Milestone: Billboard launches K-pop chart

MANILA, Philippines - Korean pop music has been recognized by US music chart publisher Billboard as an important musical genre.

Billboard launched its Billboard K-pop Hot 100 chart with the aim of providing fans with the “most accurate” music chart.

In an article on Billboard.com, Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard chart director, described the new chart as a “milestone event."

“The launch of the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart is a milestone event, as it will provide the Korean music market with what we believe is Korea's most accurate and relevant song ranking,” he said.

The K-pop Hot 100 chart will be based on digital sales from leading Korean music websites and downloads from mobile service websites. Billboard also launched its Billboard Korea site to focus on Korean music.

“The K-Pop Hot 100 debuts simultaneously here on Billboard.com, in the international chart section of Billboard.biz, in Billboard magazine, and also on Billboard Korea's website, billboard.co.kr,” according to the Billboard.com article.

In the last few years, K-pop artists have managed to enter the Billboard chart including the Wonder Girls, Jay Park, Super Junior, Big Bang and 2NE1.

Kim Boom Soo was the first Korean singer to enter the Billboard chart when his song “Hell Goodbye Hello” peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2001.

In the first K-pop Hot 100 chart, girl group Sistar took the No. 1 spot with the song “So Cool."

The second to tenth places went to Leessang with “I Turned Off the TV," 2NE1 with “Ugly," T-ara’s “Roly-Poly," miss A’s “Goodbye Baby," 10cm’s “Hold Me," Super Junior’s “Mr. Simple," JYJ Kim Junsu’s “You Are So Beautiful," Rain’s “Busan Girl” and Baek Ji Young’s “I Still Love You Today."

"We're excited to be expanding Billboard's globally recognized Hot 100 chart franchise into this country, and look forward to enhancing the K-Pop Hot 100 chart in the near future with additional data as well as creating new charts that showcase the breadth of Korean music,” said Pietroluongo in the Billboard article.

Source: Manila Bulletin

- Justin -

About the "Author"

Justin Vawter Greco Buenagua *

An architecture student. A fashion and design blogger. Total sucker for S.H.E.! Wishes to be married to Ella Chen someday (sorry Richard!) I created this blog just to share everything I love about C-Pop. Who would have thought this would become like this? Thank you for reading! Keep the love for Asian music alive! :)

8/28/2011