Girl groups take center stage on local music charts

All-female groups, often dubbed as “girl groups,” are ruling domestic music charts in South Korea, taking the lead in the summer dance-pop race.

With the exception of superband BTS and American pop star Justin Bieber, who have long led the charts with “Butter” and “Peaches,” girl groups are reigning in the top 10 spots of most domestic music charts.

At the forefront is aespa, which released the single “Next Level” in mid May. The song is a remake of the original song that was part of the movie soundtrack “Fast Furious: Hobbs Shaw.”

In a rare case for a song by a rookie, the track recently reached the top spot on the daily and “24 hits” chart of Melon Music as of Thursday, outpacing BTS’ Billboard-topping hit “Butter” that had sat atop charts upon release.

The 24 hits chart, which includes 40 percent of streaming and 60 percent of downloads in the past 24 hours, is considered a tough chart to break in even for groups with sizable fandoms, considering that streams are only counted once per user.

It also sits among the real-time, daily and weekly charts of other streaming platforms, like Genie Music and Bugs Music.

The music video for “Next Level” has also made a splash, hitting 100 million views in roughly a month and renewing the record the group set with its earlier single “Black Mamba.” Oh My Girl is another group that has proved to be a strong contender. The seven-piece act’s upbeat number “Dun Dun Dance” sits on the top 10 list of all 24 Hits, daily, weekly and monthly categories on Melon.

“Dun Dun Dance” is the main track of the group’s eighth EP “Dear Oh My Girl” released in May.

Brave Girls, the four-piece act that made a surprise ascent at the brink of disbandment thanks to its 2017 song “Rollin’” that went viral in 2021, is another act making a strong impression.

After topping domestic music charts with the 2017 song that was a massive phenomenon among the country’s conscripted soldiers, the group also saw belated success with its 2020 city pop track “We Ride” that was little noticed upon its release.

Earlier this month, the group took another shot at the K-pop scene with its album ambitiously named “Summer Queen.”