February was an interesting month for Kpop and just the K-entertainment industry in general. Not to mention the mess between Kakao M and Spotify – practically deleting every Kpop album (mostly from groups that are not from the big 4).

But despite all those things, it was a great month for music releases! So here are some of my top favorite Kpop songs released in February.

Gaeko & Kwon Jin Ah – “I feel like (마음이 그래)”

This time last year I would’ve never pictured myself listening to soft slow songs. But over the year I’ve really fell in love with ballads. With that being said, “I feel like (마음이 그래)” by Gaeko and Kwon Jin Ah, is a beautiful song. 마음이 그래 translates to – “Heart is like that”. When I first heard it I immediately replayed that song for the rest of the day. Gaeko and Jin Ah’s harmonies are heavenly. The song is about realizing you still have feelings for your ex, when you thought you were fine and over them. It’s seriously a beautiful song.

Kang Daniel “Paranoia”

Here’s my reaction to Kang Daniel “Paranoia” MV.

Kang Daniel returned with a much darker concept. The whole message behind “Paranoia” is about fighting those inner demons in your mind. To me this whole comeback serves as a message to anyone who is struggling with something. No matter what – keep fighting.

Something that I love in the music video is the last scene when Kang Daniel is fighting the dark figure and in the end the figure is gone. Even though he is wounded he didn’t let the darkness overcome him. Kang Daniel stated that this comeback is a turning point in his Color series. So I look forward to see what he will do next.

GSoul – “Stay (tempus)”

I rarely include OSTs, mostly because I don’t watch a lot of K-dramas. However, I was listening to GSoul and suddenly his song “Stay: tempus” came on. It’s a song he created for the series Sisyphus: The Myth. I haven’t seen the show but this song is incredible.

GSoul’s vocals are top notch (like always), the message behind the song is so sweet, and the overall composition of the song is great. I later learned it was produced by none other than GroovyRoom, which explains why the song is amazing. GSoul plus GroovyRoom equals a masterpiece.

Chung Ha & Guaynaa – “Demente”

Here’s my reaction to Chung Ha “Bicycle” MV.

Technically this song isn’t in Korean. It’s completely in Spanish. But I have to talk about Chung Ha’s ability to expand as an artist. Her album Querencia has 21 songs total and she has songs in English, Korean, and Spanish. Plus she has an array of genres all in one album. I haven’t seen any other artist (or group) do something quite like this.

Chung Ha’s title track “Bicycle” is catchy and empowering. However, I often find myself listening to “Demente” a bit more than her other songs. The song is under the reggaeton genre – it’s latin vibes galore. No matter how much I hate to admit it, but I’m a sucker for anything Latin and Tropical sounds. Therefore this song is a winner for me.

I have so much respect for Chung Ha, she continuously goes out of her comfort zone and tries new things. She’s definitely one of the top female soloists of this generation.

LUCY – “난로 (Stove)”

I’ve heard about the band LUCY but it wasn’t until I stumbled on their song “난로 (Stove)” and their instrumental track “Outro (뒤 돌아보면)” that I realized I NEED to get into this group. “난로 (Stove)” is about being there for someone. The last part of the song is so grand and beautiful. I melt just listening to it. This song is a piece of art. Their title track “Hero” is fun and upbeat. But I still lean more towards “난로 (Stove)” and their “Outro (뒤 돌아보면)” song, which I HIGHLY recommend.

The band consists of a drummer, bassist, guitarist, and a violinist. Yes, the leader of the group is a violinist. I love how they incorporate the violin into their songs. It really differentiates LUCY from every other band.

I’ll definitely learn more about LUCY. I do plan on filming some videos on my channel so hopefully more people can discover them too. Sadly their songs are no longer on Spotify (thanks to Kakao M and Spotify for their inability to make a reasonable deal). But their music is on their YouTube channel!

Wonho “Lose”

Here’s my reaction to Wonho “Lose” MV.

This comeback was literally three days before February ended. However, it still made it on my list. Wonho’s song “Lose” has a catchy chorus and his vocals are so smooth. Of course the music video is amazing.

The other songs on his album are also great such as “BEST SHOT” which has a nice baseline. “WENEED” an emotional song that is so comforting. “FLASH”, “Devil”, and “Ain’t About You (feat. Kiiara) are also fantastic.

SHINee “Don’t Call Me”

Here’s my reaction to SHINee “Don’t Call Me” MV.

What can I say? The most anticipated comeback for the month surpassed everyone’s expectations. At least it surpassed mine. I wasn’t sure what to expect for SHINee’s comeback. But when I heard “Don’t Call Me” and when I saw the music video I instantly loved it. I wrote a separate blog post for their album, you can read it here.

Kim Woo Seok “Sugar”

Here’s my reaction to Wooseok “Sugar” MV.

Wooseok “Sugar” is literally like sugar. The more you listen to it the more addicting it gets. Despite his sweet vocals and bright, upbeat sound – the lyrics are actually quite sexy. Of course Wooseok can be both cute and sexy. I’m not sure how he does it but his music reflects his duality really well.

Sadly Wooseok’s music is another victim of the Spotify/ Kakao M purge. So if you want to listen to the rest of the songs on his Tasty album – they’re on other music streaming platforms.

CIX “Cinema”

Here’s my reaction to CIX “Cinema” MV.

If I had to pick my top favorite song of the month it would be CIX “Cinema”. The song is light, fresh, and groovy. It’s different from their previous releases, which have been mostly dark concepts. But I think this lighter comeback also fits the group. They could do various concepts and music genres and I enjoy seeing the duality in this group. But I have to admit this song is my favorite.

“Cinema” is a masterpiece. I simply love everything about it.

I also enjoy the rest of the songs on their album: “Round 2”, “Young”, “Everything”, and “Stairway to Heaven”.

ONF “Beautiful Beautiful”

Here’s my reaction to ONF “Beautiful Beautiful” MV.

If you’ve seen my recent reaction videos on ONF, then you’ll know “Beautiful Beautiful” is one of my top favorite music videos of the year (along with U-KNOW “Thank U”). The song is so good. It has the disco retro sound and ONF makes it work. The acapella part in the bridge is perfection. “Beautiful Beautiful” is probably one of the most replayed songs of the month for me – it’s so catchy!

Their album also has great tracks that I listen to as well – so yes, I recommend you check out their album ONF: MY NAME.

Congratulations to ONF on their first music show win! I’m so proud of ONF and Fuse. This win was very well deserved.

Look at E-Tion crying 🥺 This group deserves all the happiness and good things in this world. I’m so happy for their win! 💛

I say this with every monthly favorites blog post – but there are plenty of Kpop songs that I enjoyed throughout the month of February. I add my favorite songs onto my monthly Spotify playlist.

Sadly, not every comeback is included in the playlist due to the Kakao M and Spotify tantrum.

But here’s my playlist nonetheless.

-EliMarie

I talk more about KPOP on my channel YouTube.com/elimariereacts

You can follow my Twitter HERE and my Instagram HERE

*I do not own any of the pictures of the artists and groups on this post.