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March heralds spectacular K-Pop comebacks

After a few months of relatively low-key K-Pop releases, the K-Pop fandom is ready to welcome back some of the biggest names in the industry this March with new releases from Big Bang and expected releases from 2AM and Shinhwa. Aside from these, there are reports of potential comebacks from SHINee and CNBLUE.

Yahoo! Philippines OMG! oK Pop has already reported about the excitement taking place in relation to the comeback of Hallyu superstars Big Bang. G-Dragon, T.O.P., Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri haven't released new material since 2011 and the excitement of V.I.P.s is reaching fever-pitch. To date, two MVs have been released, one for the mid-tempo ballad "Blue" and one for the more hiphop-flavored "Bad Boy." The mini-album "Alive" released on February 29 had massive sales.

"Alive," released by YG Entertainment, has sold many digital copies on iTunes that it has literally debuted in the Top 10 of the iTunes U.S. chart, and achieved an all-kill on all legitimate Korean music download sites. Not bad but not unexpected for a group preparing for a world tour in a few weeks.

Hot on the heels of Big Bang are the four members of Korean idol group 2AM. Jokwon, Seulong, Jinwoon, and Changmin made waves in Korea in 2010 with the release of "Saint O'Clock." Almost two years later, the JYP ballad kings are ready to take on Big Bang with its newest, untitled release, although word is floating around K-Pop grapevine that they might give it the odd yet poetic "Fitzgerald's Love Story" spin. 2AM's single "Can't Let You Go Even If I Die" was one of the best-selling digital songs of 2010.

Meanwhile, legendary K-Pop group Shinhwa is set to make its own highly anticipated comeback. Eric, Hyesung, Dongwan, Minwoo, Junjin, and Andy took a little over two years off to fulfill their individual military duties, and are now coming back in a huge way. The 20,000 tickets to Shinhwa's two-day "The Return" concert to be held at the gigantic Gymnastics Stadium in Olympic Park, sold out immediately after going on sale. The six-man vocal group is celebrating their 14th anniversary, the longest-lasting idol group in K-Pop history, and that popularity doesn't seem to be fading. The group is clearly enjoying the support from its fans, the Shinhwa Changjos. Shinhwa, now a self-managed group has already released teasers for the concert. Fans all over the world are already placing pre-orders for the group's upcoming release.

There are also some unconfirmed reports indicating that K-Pop fans may see comebacks from SM Entertainment idol group, SHINee, who spent all of 2011 building up an enviable fan base in Japan as well as FNC pop-rock band CNBLUE, group group 4Minute, and idol group INFINITE. Things are indeed exciting in K-Pop this March.

Catherine Deen blogs for Yahoo! Philippines OMG! She lives, eats and breathes Korean music, cuisine, telenovelas, and pop culture. Follow her on Twitter @cathsdeen.