Weekly K-Pop Music Chart 2014 – January Week 3

There are a lot of changes in the top 10 this week. Both the top two songs were from outside of the top 10 last week. 

MC The Max took home the top spot with “Wind That Blows,” rising from No. 22 last week. Back in the mid-2000s, MC The Max was a regular in the top 10 with many chart-topping hits. With their trademark emotional rock ballad tailor-made for winter, I often referred to MC The Max as “the winter ballad group of K-Pop.” Then due to members serving their mandatory military duties, MC The Max went into an extended hiatus. Now with the full lineup of Jun Min Hyuk, ISU, and J. Yoon back together, MC The Max released their seventh album “Unveiling” recently, their first full length album in more than five years. Title track “Wind That Blows” is a vintage MC The Max song featuring ISU’s intense vocals. It is about a man who remembers his ex-lover. It’s been nearly seven years since MC The Max had a No. 1 song on our chart. The last time it happened was on the last week of May in 2007 with “My Heart Cannot Go On Like This Any Longer.” Congratulations to MC The Max.

Moving up 22 spots to No. 2 is Girl’s Day’s latest hit “Something.” This song debuted just two spots lower than MC The Max’s “Wind That Blows” last week, and both songs made big jumps this week. “Something” won on MBC Music Core and SBS Inky Gayo last week, but overall was not as consistent as “Wind That Blows.” As a result, “Something” settles into second place this week. Still, it becomes Girl’s Day’s highest ranked chart song to date. “Something” is a dance beat song with a hip hop element. It is about a woman whose boyfriend is cheating and lying to her.

Besides the top two songs, we have two other new songs in the top 10 this week and they are both from the same artist.  Hallyu mega star Rain recently completed his military duties and returns to the stage with his long awaited sixth album “Rain Effect,” his first full album in five plus years. The album has two title songs and Rain is promoting both songs.  KBS Music Bank winner “LA Song” moves up 30 spots to No. 4 this week, while M!Countdown winner “30 Sexy” moves up 23 spots to No. 6.

“LA Song” has a western cowboy style intro with a drumbeat and brass line that is a rarity in K-Pop. “30 Sexy” has a simple R&B drumbeat with a synthesizer melody reminiscent of Prince’s songs. Rain has taken part in writing both songs. Which one you like better? Let us know in the comments below!

About the Soompi Music Chart:

Soompi Music Chart is unlike any other music chart or television ranking. It takes into account rankings by various major music charts in Korea and the airplay 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:

GAON Music Chart – 20%
Various Internet charts (Olleh, Bugs, Melon, Soribada, Genie) – 15%
Billboard Korea – 20% 
TV Music Show charts (SBS Inkigayo, KBS Music Bank, MBC Music Core, MNet M!Countdown)  – 45%