[엑스포츠뉴스=오수정 기자] the K-Pop music scene of 2018 was about YG’s dazzling activities and achievements.
Artists of YG has topped daily music charts of 2018 for 120 days, approximately one thirds of a total year. There are hundreds of artists and agencies releasing tens of thousands of songs every year. Considering that fact, artists of YG dominating music charts for 120 days, one thirds of 365 days, is hard to explain and hard to believe.
iKON’s ‘LOVE SCENARIO’ set a milestone with their ‘no. 1 for 43 consecutive days’, becoming the ‘biggest hit of 2018’. Not only kindergarten and elementary school children, but also overseas fans during the ‘Asian Games’ closing ceremony and world tour locations sang along to ‘LOVE SCENARIO’, a song written in Korean. Many videos regarding the sensation has been uploaded online.
BLACKPINK also dominated music charts for approximately a month after making comeback with the song ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ on June, proving their unrivaled presence as a girl group. ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ also reached 500 million views in 6 months since the song was released, surprising the world. The new record shortened the pre-existing record by one half, while YouTube also selected BLACKPINK’s ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ as the ‘Most Watched K-Pop MV in the World in 2018’.
BLACKPINK’s member JENNIE achieved huge success as a solo artist on November, reaching ‘all-kill’ status on various music charts for 2 consecutive weeks and winning a ‘3-week consecutive triple crown’ on SBS ‘Inkigayo’ with her song ‘SOLO’. The MV for ‘SOLO’ also surpassed 100 million views in an instant and is still popular among global fans.
WINNER’s MINO followed up JENNIE and received the no. 1 baton as a solo artist with his title song ‘FIANCÉ’. The title song ‘FIANCÉ’ written, composed, and produced by MINO dominated music charts for 2 consecutive weeks, presenting his strong presence as an artist and catching both publicity and musicality at the same time unlike his variety image shown through tvN’s ‘New Journey to the West’.
On December 19, WINNER’s ‘MILLIONS’ once again received the no. 1 baton as the final runners of YG in 2018, continuing the no. 1 march by artists of YG in 2018.
In addition to these songs, YG has released numerous new releases including WINNER’s ‘EVERYDAY’, SEUNGRI’s ‘1, 2, 3!’, iKON’s ‘KILLING ME’, and ‘GOODBYE ROAD’. These songs were also placed at the top ranks of music charts and received favorable reviews from global music fans. The artists are also expanding their global popularity and presence through numerous concerts as part of overseas tours for the past few months.
On the competitive music market where it’s hard to even enter the top 10, related officials are reviewing that the reason why artists of YG were able to top music charts for 120 days is that the agency built their image and trust on making good music and contents.
In fact, the music released by YG topped charts not only in Korea, but in many regions overseas. As the YouTube MV view counts of YG artists have surpassed 1 billion this year, their global popularity has been certified for sure.
YG’s has been reviewed to have ‘faced a crisis’ when the members of BIGBANG, YG’s representative group, have enlisted in the army. However, the reason why YG achieved amazing results and milestones this year is because they focused on good music and contents.
Despite the vacancy of BIGBANG, YG’s representative group, iKON, BLACKPINK, and WINNER made a rapid growth to overcome concerns from the outside and establish meaningful results.
YG’s representative producer YANG HYUN SUK has gathered attention by writing, “I miss BIGBANG” as a hashtag on his social media. YG is currently selecting members for a next generation boy group that will follow the legacy of BIGBANG, WINNER, and iKON through a survival program titled ‘YG TREASURE BOX’, that revealed 29 male trainees who will compete to become one of the members. With the program, people are getting high expectations on YG’s steps of 2019.
2018. 12. 22.
