Koreaboo Staff Music Picks: March 2015

March was an exciting month for the Korean music industry, as some of Korea’s top groups made their comebacks. SM Entertainment group EXO made their comeback with their second full-length album, Exodus, and title track, “Call Me Baby,” which were very successful both on the live music shows and offline through album orders.

Going head to head with EXO was JYP Entertainment’s miss A, who came back with their seventh project album, Colors, and the title track, “Only You.” miss A achieved a perfect all-kill with “Only You” after its official release.

Also during March, SM Entertainment’s girl group Red Velvet made their comeback, but this time with five members. With the addition of Yeri, the group is currently promoting their hit title track, “Ice Cream Cake.” The group has achieved multiple wins on the live music shows with “Ice Cream Cake” so far.

In addition to these three comebacks, fans everywhere were treated to numerous releases during the month of March. Because it’s not possible to list every song that was released in March, a few of our Koreaboo staff members have picked their favorite songs of the month.

Check out our Koreaboo Staff Music Picks for March 2015 below! Music videos can be found below all of the picks!

Steph:
EXO – “My Answer” (Korean Ver.) and “Call Me Baby” (Korean and Chinese Vers.)
“I’m a fan of EXO’s ballad tracks including ‘Baby Don’t Cry’ and “My Lady,’ so from their recent album, ‘My Answer’ caught my attention with its heartfelt lyrics and soothing melody. When it’s not on repeat, I find myself singing the catchy chorus lines, ‘The answer is you, my answer is you.’ This song easily became my favorite from their latest album, Exodus, although I think that ‘Call Me Baby’ is one of their best title tracks so far.”

Tu-An:
EXO – “Beautiful” (Chinese Ver.)
“It’s not one of the title tracks, but I love the simple melody that carries throughout the whole song. The underlying beat mixes with the melody to create a soothing track that really makes me feel ‘beautiful’ just as the song describes. I also really, really love the vocals of each of the members that came out in the song – their singing just keeps improving! In all honesty, this whole album was just amazing~.”

XIA Junsu – “Flower”
“I really didn’t know what to expect with this song. It was eccentric and weird at first, but after listening to it a few times, it really grew on me. I love the haunting melody, the catchy chorus, and of course the amazing rap by Tablo! Junsu’s personality and amazing vocals shine through this song, and it’s truly a song that only he can pull off.”

Eva:
Lovelyz – “안녕(Hi~)”
“‘안녕(Hi~)’ is a catchy song worthy as the repackaged title track, matching the Spring season as well. Though I personally thought it was a good opportunity to introduce Jisoo into the group (if she was clear of the alleged offenses), the 7 other girls did a good job, with improvements from their debut track “Candy Jelly Love.” Needless to say, as a group from Woollim Entertainment, the dance choreography was also neat and iconic.”

CLC – “Pepe”
“I saw people saying that with the first listen, they knew that it would be stuck in their heads for a long time. It took me 2 or 3 times of listening to it before I could comprehend that. Not the most addictive viral song out there, but you can definitely see how much they prepared for their debut. One million views in 10 days is not an easy feat. It seems like they practiced a lot on their facial expressions and dance moves, while living up to the name of being live singers after listening to their MR performances. The last part of the MV cleverly incorporated the introduction of each member’s names.”

Sam:
miss A – “Only You”
“After more than a year without a release, the JYP Entertainment girl group didn’t disappoint with a powerful dance track that perfectly fits with the signature miss A style. With a ridiculously addicting chorus, it’s definitely one of the strongest comebacks of the year so far!”

FIESTAR – “You’re Pitiful”
“With a catchy chorus and beautiful choreography, FIESTAR’s ‘You’re Pitiful’ is my favorite track from them yet! The LOEN Entertainment group’s first mini-album “Black Label” is solid all-around, but the title track stands out above the rest. Not to mention, the track also has the best chair dance choreography in recent history!”

NS Yoon-G – “Wifey” featuring MC Mong
“NS Yoon-G’s new track will have you falling in love with the singer. Not only is the track super catchy, but NS Yoon-G’s dancing and unique voice will have you playing the music video over and over again.”

Ginnie:
Red Velvet – “Automatic”
“I love how it portrays the ‘velvet’ side of the group often unexpected from rookies: mature, smooth, and very feminine but unique. A lot of work also went into the music video, and the dance is complex as well (not to mention the variations in the music video’s settings!). It’s soothing and great study music, while also portraying the essence of the feeling of love.”

Giriboy – “Back and Forth 30 Minutes (왕복 30분)” featuring Shin Jisu
“This song was very catchy and a great mixture of Giriboy and Shin Jisu’s voices! There is variety in the tones, creativity in the lyrics, and more. The music video was also great in many ways; the solid colors, variations in settings, seeing Giriboy for some time without his famous glasses, and the appearances of Cjamm and Vasco! Creative, colorful, and spontaneous.”

Alexa:
D&E (Donghae and Eunhyuk) of Super Junior – “1+1”
“This song is one of the hidden treasures in their most recent album! It’s a wonderfully refreshing song to listen to during the Spring season! From its sweet lyrics to the catchy rhythm, this song gives off an overall cheerful feeling that will lift your spirits.”

FT Island – “Pray”
“With a hard rock track similar to the American bands I’ve grown up listening to, I found ‘Pray’ quite nostalgic, of course with FT Island leaving their own twist in it! I loved their powerful lyrics; it can apply to almost anyone going through a tough situation in their life. Additionally, their music video really accentuated that ‘hopeless and falling’ feeling, with its dark, grungy vibe.”

Isabelle:
Red Velvet – “Ice Cream Cake”
“This song is the perfect combination of their two previous promotional tracks, ‘Happiness’ and ‘Be Natural.’ It really solidified Red Velvet’s sound and it’s super catchy! I can’t wait to see what else they have in store.”

CLC – “Pepe”
“It was the battle of rookie girl groups for me and ‘Pepe’ really took the cake this month with CLC’s powerful vocals. Their debut song is powerful, their color is distinct, and they’ve got a talented rapper. Not to mention they’ve got some really cute dresses.”

EXO – “My Answer” (Chinese Ver.)
“Because Lay. Just Kidding. The entire group has really improved a lot on the Chinese album this time around and this track has been on repeat since it’s release.”

Kristine:
Planet Shiver – “Rainbow” featuring Crush
“Both the song and music video are really inspirational. It has a nice beat and tune to it, and Crush’s soothing voice just ties the whole song together. ”

EXO – “Playboy”
“EXO never seems to fail me when it comes to their comeback. ‘Playboy’ has a R&B vibe to it, and it’s one of my favorite songs from their latest album.”

Ailee – “Sakura”
“This song easily became one of my favorites for the month. After listening to it only once I constantly had it on replay.”

Raquel:
EXO – “El Dorado” and “Hurt”
“It would be a grave injustice to EXO’s new album Exodus so pick only one song, so I chose two. ‘El Dorado’ is a song EXO-L’s have been waiting to hear for 3 years and it definitely doesn’t disappoint. It manages to sound both strong and ethereal and really plays into EXO’s other planet theme. ‘Hurt’ is my personal favorite from the album. EXO so perfectly pulls off the passionate but pained tone of the song and really show how they’ve all grown vocally.”

Joyce:
Planet Shiver – “Rainbow” featuring Crush
“Emotional and relatable. Planet Shiver takes the audience on a roller coaster of feelings as they target many societal issues today.”

Amy:
Giriboy – “I’ll Protect You”

Music videos for this month’s staff picks:
Ailee – “Sakura”