The charts were extra crazy this week, with songs constantly moving in and out of the top 15 like no one’s business. There was so much movement for one particular song, in fact, that it got nominated for Inkigayo’s upcoming July 2 episode, despite the song being originally released five years ago.

New Additions

New to the charts this week were two female groups that dominated the top two spots. Both releasing on Thursday, June 22, MAMAMOO proved to be the queens of the charts with their latest title track “Yes I Am.” The song continues to stay within the top three on most charts, including MelOn, where it’s falling and regaining the top spot regularly.

Just behind MAMAMOO was BLACKPINK, who released “As If It’s Your Last” as a gift to the fans while they wait for the highly-anticipated Square Three. The song still hovers around the top three spots on most Korean music charts, but the music video was what drew in a huge amount of attention. The video grabbed 11 million views in 17 hours, becoming the fastest music video from a K-Pop group to surpass 10 million views, a record that was only just recently broken by BTS with their “Not Today” video. BLACKPINK’s video also became the second most viewed online video in 24 hours by a Korean artist, falling just behind PSY’s “Gentleman.”

Notable Trends

Aside from the usual heavy hitters like G-DRAGON, TWICE, and PSY continuing to show staying abilities on the charts, there were a few notable acts that had me intrigued.

Bolbbalgan4, the duo that only just debuted in 2016, continues to prove that they’re made for the charts by hanging out in the top three with their latest single “We Loved”, a collaboration track with 20 Years of Age. The track is still fairly new, only having released on June 14, but if it has the same staying power as their 2016 hit “Galaxy”, we can expect to see “We Loved” sticking to the top of the charts for a while.

The only English track that charts anywhere near the top 10 across all major charts continues to be Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” Despite being released in January, Koreans can’t seem to get enough of the British pop star’s return hit. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess how long he’ll stay in the top. Personally, I like to believe the use of Major Lazer’s remixed version of the song in the position evaluations of Produce 101 Season 2 helped it stay up in the ranks for this long. But that’s just a guess.

Speaking of Produce 101 Season 2, the original tracks from the Mnet show have made a more than impressive showing on the charts. More than half of the 10 songs released continue to chart within the MelOn Top 100. For the tracks off of the 35 Boys, 5 Concepts album, that’s a solid month on the charts. Standout hit “Never”, composed by PENTAGON’s Hui with lyrical help from E.Dawn, still hovers around the top 10 across the charts, falling and re-entering depending on what time of day you look.

After reappearing from a hiatus of over one year, WINNER’s comeback hit “Really Really” continues to remind everyone of the group’s sometimes forgotten widespread popularity. Released at the beginning of April, “Really Really” continues to hover around the top 15 almost three months later. Here’s to hoping we won’t have to wait another year to see the next comeback from the four-member group.

Undoubtedly the most surprising titles in the charts were three of NU’EST’s tracks. While the group hasn’t had a comeback since last August, the group sprung back into the charts following the surprising elimination of three of the four members competing in Produce 101 Season 2. To help cope with their shock and slight anger, especially at the elimination of leader JR, fans new and old started streaming NU’EST’s discography. Within hours, the group’s third-ever single “Hello” rose into the top 10 across the charts, easily beating the track’s former peak chart position of 51. Fans have managed to keep the track within the top 25 for a week now, making it eligible for an Inkigayo weekly award along with currently promoting artists like NCT 127, ASTRO, MONSTA X, and DAY6. Two other NU’EST tracks, “Love Paint (Every Afternoon)” and “Daybreak” also broke into the top 100 charts and continue to fall and re-enter daily.

Which tracks are you excited to see on the charts? Are there any that are about ready to fall from the top? Let us know in the comments below.