Korean girl group ILLIT has made history as the first K-pop group to enter the Billboard Hot 100 with a debut song.
On the 15th (local time), the U.S. music industry magazine Billboard announced through its official social media that ILLIT (members Yunah, Minju, Mika, Wonhee, and Iroha) will enter the Hot 100 chart on April 20 at position 91 with their mini-album’s title track, “Magnetic.”
This achievement makes ILLIT the first K-pop group to place a debut song on Billboard’s main singles chart and the fastest K-pop artist to enter the Hot 100 after their debut.
The Hot 100 ranks songs based on physical album sales, digital song sales, streaming figures, radio airplay, and YouTube views. Despite the difficulty of non-English speaking rookie artists scoring in the radio airplay section, ILLIT has proven its widespread popularity by breaking through these barriers.
ILLIT has also made its mark on other charts. On its release day, “Magnetic” was included in Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global and subsequently charted in the Weekly Top Songs USA. Additionally, it has maintained a position in the U.K.’s Official Singles Top 100 for two weeks.
Their agency, HYBE, and BELIFT LAB attribute ILLIT’s immediate international popularity to “a victory of exceptional planning.”
BELIFT LAB explained, “We crafted the album based on the members’ interviews and storytelling. We focused on portraying girls ahead of their time not just as trendsetters but as relatable figures who evoke a desire to join in their fun, are intensely present in the moment, and dream of the same fantasies. Visually, we emphasized a quirky and natural vibe.”
Furthermore, BELIFT LAB emphasized the considerable effort put into planning the music and performances, highlighting that the music is optimized for short-form production, cutting every minute, and the performance is designed to captivate every segment.
Most Commented