Home   >   Entertainment   >   Move over K-pop boys and girls! Indie band Hyukoh dominates Korean charts

Move over K-pop boys and girls! Indie band Hyukoh dominates Korean charts

July 14, 2015
Indie band Hyukoh (Newsis)

Indie band Hyukoh (Newsis)

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL (Yonhap) — Many have expected a competitive chart battle among big-name K-pop girl groups such as Girls’ Generation, Sistar and AOA as they dropped albums within days of each other this month. But the unlikely winner is the rising indie rock band Hyukoh.

As of Tuesday morning, the band topped real-time charts of seven domestic online music services — Melon, Mnet, Naver Music, Soribada, Genie, Bugs and Olleh Music – with its track “Wa Li Ga Li.”

The song is included on “22,” the group’s EP album that came out in May. Another track, “Wi Ing Wi Ing,” came in second on some charts.

It is rare in the K-pop scene, where a song’s success is decided upon its release, for a two-month-old album to belatedly top major charts.

Hyukoh gained fame after their first appearance on the popular TV entertainment show “Infinite Challenge” aired on July 4. The band’s new songs debuted at high rankings on various music charts soon after the broadcast, heralding the birth of a new star indie band.

The band’s rise on the charts picked up speed from Saturday when they appeared again on the show, teaming up with one of the six regular members of the show to perform at the “Infinite Challenge Music Festival.”

Popular K-pop idols such as Infinite and Got7 later released new singles following Girls’ Generation’s “Party,” seeking to dominate the charts, but they couldn’t beat Hyukoh.

Industry experts say even though the band benefited from the popularity of the top TV show, they couldn’t have made a sensation without musical talent.

“Hyukoh found their own style of music through the mixture of afro-American musical elements, soft rock and various other genres,” said Im Jin-mo, a pop music critic. “They give a fresh feeling that suits the tastes of the young generation, not a rough one that we typically get from an indie rock band.”