aespa sweeps No. 1 on global K-chart “integrated Melon” after beating BTS, which takes No. 2

A syndrome that engulfed Asia, aespa charges ahead without pause

The throne of an enormous integrated music chart has been decided. The protagonist is the group aespa. On music indices spanning Korea, China, and Japan at an unprecedented scale, the group planted its flag at the top with overwhelming results.

According to data released by Melon on the 1st, aespa swept No. 1 across daily, weekly (May 25 to 31), and May’s monthly categories as of noon that day—the first day of the newly launched Global K-Chart—achieving an astonishing three crowns. This clearly proves the global box-office storm sparked by its recently released second full-length album LEMONADE through numbers.

The Global K-Chart breaks down borders and sets a new standard for K-pop

Unveiled this time, the Global K-Chart is an innovative index built through a partnership between South Korea’s largest music platform Melon and China’s Tencent Music and Japan’s Line Music. Rather than simply counting music-streaming plays, it takes a more advanced approach that precisely reflects fans’ real-world activity metrics worldwide to determine rankings.

Behind aespa’s furious momentum, the global pop icon BTS secured No. 2 on the daily, weekly, and monthly charts, reaffirming its unshakable clout.

This chart, which cuts through the music trends of three Asian countries in real time, is updated simultaneously every day at noon through each country’s main platforms. For May’s monthly chart, rankings were calculated starting from the 11th, when data collection began in earnest. Starting next June, the chart is expected to compile even more precise rankings based on cumulative usage from the 1st to the end of each month.