BANHANA's Agency Responds To Suspicions Of Chart Manipulation

Suspicions of chart manipulations have arisen yet again, but this time for singer BANHANA.

On October 16, BANHANA’s “All Over Again” was unable to enter the Top 100 chart upon its release on October 15 at 6 p.m. KST but was able to enter the chart two hours after its release. It rose drastically within six hours, reaching No. 24 at midnight. Netizens found this abnormal and have voiced their suspicions.

Though it has been less than a day since the track was released, the rating for the song has fallen to 1.3 out of 5 points, with listeners rating the song poorly as they believe its success on charts is due to chart manipulation.

BANHANA is not the first artist to be accused of chart manipulation this year, as Jang Deok Cheol, Nilo, and Shaun have recently been under suspicion of chart manipulation as well. The fact that many of these artists, including BANHANA, are signed under the same agency Limez Entertainment, has only solidified these suspicions for some netizens.

In response, a source from Limez Entertainment stated, “We are not using macros or a program. [As is standard,] we are promoting through social media. As the song was released yesterday, we are not yet at the stage where we have analyzed [the factors behind the song’s success]. We are also hoping for the results of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism’s investigation to come out quickly.”

Limez Entertainment requested for the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to investigate chart manipulation related to Nilo in April. In addition to Shaun’s alleged chart manipulation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently began its investigation. The results of the investigation will be released next month. A source from the Ministry stated, “Out of the six music sites, four have sent in all their information, and one has sent in the part of their data. We are currently in the process of analyzing the data sent in so far.”

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