Weekly K-Pop Music Chart - November 2011, Week 1

A sub-par, below top 10 debut last week did not prevent SNSD’s “The Boys” from making a big move this week all the way to No. 1. It was not at all unexpected as “The Boys” swept all music shows last week and were also No. 1 on most internet rankings, enabling SNSD to move past many competitors and have a comfortable winning margin. SNSD is still relatively young but they are already considered one of the best girl groups in k-pop history. This new No. 1 song “The Boys” only adds to their legacy.

Secret’s “Love is Move” made a five-spot jump to No. 2 this week. It debuted ahead of “The Boys” last week, but now falls behind by 63 points. Secret already enjoyed a very fruitful year with two No. 1 songs on our chart (Shy Boy and Starlight Moonlight). With the success of their latest hit “Love Move”, they become a leading candidate of our year end “chart champion” award.  Let see if this song can bring Secret their third No. 1 song this year.

Girl groups again dominate the chart this week as Orange Caramel’s “Shanghai Romance” moves up another two spots to round out the all female groups top three. This After School sub-unit has improved on their chart position every song. “Shanghai Romance” is their first top three hit. Super Junior’s HeeChul deserves an assist as he penned the lyrics of this song.

There is only one other new songs in the top 10 this week besides SNSD’s “The Boys”. It is R&B ballad group Noel, who has been on hiatus for five years. Their comeback hit “I Miss You” received a surprisingly good responses from fans and debuted at No. 10 this week. Before 2AM’s debut, Noel was the male ballad group from JYP Entertainment. The quartet debuted back in 2002 and was constantly appearing on the top 20. Noel released their last album in early 2006 and we haven’t heard of them since then. They are now signed to LOEN Entertainment and have just released a mini-album. Fans definitely had not forgotten Noel as most of the songs on their mini-album are on internet rankings. What a sweet and triumphant return for them.

SOOMPI CHART for 2011, Month 11, Week 1

1. (+10) SNSD – The Boys ***1st Week @ No. 1***
Score: 946
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Teddy Riley / Lyrics: Yoo Young Jin
Album: SNSD Vol. 3 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

2. (+5) Secret – 사랑은 MOVE (Love Move)
Score: 883
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Kang Ji Won, Kim Ki Bum / Lyrics: Kang Ji Won, Kim Ki Bum
Album: Secret Vol. 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

3. (+2) Orange Caramel – 샹하이 로맨스 (Shanghai Romance)
Score: 764
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Cho Young Soo / Lyrics: Kim Hee Chul
Album: Orange Caramel Single Album – Shanghai Romance | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

4. (-1) FT Island – 새들처럼 (Like The Birds)
Score: 714
Genre: Rock

Music: Ji Geun Sik / Lyrics: Ji Geun Sik
Album: FTIsland Remake Album – Memory in FTIsland | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

5. (+1) Kim Hyun Joong (SS501) – Lucky Guy
Score: 675
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Steven Lee / Lyrics: Kim Tae Wan
Album: Kim Hyun Joong Mini Album Vol. 2 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

6. (-2) Infinite – 파라다이스 (Paradise)
Score: 636
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Kim Seung Soo, Han Jae Ho / Lyrics: Song Soo Yoon
Album: Infinite Vol. 1 Repackaged Version | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

7. (-6) Brown Eyed Girls – Sixth Sense
Score: 608
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Lee Min Soo / Lyrics: Kim Ina
Album: Brown Eyed Girls Vol. 4 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

8. (–) Huh Gak – Hello
Score: 560
Genre: R&B Ballad

Music: Choi Gyu Sung, Rado / Lyrics: Choi Gyu Sung, Rado
Album: Huh Gak mini-album Vol. 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

9. (-7) Wheesung – 놈들이 온다 (Here They Come)
Score: 525
Genre: R&B Ballad

Music: Kim Do Hoon / Lyrics: Wheesung
Album: Wheesung Mini-Album | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

10. (new) Noel – 그리워 그리워 (I Miss You)
Score: 478
Genre: R&B Ballad

Music: Choi Gyu Sung / Lyrics: Choi Gyu Sung
Album: Noel mini-album | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE:

Lee Sun Hee – J에게 (Dear J)
Genre: Pop Ballad

Album: Lee Sun Hee Vol. 1 (1985) Track 7
Listen To: Full Song
Comment: This is perhaps the oldest song that we have covered in this segment so far. Younger generations of K-Pop fans may have heard of Lee Sun Hee as she is Lee Seung Ki’s vocal teacher. Her career began before many of us were born. Lee Sun Hee became a singer after she won the grand prize in the 5th Riverside Song Festival in 1984 with the song “Dear J” and it became her debut hit in 1985. The legacy of “Dear J” grew over the years as many singers from different countries re-made this song and became hits in other languages. Hong Kong singer Prudence Lau first re-made this song’s Cantonese version in 1986. There are several Japanese remakes of “Dear J”.  The most popular version is from Yuki Kadokura in 2003. In Korea, Lee Seung Ki also covered his mentor’s classic hit on his debut album in 2004.

About the Soompi Music Chart:

Soompi Music Chart is unlike any other music charts or television rankings.  It takes into account not only sales and rankings by various other charts in Korea, but also airplays of each song, the number of live performances and appearances, making it an unbiased and objective tally of what’s going on in the world of K-pop.  Our chart is composed of the following sources:

Air Monitor Chart – 15%
GAON Music Chart – 15%
Various Internet charts (Olleh, Bugs, Melon, Naver, Monkey3, Daum, Cyworld, Soribada) – 15%
ChartKorea – 5%  
Hottracks Weekly Album Sales (1 weeks lag) – 10%
SBS (Inky Gayo Take 7 + SBS Miil weekly rankings) – 10%
MBC Inky Top 100 Chart – 10%
KBS Music Bank K-Chart – 10% 
MNet M!Countdown – 5%
Gasoo appearance on gayo shows  (MBC Music Core, SBS Inky Gayo, KBS Music Bank, M!Countdown) – 10%

Thanks to Mardi09 for helping on this week’s internet chart research and motoway065 for song title translations.