Weekly K-Pop Music Chart 2012 – July Week 3

As we have predicted last week, there is a four way battle for the top spot this week.  But it is not as close as we thought.  Sistar’s “Loving U” won easily this week by more than 60 points to become our new No. 1 song.  This song got the benefit of releasing the earliest among the No. 1 challengers plus it is consistently ranked among the top songs on all our chart sources.  With this win, Sistar also becomes the first artist to have two chart topping songs in 2012.  They scored No. 1 with “Alone” earlier this year which also became our half year No. 1 song.

No. 2 is the highest new entry to the top 10 this week.  T-Ara’s “Day By Day” jumped a big 15 spot to second place.  Now an eight membered group with the latest addition of Dani and Areum, T-Ara continues to do very well on our chart to prove they are a top notch female group.  “Day By Day” was co-composed by Cho Young Soo and Kim Tae Hyun and penned by An Young Min. Right from the start of the song, listeners can hear Hwayoung’s distinct chant-like rap, showing boyish qualities. As the song continues, the rest of the member’s expressive vocals bring out the liveliness of this number.

Super Junior’s “Sexy, Free & Single” moves up seven spots to No. 3, perhaps falling a bit short of expectation this week.  Despite dominating various TV network rankings and also airplays, this song has a weak showing on GAON, Billboard Korea, and various internet charts.  Still, this is only the song’s second week on the chart and it is already in the top three.  There are still rooms to move up and they will be in the thick of the race for the top spot again next week.

The second new song in the top 10 is at No. 4.  2NE1’s “I Love You” is up 16 spots this week.  It is an electro-pop number that will show yet another side of the group. It was composed, penned, and arranged by Teddy with the help of Lydia Paek.  The scoring line of “I Love You” is exactly opposite of “Sexy, Free & Single”.  It dominates GAON, Billboard Korea, and internet charts while it is still moving up on TV networks and airplays.  Will “I Love You” be the first digital single ever to hit the top of our chart?  We’ll find out in the next few weeks.

Round two of the battle for the top spot will be next week as these same four songs should be in the hunt again for No. 1.   However, we expect some movements between these songs.  Stay tune!

One other new entry is at the bottom of the top 10 this week.  Moving up four spots to No. 10 is Kim Jin Pyo’s sixth album title song “I Am Sorry”.  This hip-hop ballad song features the vocal of G.NA and it sure helps boosting its popularity.  It’s been four years since Kim Jin Pyo’s last album.  This is an excellent album with many artists lending their vocals to compliment Kim Jin Pyo’s rap.

1. (+1) Sistar – Loving U ***1st Week @ No. 1***
Score: 940
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Ichiro Suezawa, Chance / Lyrics: Ichiro Suezawa, Chance
Album: Sistar Summer Special Album | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

2. (+15) T-Ara – Day By Day
Score: 874
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Cho Young Soo, Kim Tae Hyun / Lyrics: Ahn Young Min
Album: T-ara Mini Album Vol. 6 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

3. (+7) Super Junior – Sexy, Free & Single
Score: 842
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Daniel Klein, Thomas Sardorf, Lasse Lindorff / Lyrics: Yoo Young Jin
Album: Super Junior Vol. 6 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

4. (+16) 2NE1 – I Love You
Score: 838
Genre: R&B

Music: Teddy, Lydia Paek / Lyrics: Teddy
Album: 2NE1 digital single “I Love You”
Watch: MV

5. (-4) f(x) – Electric Shock
Score: 756
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Joachim Vermeulen Windsant, Maarten Ten Hove, Willem Laseroms / Lyrics: Seo Ji Eum
Album: F(x) Mini Album Vol. 2 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

6. (–) Juniel – Illa Illa
Score: 702
Genre: Pop Rock

Music: Kim Do Hoon, Lee Sang Ho / Lyrics: Han Sung Ho
Album: Juniel Mini Album Vol. 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

7. (-4) After School – Flashback
Score: 597
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Saint Binary / Lyrics: Saint Binary
Album: After School Maxi Single Album – Flashback | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

8. (-3) Verbal Jint – 충분히 예뻐 (You Deserve Better (feat. Phantom’s Sanchez))
Score: 569
Genre: Hip-Hop

Music: Verbal Jint, Kiggen / Lyrics: Verbal Jint
Album: Ten Years Of Misreading 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

9. (-5) Wonder Girls – Like This
Score: 556
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Park Jin Young / Lyrics: Park Jin Young
Album: Wonder Girls Mini Album – Wonder Party | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

10. (+4) Kim Jin Pyo – 미안해서 미안해 (I’m Sorry (feat. G.NA))
Score: 531
Genre: Hip-Hop

Music: Won Young Hun, Dong Ne Hyung / Lyrics: Kim Jin Pyo
Album: Kim Jin Pyo Vol. 6 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

THIS WEEK IN 2005:

Yoon Do Hyun – 사랑했나 봐 (Seems To Fall In Love)

Genre: Rock Ballad

In this segment, we go back in time to re-visit charts of the same week in past years. The Soompi Music Chart began in January 2005. At first we had only 20 songs and later expanded to 50 songs.

Yoon Do Hyun is one of the most respected musician in Korea.  His band Yoon Do Hyun band (aka YB) is a well known rock band with many fans.  Yoon himself is also a successful solo artist with a focus on rock ballad concepts slightly different from his band.  His trademark laid back, husky singing voice is very unique among rock singers.  Besides his musical activities, Yoon Do Hyun is a TV Personality.  He is well known for hosting his contemporary music show “Yoon Do Hyun Love Letter” in KBS for many years and now a similar program “Yoon Do Hyun MUST” on MNet.

“Seems To Fall In Love” is the title song of Yoon Do Hyun’s 2005 album “Difference”.  This song spent two weeks on top of our chart including this week seven years ago.  It was also named our 2005 Song Of The Year in our inaugural Soompi Gayo Awards.

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 – 10%
MBC+ Show Champion Chart M – 10%
KBS Music Bank K-Chart – 10% 
MNet M!Countdown Chart – 10%

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