Sometimes it’s hard to find the new releases from the K-entertainment scene, especially with all the different genres such as K-pop, K-indie, K-hip hop and K-R&B releasing new songs every week. Our Weekly K-music Review posts are here to give readers a helping hand and a quick look back to the notable releases from Korean artists in a weekly format. This looks at releases and comebacks from 1-4 March 2018.

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J-Hope – Hope World Mixtape
Released: 1 March 

There is a certain standard that fans of BTS have come accustomed to when listening to J-Hope’s rap – it’s usually comical, upbeat and really fun. This album portrays those aspects of J-Hope’s personality, whilst keeping with his own vibe. J-Hope continues to spread his talent with his single release Daydream – the music video in its own right is a piece of art but is also a standing contrast to his second MV release Airplane. A personal favourite is the slightly more aggressive Base Line, but it’s such a shame that it’s only 1:29 minutes long. Be sure to check out J-Hope’s Hope World mixtape which has been released for free on Soundcloud and is available for download through the official BTS Twitter.

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Jinho – Girl
Released: March 1

Jinho is a member of the boy group Pentagon, and although this is not an official release, it is one that we feel needs to be brought to your attention for its smooth yet humble jazz vibe. The song itself is a cover of Lee Moon Sae’s Girl, and is one in a long series of personal song covers by Jinho that date back to the beginning of 2017. Some of his covers include Bruno Mars –Finesse, Charlie Puth – Attention, Park Hyo Shin – Flower, and Sam Smith – Lay Me Down in collaboration with his band member Hongseok. If anything these songs only go to show what talent is hiding in the big entertainment companies in Korea

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Sleepy – ID (Prod. By GRAY) 
Released: 2 March

As a solo rapper in Korea, Sleepy has the great skill of being able to go hardcore or softening up his approach and lyrics to give an R&B feel rather than a full-blown hip-hop vibe. Being a collaboration with GRAY as the producer you certainly feel that the softer approach was taken, as the song presents itself to be a more tongue-in-cheek playful release. The MV release is part of Sleepy’s new album Identity, which has special guests such as Bang Yong Guk, Nuksal, Don Mills, Muzie, Basick, Paloalto and Liquor K.Jr.

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 JooYoung – Dive
Released: 2 March

Filmed in London, the MV has a very rustic and British art film feeling, which accompanies the song’s dreamy atmosphere and JooYoung’s soft vocals. With a mix of R&B and hints of jazz, the single Dive is one of six songs on his mini-album Fountain, all of which are written and composed by JooYoung. This is the artist’s first collection of music since coming out of his mandatory two-year service in the Korean army, and with collaborations with Sole, G-soul and pH-1, they have created an extremely chilled album.

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 Sungmin – Daydream
Released: 2 March

After taking a break from his promotional activities with Super Junior, it came as a surprise that Sungmin would return with a solo song as part of the SM Station programme. This is the first time Sungmin has shared his vocals on a single since his return from his mandatory military enlistment back in March 2015. Daydream is a classic ballad filled with a soft beat and the mellow tones of violins whereas the MV shows a more mature Sungmin, who has certainly grown both vocally and physically since the last time fans had seen him. There was a very personal feel to the lyrics, and this is one that is definitely a nod towards his own fans.

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Lee Sang Soon – Again
Released: 4 March

Lee Sang Soon is known in the music industry as the guitarist for the rock band Roller Coaster. For more recent fans he is also known as the husband of K-pop queen Lee Hyori. The song has a reminiscent feeling and is definitely an easy listening song that can be enjoyed with headphones on in a busy cafe with a hot beverage. The MV is personal and simply produced, showing the beauty of his home, workspace and life.

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NCT Dream – Go
Released: 4 March

With NCT being so vast in their different divisions (similar to Japan’s AKB48) it’s amazing how unique each division can be, yet still have that underlining similar sound or style. Being considered as the youngest subgroup of NCT, the group’s previous releases such as My First and Last, Chewing Gum, and We Young have a very childish and youthful approach. But with Go it feels as if the group have matured and taken some pointers from their other NCT groups. The song feels familiar, but with the deep baseline and forever inconsistent drum beat, the song is once again something unique to the group.

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Honeyst – Don’t Remember
Released: 4 March

As with K-pop releases, the K-drama scene is also very big on its soundtrack music, and this time Honeyst shares his new release Don’t Remember with the drama Just One Bite. The song is light, fun and has a slight indie vibe to it, but also has all the necessary points that make it a perfect springtime romantic drama theme song. The MV shares scenes from the drama, as well as some pretty visuals of Honeyst.

As there have been a lot of releases this week that we haven’t been able to look at in one article, be sure to check back for the second instalment of  K-music week in review, which will look at releases from 5 March – 7 March.