Top 10 K-pop songs - 1st half of 2006

We are already at the half way point of 2006. I have completed my calculation of the top 10 songs with the highest charted scores on our sooompi’s weekly top 20 kpop rankings.

We have a total of 98 songs entering our top 20 from January to June 2006. These 10 songs all went to No. 1 or No. 2 in our top 20. There are no Shinhwa, no Buzz, no Superjunior on the list because they released their songs in May or June. They did not accumulate too many weeks on the chart to score enough points for the half year top 10. But chances are, they are more likely to appear on the year end chart. Same as the year end chart, the half year result is adjusted for competiton, position, and more recent songs gets a higher weight too.

1. Baek Ji Young – 사랑안해 (I Won’t Love)
Genre: Pop/Ballad
Weeks in chart: 12
Highest chart position: 1
Album: Baek Ji Young Vol. 5 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Park Keun Tae / Lyrics: Cha Eun Taek
Score: 7825

2. Vibe featuring Jang Hye Jin – 그남자 그여자 (That Man, That Woman)
Genre: R&B/ballad
Weeks in chart: 16
Highest chart position: 2
Album: Vibe Vol. 3 Track 2 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music + Lyrics: Ryu Jae Hyun
Score: 7735

3. SG Wannabe – 내사람 (Partner for life)
Genre: R&B/mid-tempo ballad
Weeks in chart: 10
Highest chart position: 1
Album: SG Wannabe Vol. 3 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Cho Young Soo / Lyrics: Ahn Young Min
Score: 6632

4. Kim Jong Kook – 편지 (Letter)
Genre: Pop ballad
Weeks in chart: 10
Highest chart position: 2
Album: Kim Jong Kook Vol. 4 Track 3 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Hwang Chan Hee / Lyrics: Yoon SaRa
Score: 5405

5. MC The Max – 사랑은 아프려고 하는거죠 (Love After the Pain)
Genre: Rock Ballad
Weeks in chart: 7
Highest chart position: 1
Album: MC The Max Vol. 4 Track 4 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Hirose Kohmi / Lyrics: Yang Jae Sung
Score: 5166

6. Tony An – 유츄프라카치아 (Yutzpracachia’s Love)
Genre: Pop
Weeks in chart: 10
Highest chart position: 2
Album: Tony An Vol. 2 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Peter Zizzo + Billy Crawford / Lyrics: Choi Eun Ha
Score: 4952

7. See Ya – 여인의향기 (The Scent of a Woman)
Genre: R&B/mid tempo ballad
Weeks in chart: 9
Highest chart position: 1
Album: See Ya Vol. 1 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Cho Young Soo / Lyrics: Ahn Young Min
Score: 4926

8. Se7en (featuring Teddy) – 난알아요 (I Know)
Genre: R&B/Hip-Hop Dance
Weeks in chart: 8
Highest chart position: 1
Album: Se7en Vol. 3 Track 2 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Teddy,E-tribe / Lyrics: Yang Hyun Suk
Score: 4925

9. Lee Seung Ki – 하기힘든말 (Words hard to tell)
Genre: Pop/ballad
Weeks in chart: 11
Highest chart position: 2
Album: Lee Seung Ki Vol. 2 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample 
 Music: Choi Kap Won + Kim Do Hoon / Lyrics: Kim Do Hyun
Score: 4758

10. Lee Soo Young – Grace
Genre: Pop/ballad
Weeks in chart: 8
Highest chart position: 1
Album: Lee Soo Young Vol. 7 Track 2 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
 Music: Hwang Sung Je / Lyrics: Lee Soo Young
Score: 4603

Baek Ji Young edged out Vibe for the top spot in the 1st half of 2006 with "사랑안해" (I Won’t Love). Congrats to her. With this sad ballad, she has successfully turned around her career. Both top songs have the longest tenure in the chart. Vibe’s "그남자 그여자" (That Man, That Woman) even spent 16 weeks on the chart, and is still in the top 20 this week! This longevity helps the song to accumulate more scores, even though it has not become a No. 1 song. SG Wannabe’s "내사람" (Partner For Life) ended up a distant 3rd, while Se7en’s "난알아요(FEAT.TEDDY)", the winner in our member voting, is at No. 8.  Here is our memebrs’ voting results on these 10 songs (not counted towards the scores):

Baek Ji Young – 사랑안해 (I Won’t Love)	[ 15 ]	[6.20%]
Kim Jong Kook – 편지 (Letter)	[ 17 ]	[7.02%]
Lee Seung Ki – 하기힘든말 (Words Hard to Tell)	[ 19 ]	[7.85%]
Lee Soo Young – Grace	[ 32 ]	[13.22%]
MC The Max – 사랑은 아프려고 하는거죠 (Love After the Pain)	[ 2 ]	[0.83%]
Se7en (featuring Teddy) – 난알아요 (I Know)	[ 48 ]	[19.83%]
See Ya – 여인의향기 (Scent of a Woman)	[ 20 ]	[8.26%]
SG Wannabe – 내사람 (Partner for Life)	[ 41 ]	[16.94%]
Tony An – 유츄프라카치아 (Yutzpracachia’s Love)	[ 26 ]	[10.74%]
Vibe (Feat. 장혜진) – 그남자 그여자 (That Man, That Woman)	[ 22 ]	[9.09%]

The 2nd half of 2006 should be interesting, as not many top singers have released their albums yet. We’ll see them in the 2nd half of this year. Part of the reason is because June is the World Cup month, and the gayo scene almost come to a standstill. It is slowly recovering now, and should be picking up in a few weeks. It is quite save to assume that the gayo industry the 2nd half of 2006 will be more exciting. Stay tuned!