Rapper sokodomo’s “MERRY-GO-ROUND,” performed on the competition show SMTM 10, has topped the Billboard K-Pop 100 chart for a 10th week.
The song first claimed No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 4 and stayed atop for six consecutive weeks before giving up its place to IU’s “Winter Sleep.” However, it bounced right back to retake its No. 1 spot, staying at the top for four more weeks. It is not only this week’s most-streamed and top-selling song, but also the most-streamed song for 10 weeks straight. This is the second song in history to record double-digit weekly No. 1s after BTS’ “Dynamite,” which reigned at the top for 22 weeks.
The girl group IVE’s “ELEVEN” stays at its No. 2 spot and marks its eighth top 5, while Lee Mujin’s “Traffic Light” climbs two steps to third place, marking its 19th top five appearance. “When it snows,” which peaked at No. 10 last week, dropped two places this week, leaving the top 10.
Rapper BE’O’s SMTM 10 contest song “Limousine” took fourth place, while girl group aespa’s “Dreams Come True” and “Next Level” climbed up two steps each to reach Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. “Next Level” marks its 34th top 10 week, tying with IU’s “eight” for the record for most consecutive weeks in the top 10 for female artists. With all artists included, BTS’ “Dynamite” holds the record for most consecutive weeks in the top 10, with 43.
IU’s “strawberry moon” and “Winter Sleep” take No. 7 and 8. The two songs were at the top of the charts for four weeks and one week, respectively. “Winter Sleep” has been on a downtrend for four consecutive weeks now and is expected to leave the top 10 soon. However, IU is still holding the largest stake on the chart this week, taking a total of 14 spots.
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GOT the beat, a project group consisting of seven female artists from SM Entertainment, entered the top 10 of the K-Pop 100 chart. Their single “Step Back,” released on Jan. 3, came in at No. 77 on the chart dated Jan 15. The song rose to No. 9 this week, five weeks after its debut. Member TAEYEON lands her fifth top 10 after “Spark,” “Happy,” “Weekend” and “Can’t Control Myself,” while aespa members Karina and Winter mark their fourth top 10 after “Next Level,” “Savage” and “Dreams Come True.” Red Velvet members SEULGI and WENDY earned their second top 10 after “Queendom.” It is the first top 10 song for BoA and HYOYEON.
Last but not least, Lim Young Woong’s “Love Always Run Away” comes in at 10th place. Released Oct. 11 on the soundtrack from Korean drama Young Lady and Gentleman, the song debuted at No. 42 on the K-Pop 100 chart dated Oct. 30. It climbed the ranks gradually, entering the top 10 in 10th place in 16 weeks, marking Lim Young Woong’s first top 10.
The Billboard K-Pop 100 measures multimetric consumption, including streaming, digital sales, radio and television data to present the most popular K-pop songs in South Korea every week.
–Article by Minhyeong Lee