Billboard opens K-pop chart

Girl Group Sistar

By Chung Ah-young

Billboard launched a new chart, the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100, on Aug. 25 in conjunction with Billboard Korea.

Billboard Korea said that it is the second such chart in Asia after Japan, reflecting the rising potential of K-pop and its current worldwide popularity.

In the first standings, girl group Sistar's "So Cool" grabbed the No. 1 slot, followed by Leesang's "I Turned Off the TV" and 2NE1's "Ugly".

Based on digital sales via major websites as well as downloads from mobile service sites, the rankings will be announced every week simultaneously in the United States and Korea and offered to other countries such as Japan, Russia and Brazil through the Billboard network.

The K-Pop Hot 100, other content and news provided by Billboard Korea are available on Billboard.com in the international chart section of Billboard.biz, in the offline Billboard magazine, and also on Billboard Korea's website, billboard.co.kr.

"The launch of the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart is a milestone, as it will provide the Korean music market with what we believe is Korea's most accurate and relevant song ranking", says Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard's Director of Charts on the website.

"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".

The site features Korean girl groups such as Sistar, 2NE1, T-ara and Miss A, which rule the K-Pop 100 this week. It introduces Sistar's "So Cool" characterized by its intense beat.

"As you can see in the music video, Sistar's appeal is not only in its music but also in its choreography. Though Sistar has just recently released its debut album, the girls' sexy moves hint at dancing skills that will continue to win fans as they progress further into their career", according to the website.

빌보드 K팝차트 신설, 아시아에서 두번째 '첫 1위는 씨스타'

미국 빌보드 지가 K팝(K-POP)차트를 신설해 화제를 모으고 있다.

26일 ㈜빌보드 코리아는 일본에 이어 한국이 아시아에서 두 번째로 '빌보드 K팝 차트'를 신설했다고 밝혔다.

이날 빌보드 코리아측은 차트 순위는 매주 한국과 미국에서 동시에 발표하며 일본과 러시아, 브라질의 빌보드 네트워크를 통해서도 차트를 공급할 예정이라고 설명했다.

하워드 에펠바움 빌보드 발행인은 "한국은 매우 중요한 음악 시장"이라며 "빌보드 K팝 차트를 통해 세계 음악 시장에 활력소가 되기를 기대한다"고 기대감을 표현했다.

한편 지난 18일자로 발표된 첫 순위에서는 걸그룹 씨스타의 '소 쿨'이 1위를 차지했으며 리쌍의 'TV를 껐네'가 2위로 뒤를 이었다.

Source : www.koreatimes.co.kr/... ( English Korean )