María (Hwasa song)

"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.

“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 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." In terms of musical notation, the song was written in the key of A Minor with a tempo of 129 beats per minute.

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.”

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.

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Song credits

Hwasa – vocals, lyricist, composition, record producer, director, chorus
Park Woo-sang – lyricist, composition, arrangement, synthesizer, record producer, director, chorus, drum programming, recording (@ RBW Studio)
Jiyong Park – keyboard
Eunkyung Jung – recording (@ In Grid Studio)
Minhee Kim – recording (@ 821 Sound)
Kim Do-hoon – executive producer
Kim Jin-woo – executive producer
Lim In-yong – supervisor
Shin Su-jin – supervisor
Namwoo Kwon – mastering
Chris Gehringer – mastering

Visual credits