Weekly K-Pop Music Chart 2012 – August Week 1

We have another new No. 1 song this week but it is not from an idol group.  Psy’s “Gangnam Style” moves up six spots to pass all the idol challengers and wins easily with a high score of 968 points.  As we mentioned last week, “Gangnam Style” has outperformed all other songs on GAON, Billboard Korea, and all internet charts.  While TV network rankings may be too stubborn to give Psy the top spot, all other sources indicate “Gangnam Style” should be the most popular song in Korea right now.  Psy also becomes the first male soloist in 18 months to hit No. 1 on our chart.  The last time it happened was on March Week 1 of 2011 when K.Will’s “Heart Is Beating” topped our chart.

Sistar’s “Loving U” remains at No. 2 this week, while last week’s No. 1, 2NE1’s “I Love You” drops to No. 3.  T-Ara, with all the controversies surrounding the group after rapper Hwayoung’s contract was terminated last week, is at No. 4 with “Day By Day”.  Rounding out the top five is Super Junior’s “Sexy, Free & Single”.

There are three new songs at the bottom of the top 10 this week.  At No. 8, Gilme has her first solo top 10 hit “Me First (feat. Eun Ji Won)”.  Gilme was busy with the project group Clover for the past two years, and now she is picking up her solo career again.  She is one of the few female artists who both sings and raps.  “Me First” is an mid-tempo R&B song with lyrics about how one will dump their lover even though they are still in love to avoid getting dumped first, thus having the title “Me First”.

At No. 9, Brown Eyed Girls are back in the top 10 with a special summer single “One Summer Night”.  This is a co-production between member Je-A and Kim Bak Sa who is responsible for composing hit song, “Back in Time” from the hit drama series, “The Moon That Embraces the Sun”.  As the song title suggests, the song is about love coming true on a summer night.  Brown Eyed Girls are not expected to come out and promote this song but it still becomes a hit.  This song is the kind that the more you listen to, the more you appreciate.

At No. 10, it is the second song from the popular SBS Drama “A Gentlemen’s Dignity” that makes it into the top 10. This time it is from CN Blue’s Lee Jong Hyun, who himself took part in the drama.  His song “My Love” is the Part 5 of this drama’s OST.  It has been lurking below the top 10 the last few weeks and this week finally moves up into the top 10.  This song follows Lee Hyun’s “My Heart Ache” as being a top 10 hit.  In total, there are six songs from “A Gentlemen’s Dignity” on our chart this week.  This is definitely the top drama OST so far in 2012.

1. (+6) Psy – 강남스타일 (Gangnam Style) ***1st Week @ No. 1***
Score: 968
Genre: Hip-Hop

Music: Psy, Yoo Gun Hyung / Lyrics: Psy
Album: Psy Vol. 6 Part 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

2. (–) Sistar – Loving U
Score: 897
Genre: Pop/Dance

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

3. (-2) 2NE1 – I Love You
Score: 879
Genre: R&B

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

4. (-1) T-Ara – Day By Day
Score: 804
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

5. (-1) Super Junior – Sexy, Free & Single
Score: 738
Genre: Pop/Dance

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

6. (-1) Juniel – Illa Illa
Score: 621
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. (+1) Jang Woo Young (2PM) – Sexy Lady
Score: 523
Genre: Pop/Dance

Music: Park Jin Young / Lyrics: Park Jin Young
Album: Jang Woo Young mini-album Vol. 1 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

8. (+8) Gil Me – 내가 먼저 (Me First (feat. Eun Ji Won))
Score: 492
Genre: R&B

Music: Kim Se Jin / Lyrics: Eun Ji Wom, Gilme
Album: Gilme digital single “Me First”
Watch: MV

9. (+13) Brown Eyed Girls – 한 여름 밤의 꿈 (One Summer Night)
Score: 490
Genre: Pop Ballad

Music: Kim Bak Sa, Jea / Lyrics: Kim Ina
Album: Brown Eyed Girls digital single “The Original”
Watch: MV

10. (+1) Lee Jong Hyun (CNBlue) – 내 사랑아 (My Love)
Score: 488
Genre: OST

Music: Kim Jae Yang / Lyrics: Han Sung Ho
Album: SBS Drama “A Gentleman’s Dignity” OST Part 5 | Purchase this Album
Watch: MV

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE:

Pinocchio – 사랑과우정사이 (Between Love And Friendship)

Genre: Pop Ballad

Comments: Perhaps one of the songs which has been remade the most times in K-Pop history, the original “Between Love And Friendship” was from the group Pinocchio in 1992.  This is the 20^th anniversary of this classic hit and recently Pinocchio re-united and released a new version of this song.  It has been remade or performed many times by artists you are more familiar with: Lee Soo Young, Park Hye Kyung, SG Wannabe, Super Junior KRY, Kim Kyung Ho and Kim Yeon Woo etc.  You may be familiar with one or more of the recent versions of this song.  Let’s listen to the original version.

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.