Weekly K-Pop Music Chart 2012 - May Week 2

As expected, SISTAR repeats as No. 1 with “Alone”. For the second straight week, this song has a very high score – 980 points this week. Even though it is not as impressive as the score of 995 last week, it is way above all the other competitions. Congratulations.

The top three songs remains the same as last week: 4minute’s “Volume Up” is still No. 2 while Busker Busker’s “Cherry Blossom Ending” remains at No. 3. Is there a lack of movement on this week’s chart?  Anything but the top three! 

There are four new songs in the top 10 this week. Right below the top three at No. 4 is Ivy’s comeback hit “Broken Heart,” moving up 15 spots to No. 4. Ivy was very successful on her first two albums and many predicted she was on her way to superstardom. Sadly, she was involved on a fake sex tape scandal that badly derailed her career. She did release her third album in 2009 but did not have too many promotions as the scandal had not cooled off yet. Now she releases a mini-album “Interview” and it has been five years since her last album in which she promoted actively. It looks like she doesn’t miss a beat. “Broken Heart” is a ballad number which showcases Ivy’s vocals.

At No. 6, it is our highest new entry to the chart this week and perhaps the song with the best potential to be our next No. 1 hit. TaeTiSeo, the first sub-unit of Girls’ Generation consists of Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun, debuts at No. 6 this week with “Twinkle,” from their first mini-album with the same title. In the last two years, a new trend among K-Pop girl groups are the formation of sub-units within the main group. The more successful examples we have seen are Orange Caramel spinning off from After School, and Sistar19 from Sistar. Now the biggest K-Pop girl group gets into the trend with their first sub-unit. Fans have very expectation with TaeTiSeo and they certainly don’t disappoint, getting into the top 10 in their first week on the chart.  “Twinkle” is a funky soul number popular in the 70’s and 80’s. It is a medium-tempo dance track that will showcase the group’s charms.

The third new song is at No. 8 with hip-hop trio Electroboyz scoring another top 10 hit with “Smile Or Cry”.  Last year, Electroboyz collaborated with SISTAR’s Hyorin on “Ma Boy 2”, a song that puts them on the map.  This time, Baek Ji Young lends her vocal to the song “Smile Or Cry.” Despite not having as much promotions compared to “Ma Boy 2”, “Smile Or Cry” moves up 14 spots to No. 8 this week.

At No. 9 it is another brand new entry to the chart. Famous producer Park Jin Young (JYP), who is well known for creating so many Asian’s top acts in the past and present, such as G.O.D, Rain, The Wonder Girls, 2PM, 2AM, and Miss A, took time off producing for other artists and returns to singing himself. Younger generations of K-Pop fans may not know that JYP is also a singer. He debuted way back in 1994. In recent years, he is more focused on producing for his prized pupils. Park Jin Young comes with the spring season with a new mini-album titled, “Spring”. It’s been about two years since his last album, making this album all the more anticipated. The title track “You’re the One” debuts at No. 9 this week.  It is a medium-tempo number of the Neo Soul genre. It is about a male celebrity dating a commoner and feeling nervous and scared about doing so.

SOOMPI CHART for 2012, Month 5, Week 2

1. (–) Sistar – 나혼자 (Alone) ***2nd Week @ No. 1***
Score: 980
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Brave Brothers / Lyrics: Brave Brothers
Album: Sistar Mini Album Vol. 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

2. (–) 4 minute – Volume Up
Score: 890
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Shinsadong Tiger, Rado / Lyrics: Shinsadong Tiger, Rado
Album: 4Minute Mini Album Vol. 3 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

3. (–) Busker Busker – 벚꽃 엔딩 (Cherry Blossom Ending)
Score: 784
Genre: Indie Rock

Music: Jang Bum Joon / Lyrics: Jang Bum Joon
Album: Busker Busker Vol. 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

4. (+15) Ivy – 찢긴 가슴 (Broken Heart)
Score: 743
Genre: Pop Ballad

Music: 슈퍼창따이 / Lyrics: 슈퍼창따이
Album: Ivy Mini Album – Interview | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

5. (-1) Noel – 떠나간다 (Leaving)
Score: 649
Genre: R&B Ballad

Music: Choi Gyu Sung / Lyrics: Choi Gyu Sung
Album: Noel Single Album | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

6. (new) TaeTiSeo – Twinkle
Score: 614
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Brandon Fraley, Jamelle Fraley, Javier Solis / Lyrics: Seo Ji Eum
Album: TaeTiSeo Mini Album Vol. 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

7. (-1) Huh Gak – 나를 사랑했던 사람아 (Person Who Once Loved Me)
Score: 566
Genre: Pop Ballad

Music: Choi Gyu Sung / Lyrics: Choi Gyu Sung
Album: Huh Gak Mini Album Vol. 2 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

8. (+14) Electroboys – 웃을까 울을까 (Smile Or Cry (feat. Baek Ji Young))
Score: 534
Genre: Hip-Hop

Music: Brave Brothers / Lyrics: Brave Brothers
Album: Electroboyz Single Album Vol. 3 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

9. (new) Park Jin Young – 너뿐이야 (You’re The One)
Score: 529
Genre: R&B Ballad

Music: Park Jin Young / Lyrics: Park Jin Young
Album: Park Jin Young Mini Album – Spring | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

10. (-5) Big Bang – Fantastic Baby
Score: 520
Genre: R&B

Music: Teddy, G Dragon / Lyrics: G Dragom
Album: Big Bang Mini Album Vol. 5 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE:

Ivy- 유혹의 소나타 (Sonata of Temptation)
Genre: Pop Dance

Album: Ivy Vol. 2 (2007) Track 2
Watch: MV
Comment: As we mentioned on our top 10 coverage above, singer Ivy recently comes back with a mini-album “Interview”.  It has been five years since her last major promotion.  Ivy debuted in 2005 with the JYP written song “Tonight.” At that time, most K-Pop singers promoted only one genre of music, while Ivy was promoting both dance and ballad songs. Not only that, she always sings live even on dance songs with very difficult choreography, which was not common back in the days. Fans were wowed by her talents and labeled her a complete package. Her second album in 2007 was a huge success and many thinks that she will be a top female soloist for years to come. Then disaster struck her as a fake sex tape rumored to be released by her ex-boyfriend has surfaced on the internet. Even though later it proved to be fake, her clean and elegant image took a hard hit. As a result, Ivy was forced to go into hiatus. She made her come back in 2009 with her third album but the effect of her scandal still has not cooled down as she did not actively promote that album. Now another three years has passed, Ivy finally puts the past behind her and once again she is in full swing of her singing activity.

“Sonata of Temptation“ was the title song of her second album and it spent many weeks on top of the charts. Written by hit maker Park Geun Tae, I think this is one of the best up-tempo dance beat songs by a female soloist in the last decade.

About the Soompi Music Chart:

Soompi Music Chart is unlike any other music charts or television rankings.  It takes into account rankings by various major music charts in Korea and airplays of each song, 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, Soribada, Naver, Daum) – 15%
Billboard Korea – 15%    
SBS (Inky Gayo Take 7 + voting list) – 10%
MBC Inky Top 100 Chart – 10%
KBS Music Bank K-Chart – 10% 
MNet Chart – 10%

Thanks to Mardi09 for helping on this week’s internet chart research.