SEOUL – Rookie South Korean girl group Illit made their first showing on US Billboard’s Hot 100 on April 20 with Magnetic – the lead track from their debut four-track EP Super Real Me – which landed at No. 91.
This makes them the first K-pop act to enter Billboard’s main songs chart with a debut single.
Billboard’s Hot 100 ranks the week’s most popular current songs across all genres by streaming activity from digital music sources, radio airplay and sales data compiled by American entertainment industry data company Luminate.
The entry barrier to Billboard’s Hot 100 is usually very high for rookies such as Illit, as it is difficult for them to score well in the radio airplay audience impressions category due to low recognition in the US.
Magnetic, a hybrid of pluggnb and house dance, is also a hit internationally. Pluggnb is a genre of music that combines elements of hip-hop, trap and EDM. It debuted on Spotify’s Daily Top Song Global on March 25, the day of its release, and it currently holds the No. 11 spot on Spotify’s Top 50 Global chart.
The single also shot to No. 3 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart, a week after reaching No. 2. It rose from the eighth to sixth spot on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
Magnetic topped South Korea’s Melon’s Top 100 and landed on the Official UK Singles Chart Top 100 at No. 87, before moving up to No. 80 for two consecutive weeks since the first week of April.
According to Billboard, TikTok has been a significant factor in Magnetic’s success, as a portion of its audio was used in more than 375,000 clips on the social media platform. Illit boast more than 1.9 million TikTok followers.
The quintet – comprising Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee and Iroha, who are aged between 16 and 20 – were formed through the South Korean reality show R U Next? (2023).
Before their official debut on March 25, the group starred in Swedish luxury fashion house Acne Studios’ Spring/Summer 2024 global campaign. They also attended its Fall/Winter 2024 show at Paris Fashion Week in February. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
