María (Hwasa song)

"María"
Single by Hwasa
from the EP María
Language
  • Korean
ReleasedJune 29, 2020
Recorded2019–2020
GenreDance
Length3:19
LabelRBW
Songwriter(s)
  • Park Woosang
  • Hwasa
Producer(s)
  • Park Woosang
  • Hwasa
Hwasa singles chronology
"Orbit"
(2020) 		"María"
(2020) 		"Hop In"
(2020)
Music video
"María" on YouTube

"María" (Korean: 마리아; RR: Maria) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Hwasa. It was released as the lead single of her first extended play of the same name on June 29, 2020. It is primarily a dance song that incorporates heavy elements of trap, synth, and Latin pop, with lyrics revolving around the struggles that come with fame, "the emotions that need to be suppressed and the effect being in the public eye has on one’s mental health." It was written and produced by Park Woosang and Hwasa.[1]

“Maria” was an instant hit upon release, debuting at number two on the Gaon Charts and managing to stay within the top ten for multiple weeks on the said chart. It won Best Digital Song at the Golden Disc Awards, Song of the Year at the Asian Pop Music Awards, and Best Dance Performance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. In addition, the song was certified platinum by the Korea Music Content Association for surpassing 100 million streams in the country.

To promote the song, Hwasa performed on multiple South Korean music programs, including Music Bank, and M Countdown. Additionally, the song won the triple crown on Inkigayo without Hwasa appearing to perform.

Composition

“Maria” was written and produced by Park Woo-sang and Hwasa. It is a dance track[2] that combines elements of trap, synth, and upbeat Latin pop section over the bridge, "which makes a slightly strange segue into a ballad-y string section."[3] In terms of musical notation, the song was written in the key of A Minor with a tempo of 129 beats per minute.[4]

Lyrically, it "describe the struggles that come with fame, outlining the emotions that need to be suppressed and the effect being in the public eye has on one’s mental health. Hwasa sings, “I’m so lonely/I swallowed my hatred/I don’t even have the strength to be angry/I don’t have time.” She encourages herself to stand up and keep fighting, quite literally instructing herself to not to bow to public criticism, inline with the lyrics “Why do you keep struggling/You are already beautiful… I’ll change the way I go/I’ll turn crisis into opportunity/If you really want to see me cry/Tears in your eyes.”[3]

Critical reception

Time's Kat Moon described the track as "sleek and sultry" praising the singer's "distinct charisma" as well as the usage of the singer's low tone over syncopated drum beats.[5]

Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Time The Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop's Monumental Year in 2020 — [5]
Billboard A Look Back at Billboard's K-Pop 100 Chart in 2020 and All Its Big Players [6]
Rolling Stone India 20 Best K-pop Music Videos of 2020 2 [7]
Paper The 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020 27 [8]

Accolades

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2020 Asian Pop Music Awards[a] Song of the Year (Overseas) Won [9]
Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Dance Performance – Solo Won [10]
Melon Music Awards Best Dance Award (Female) Nominated
Golden Disc Awards Best Digital Song (Bonsang) Won [11]
Seoul Music Awards Bonsang Award Nominated [12]
Music program awards
Program Date Ref.
Inkigayo July 26, 2020 [13]
August 2, 2020 [14]
August 9, 2020 [15]
Music Bank August 14, 2020 [16]
August 21, 2020 [17]

Credits and personnel

Song credits

Visual credits

  • VM Project Architecture – music video director
  • Lee Seokjun – music video director (Hobin Film)
  • Jeon Hyo-jeong – performance director
  • Lia Kim – choreographer
  • Tina Boo – choreographer
  • Yeji Kim (1 Million studios) – choreographer

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "María"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[18] 79
Malaysia (Billboard)[19] 8
Singapore (RIAS)[20] 5
South Korea (Circle)[21] 2
US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[22] 3

Certifications

Certifications for "Maria"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[23] Platinum 100,000,000†

† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for "Marìa"
Region Date Format Label
Various June 29, 2020
RBW

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hosted by the Hong Kong Asia Pacific International Group and Sunway Records, the Asian Pop Music Awards bases its winners on the "Asian Pop Music Chart" which opened in September 2019

References

  1. ^ "Hwasa Unveils the Tracklist for Her New Album 'Maria' + ZICO Participates in Producing". Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "María – 화사 (Hwa Sa)". 멜론 (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Chakraborty, Riddhi (June 29, 2020). "Watch Hwasa's Striking Music Video for 'Maria'". Rolling Stone India. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Key, BPM of María by Hwasa". tunebat. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "The Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop's Monumental Year in 2020". Time. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "BTS, IU, Zico & More: A Look Back at Billboard's K-Pop 100 Chart in 2020 and All Its Big Players". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  7. ^ "20 Best K-pop Music Videos of 2020 –". January 1, 2021. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  8. ^ "27. "Maria" by Hwasa". Paper. December 18, 2020. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "亚洲流行音乐大奖 林俊杰大赢家夺五奖" [JJ Lin wins five awards at Asian Pop Music Awards]. Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). December 28, 2020. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "World's No.1 K-POP Awards, 2022 MAMA AWARDS". www.mwave.me. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  11. ^ Park, Pan-seok (January 9, 2021). "아이유, 이변의 디지털 대상..방탄소년단→노을 본상 수상 영예(종합)[제35회 골든디스크]" [IU, Unexpected Digital Grand Prize.. BTS → Sunset Bonsang Award (Comprehensive) [35th Golden Disc]]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  12. ^ "30th Seoul Music Awards". Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  13. ^ Hwang, Hye-jin (July 26, 2020). "'인기가요' 화사, 방송 출연없이 1위…이하이·전소미 컴백(종합)" ['Inkigayo' Hwasa, 1st place without appearing on TV... Lee Hi and Jeon Somi comeback (comprehensive)]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  14. ^ Yoo, Soo-yeon (August 2, 2020). "'인기가요' 화사, 방송 출연 없이 2주 연속 1위…지코·전소미 꺾었다" ['Inkigayo' Hwasa, 1st place for 2 weeks in a row without appearing on TV... Zico and Jeon Somi defeated]. Sports World (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  15. ^ Seunghoon, Lee (August 9, 2020). "'인기가요' 화사, 1위 '트리플크라운' 달성..YG 트레저 'BOY' 핫 데뷔→강다니엘∙(여자)아이들 컴백 [종합]" ['Inkigayo' Hwasa achieves No. 1 'Triple Crown'...YG Treasure's 'BOY' hot debut → Kang Daniel∙(G)I-DLE comeback [Comprehensive]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  16. ^ Kim, Eun-ae (August 14, 2020). "'뮤직뱅크' 화사, 'Maria'로 출연없이 1위 '4관왕'[종합]" ['Music Bank' Hwasa won first place without appearing in 'Maria' [Comprehensive]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  17. ^ Shim, Eon-kyung (August 21, 2020). "'뮤직뱅크' 화사, 출연無 1위 '5관왕'..있지·온앤오프·원어스 컴백X한승우 솔로 데뷔 [종합]" ['Music Bank' Hwasa, 1st place without appearances '5 crowns'... ITZY, ONF, ONEUS comeback X Han Seung-woo's solo debut [Comprehensive]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  18. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  19. ^ ""Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles In Malaysia"". Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  20. ^ "RIAS Top Charts". RIAS. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "María – Week 30 of 2020". circlechart.kr. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  22. ^ "Hwa Sa". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  23. ^ "South Korean single streaming certifications – Hwasa – María" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved May 6, 2023.