With the month of love upon us that means a slew a new artist for us to enjoy. We at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms, with Apple Music featured on this site.

“Encore” by YOASOBI

To be honest, listening to “Encore” changed my view about YOASOBI full turn. I wasn’t a fan of “Yoru ni Kakeru” so vocalist Ikura’s come hither take on this track was something that I really appreciated and finally understood why they were popular. Its lyrics absolutely hit me in a way that just stuck with me especially throughout the Valentine’s Day season. While YOASOBI hasn’t completely sold me like other artists to buy the work that the song is accompanied to, they sure made me look forward to their upcoming releases.

Check out music video for “Encore” below, along with the streaming link for the song here!

“Suspect” by hololive IDOL PROJECT

Furthering my rabbit hole into the hololive v-tuber project and off the heels of their first live concert Bloom, I had absolutely enjoyed my time with the Floral Circlet series of songs that the company released leading up to the concert. Featuring members roboco-san, Aki Rosenthal, and Ayame Nakiri, this electronic-pop track is brought beautifully with each member’s vocal range. This coupled with famous composer Kyota, “Suspect” became a song that I absolutely fell in love with upon my first listen. With the announcement of the physical album Bouquet dropping in the summer I can’t wait to be lured by the track once again.

Check out the preview for “Suspect”, below along with the track here!

“ZEAL of proud” by Roselia 

Now I had my ups and down with Roselia since “Fire Bird” back in 2019, but “ZEAL of proud” brought back the reason why I fell in love with them in the first place. With Aina Aiba’s vocals on point in collaboration with other members joining in throughout the song, it ended up becoming one of, if not the top release in 2021 for me. While me still loving the BanG Dream!! project was in question last year, “ZEAL of proud” has cleared any hesitation that I had from here till the end.

Be sure to check out the preview for “ZEAL of proud”, along with the streaming link for the song here!

“Thinkin about us” by SIRUP

With the Valentine season being this month, the attraction to love songs is second to none and “Thinkin about us” was one of those tracks that for one reason or another I kept in my rotation. The lyrics just speak to the listener and do a great job of telling the story that he has crafted. Also, the more lax composition that is sprinkled throughout the track shows how much of an amazing vocalist SIRUP actually is. While this was released near the end of a monumental 2020 that he had musically, I know that SIRUP won’t be slowing down anytime soon and I can’t wait for the next release.
Check out the audio video for “Thinkin about us” below, along with the track here!

“Low Key” feat SIRUP by RUNG HYANG

Now this was a new pick up, as RUNG HYANG is a vocalist that just showed up on my radar a couple weeks back. While she’s an amazing vocalist on her own right, her collaboration with SIRUP is what put her on the radar for me. The simple and elegant composition that draws in the listener is just top tier and both vocalist’s smooth and soft spoken style that is sprinkled throughout is just the cherry on top. While this was the majority of a collaborative effort by SIRUP and RUNG HYANG, I can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store for HYANG and she will most definitely be a future Music Corner artist. 

Be sure to watch “Low Key feat. SIRUP” below, along with the streaming link for the song here!