frames embodying a lifeless state that excessive dependency on technology leads us towards. With seamlessly references to several notable technology moguls such as Steve Jobs (and his multi-billion product Apple) and Mark Zuckerberg, Rad Museum exhibits a lonely world that makes up for the lack of human interaction with overconsumption of social media.
“Hai Cheng”- SEVENTEEN’S THE 8
Following his solo singles “Side By Side,” “Falling Down” and “Dreams Come True,” SEVENTEEN’s singer-songwriter THE 8 gets vulnerable on his fourth solo single “Hai Cheng.” Read as ‘sea’ in English, THE 8’s soothing ballad deploys several ocean-inspired metaphors to express melancholy, loss and hope. The rich, stripped-down piano arrangement accentuates THE 8’s soothing (almost serenading) vocal performance as he sings; “Next to the city is the ocean/ We replace words with our embrace/ Take me with you to go find her/ My one and only.” The minimalistic production, heartfelt lyricism and euphonious vocal performance are the perfect concoctions to highlight THE 8’s capabilities as a well-rounded artist.
“Azalea”- Rolling Quartz
Featured as the fifth track on their first EP Fighting, Rolling Quartz’s “Azalea” is a bitter-sweet kiss goodbye to an unfaithful lover. Brimming with soaring guitar riffs and rhythmic percussion sounds, the music video pays homage to Azalea- a popular flower found in South Korea. According to the track’s description, the flower blooms in the mountains and fields of Korea when spring arrives. Like the flower, the band expresses their desire to stay beside their fans and listeners. Despite the flower holding no symbolic ties to any royal family, the music video is filmed at the royal palace of Baekje – an ancient kingdom of Korea. “However, in order to express the precious and beautiful meaning of this flower, we filmed the music video at the royal palace of Baekje” the video’s description reads.
Originally performed by Maya (South Korean pop-rock singer who popularized rock in Korea), the track’s lyricism samples South Korean poet Kim So-wol’s original work titled Azalea. While the original poem leaves readers pondering whether the verses discuss the start or end of love, the lyricists of the track (Ji-min Woo and Lucia) bring their unique perspectives, interpreting love as “being both weak and strong, while being both sad and beautiful.”
