Top 20 - July week 4

Buzz continues to hold on to the top spot with “남자를 몰라” (Doesn’t know a man’s heart), again edging out Superjunior’s “U”. Buzz even widened the scoring gap this week. That’s a major surprise considering that Superjunior’s song is No. 1 on most of the TV networks. As I looked deeper into the reasons, Buzz’s song had a big edge in internet charts, an area traditionally weak for SM Entertainment singers. Let see if Superjunior can do better next week.

Not too much movement at all for the rest of the chart. Rumble Fish’s "I Go" is the biggest mover, but only moving 4 spots to No. 8. The top 7 remain the same except for Baek Ji Young and See Ya switching places.

We do have 4 new songs this week. The highest debut is at No. 9, "그녀를사랑해줘요" (Please love her) from former Wanted member Ha Dong Kyun. His first solo album has been selling exceptionally well, even though it has not been heavily promoted. Only recently has he started gasoo activities at various gayo shows.

Coming in at No. 13 is a collobration between Cho PD and Brown Eyed Girls. Their song "Hold The Line" has a decent debut. We are seeing a different side of Brown Eyed Girls for this song. They show us that they are equally good with up-tempo songs as well.

The other 2 new songs are coming from veteran singers: Jang Hye Jin’s "불꽃" (Sparks) is at at No. 17. She just said goodbye on her last song "그남자 그여자" (That Man, That Women) with Vibe. It hasn’t taken long for her to come back. At No. 18 is Lee Seung Chul’s new song "떠나지마" (Don’t Leave). It is from a compilation album "Somewhere over the Rainbow". This is a very nice ballad. Lee Sung Chul has had hit songs for the past 3 years after a long layoff.

A new phenomenon worthy of sharing is that we have 3 songs on the chart coming from digital singles. With kpop album sales continuing to decline, digital singles have become a new trend in k-pop. This week, the songs from Rumble Fish, Cho PD & Brown Eyed Girls, and Jang Hye Jin are all digital singles. I am sure we’ll see more of these k-pop digital singles in the second half of this year. In addition to the above 3 songs, Superjunior’s "U" is also from a "singles" album.

1. (–) Buzz – 남자를 몰라 (Don’t know about man) *** 3 WEEKS NO. 1 ***
Genre: Rock Ballad
Album: Buzz Vol. 3 Track 7 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Lee Sang Joon / Lyrics: Kim Jin Ah
Score: 891

2. (–) Superjunior – U
Genre: Pop / Dance
Album: Superjunior: U (Single) – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Ken Ingwersen + Kevin Simm / Lyrics: Tae Hoon
Score: 875

3. (–) Shinhwa – Once in a Lifetime
Genre: Pop / Ballad
Album: Shinhwa Vol. 8 Track 4 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music + Lyrics: Brian Kim
Score: 746

4. (–) Uptown – My Style
Genre: Hip Hop
Album: Uptown Vol. 5 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music + Lyrics: Jung Yeon Joon
Score: 744

5. (+1) Baek Ji Young – 사랑안해 (I Won’t Love)
Genre: Pop/Ballad
Album: Baek Ji Young Vol. 5 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Park Keun Tae / Lyrics: Cha Eun Taek
Score: 661

6. (-1) See Ya – 구두 (Slipper)
Genre: R&B
Album: See Ya Vol. 1 Track 2 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music+ Lyrics: Ryu Jae Hyun
Score: 660

7. (–) Typhoon – 그래서… (So)
Genre: Pop / Dance
Album: Typhoon Vol. 1 Track 3 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music + Lyrics: Lee Yong Min
Score: 641

8. (+4) Rumble Fish – I Go *** BIGGEST MOVER OF THE WEEK ***
Genre: Modern Rock
Album: Rumble Fish Digital Single – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music + Lyrics: Ahn Sung Il
Score: 551

9. (New) Ha Dong Kyun – 그녀를사랑해줘요 (Please Love Her) *** HOT SHOT DEBUT ***
Genre: R&B Ballad
Album: Ha Dong Kyun Vol. 1 Track 3 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Park Soo Jong / Lyrics: Choi Kap Won

10. (-1) Jung Jae Wook – 들리나요 (Can you hear?)
Genre: Mid-tempo ballad
Album: Jung Jae Wook Vol. 4 Track 3 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Cho Young Soo / Lyrics: Ahn Young Min
Score: 495

11. (–) SG Wannabe (feat. Danny Ahn) – 사랑했어요 (I Love You)
Genre: R&B/mid-tempo ballad
Album: SG Wannabe Vol. 3 Track 4 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Cho Young Soo / Lyrics: Ahn Young Min
Score: 425

12. (+3) Loveholic – 고대만 있다면 (Just With You)
Genre: Pop ballad
Album: Loveholic Vol. 3 Track 10 and MBC Mini Series "One Fine Day" OST Track 3 Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music & Lyrics: Kang Hyun Min
Score: 379

13. (New) Cho PD & Brown Eyed Girls – Hold The Line
Genre: Pop / Hip Hop
Album: Hold The Line (single) Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Yoon Il Sang / Lyrics: Cho PD
Score: 375

14. (-4) Sweet Sorrow – 아무리 생각해도 난 너를 (No Matter How Much I think, To You…I Am…)
Genre: Pop/Ballad
Album: SBS Drama 연애시대 (Alone in Love) OST Track 4 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music + Lyrics: No Young Shim
Score: 374

15. (-1) Gummy – 혼자만하는사랑 (One sided love)
Genre: R&B ballad
Album: Gummy Unplugged Track 3 – Listen here for 1 minute sample

Score: 355

16. (+3) Suho (feat. Kim Tae Woo) – 봄여름가을겨을 (Spring Summer Fall Winter)
Genre: Hip Hop / Ballad
Album: Suho Vol. 1 Track 3 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music + Lyrics: Lee Kang Hee
Score: 339

17. (New) Jang Hye Jin (featuring Kae Ri) – 불꽃 (Sparks)
Genre: R&B ballad
Album: 불꽃 Digital Single Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Kim Do Hoon / Lyrics: Choi Kap Won
Score: 332

18. (New) Lee Seung Chul – 떠나지마 (Don’t Leave)
Genre: Pop Ballad
Album: Somewhere Over The Rainbow Vol. 1 Track 1 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Lee Kyung / Lyrics: Song Jae Woo
Score: 328

19. (-11) Byul – 눈물샘 (Lachrymal Glands)
Genre: Pop / Ballad
Album: Byul Vol. 3 Track 2 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Bang Shi Hyuk / Lyrics: Cho Eun Hee
Score: 306

20. (-3) Kim Hyun Jung – 굳세어라현정아 (Dance with Hyun Jung)
Genre: Pop/Dance
Album: Kim Hyun Jung – Dance With Hyun Jung Track 3 – Listen here for 1 minute sample
Music: Lee Yong Min / Lyrics: Yoon SaRa
Score: 299

Dropped out from last week:
13. Bada – VIP
16. Kim Jong Kook – 편지 (Letter)
18. Tim – 하루새 (In One Day)
20. Kangta & Vanness – Scandal

Sources of the top 20

The sources of this top 20 chart is pretty much the same but the weight assigned to each source may be different each week because some charts do not update weekly (e.g. MNet M!Countdown) and I assign fewer percentage when it happens. From now on, I’ll list my chart sources each week. For July week 4:

ChartKorea – 20%
Hanteo Weekly Album Sales (2 weeks lag) – 20%
MNet M!Countdown + MNet Gayo Chart – 20%
SBS Inky Gayo Take 7 Chart (1 week lag) – 15%
Various Internet charts (Melon, Jukeon, MaxMP3, Dosirak, Muz, Bugs, SBS Music Park, MBC Gayo Top 50) – 15%
MTV Korea – Artist & Music Charts – 5%
Gasoo appearance on gayo shows (MBC Music Core, SBS Inky Gayo, KBS Music Bank, MBC Kim Dong Ryul For you, SBS Music Wave, KBS Yoon Do Hyun Love Letter, MTV Sunny Side, MTV TRL Seoul, Pops in Seoul, Show! Music Tank) – 5%