"María" () 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 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. +Year-end listsCritic/PublicationListRankTimeThe Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop's Monumental Year in 2020 rowspan="2" BillboardA Look Back at Billboard's K-Pop 100 Chart in 2020 and All Its Big Players Rolling Stone India20 Best K-pop Music Videos of 20202 PaperThe 40 Best K-pop Songs of 202027

Accolades +Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result 2020 Asian Pop Music Awards Song of the Year (Overseas) Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Dance Performance – Solo Melon Music AwardsBest Dance Award (Female) Golden Disc Awards Best Digital Song (Bonsang) Seoul Music Awards Bonsang Award +Music program awards ProgramDate InkigayoJuly 26, 2020 August 2, 2020 August 9, 2020 Music BankAugust 14, 2020 August 21, 2020

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 Jiyong Park – keyboard Eunkyung Jung – recording Minhee Kim – recording 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 VM Project Architecture – music video director Lee Seokjun – music video director Jeon Hyo-jeong – performance director Lia Kim – choreographer Tina Boo – choreographer Yeji Kim – choreographer

Charts

Weekly charts + Chart (2020) PeakpositionJapan (Japan Hot 100) 79Malaysia (RIM) 8 Singapore (RIAS) 5 South Korea (Gaon) 2 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100) 2 US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 6

Monthly charts + Chart (2020) Peakposition South Korea (Gaon) 2

Year-end charts + Chart (2020) Peakposition South Korea (Gaon) 18 + Chart (2021) Peakposition South Korea (Gaon) 119

Certifications

Release history + RegionDateFormatLabelVarious June 29, 2020RBW

See also List of Inkigayo Chart winners (2020) List of Music Bank Chart winners (2020)

Notes

References