NewGroups Dominate Global Charts; NewJeans Claims 2nd Consecutive No.1 for Female Artists, ENHYPEN Exceeds 5 Million Album Sales

K-pop rookie groups and their new songs are firmly taking over global music charts at the beginning of 2025. The idol group BOYNEXTDOOR secured first place on the K-Pop Radar Weeekly Fandom Chart released on the 10th. This result reflects the strong response to their newly released song “Only Today I LOVE YOU,” which came out on the 6th. The music video for this track accumulated 7.79 million views during the first two weeks of January, and their Spotify follower count increased by 23,000 people, far exceeding the average K-pop artist growth rate of 1,700 people. They also showed strong growth on social media platforms, with Instagram followers rising by 39,000 and X (formerly Twitter) followers increasing by 12,000. The rookie female group ILLIT proved their status as “super rookies” through their 2024 annual performance. According to Circle Chart data, the title track “Magnetic” from their first mini-album “SUPER REAL ME” ranked second on the 2024 annual global K-pop chart. They were the only debut group in 2024 to have a song appear in the top 10 of such a chart. “Magnetic” reached high positions in multiple categories, including fifth place in streaming and sixth place in digital sales. It was also the first K-pop debut song to enter both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Top 100. ILLIT’s cumulative album sales have exceeded 1.23 million copies, which is an impressive achievement for a rookie group. The boy group ENHYPEN made history in K-pop with their album sales in 2024. Their second full album “ROMANCE : UNTOLD” sold approximately 2.972 million copies last year, ranking it fourth among the best-selling single albums by K-pop artists released in 2024. ENHYPEN’s total cumulative album sales amount to around 5.45 million copies. As of now, only three K-pop groups, including ENHYPEN, have surpassed 5 million album sales. Despite a 19.5% decline in overall K-pop album sales compared to the same period in 2023, ENHYPEN still managed to increase their sales by about 1.43 million copies. “ROMANCE : UNTOLD” became ENHYPEN’s first double-million-seller in initial sales (2.344 million copies), and its repackage album also achieved the highest initial sales volume among all K-pop repackage albums to date (1.406 million copies). The female group NewJeans maintained dominance in both album sales and digital music sales. Per Circle Chart data, NewJeans’ cumulative album sales in 2024 totaled approximately 3.098 million copies, giving them the highest share (11.4%) among K-pop female artists. This is the second consecutive year they have achieved this record. “How Sweet” and “Supernatural” sold over 1.24 million and 1.3 million copies respectively, with both albums becoming million-sellers. In the digital music category as well, NewJeans had 13 songs on the 2024 global K-pop chart, with 11 songs ranking in the digital category and 10 songs making it to the streaming category. Eight of NewJeans’ songs filled up Melon’s 2024 domestic annual chart. “Supernatural” also reached second place on Melon’s international annual chart, demonstrating their strong popularity overseas.