6 K-Pop Songs That Entered The Charts Long After Their Release

May 02, 2021

Sometimes when a K-pop song is released, it becomes a hit and instantly goes viral. However, some songs don’t see a spike in their popularity until some time passes after their release for various reasons. This phenomenon is known in Korean as 역주행 “Yeokjoohaeng” which literally means driving in reverse. In the music industry, this word is used when old songs gain popularity on the charts.

Many songs that fit this description immediately come to mind, so here are six K-pop songs that entered the charts long after their release, subsequently going viral.

1. EXID – “Up & Down”

The rise of “Up & Down” after its initial ratings has saved EXID’s career. Thanks to a Hani-focused fancam showing the song’s choreography, the group progressively climbed the music charts shortly afterwards and even won several music show awards five months after the song’s original release date.

2. IU – “Hold My Hand”

Being IU’s first penned and composed song, “Hold My Hand” knew major success back then during its initial release for the drama “The Greatest Love” in 2011. 10 years later, the OST witnessed a major climb in Korean major charts. This is due to IU’s live performance of the song from her 2019 tour concert that was uploaded on YouTube in late 2020, which drew attention to it once again.

3. Oh My Girl – “Dolphin”

While title tracks are the ones that are usually in the spotlight, sometimes b-side tracks sneak up behind them and claim recognition. Such is the case of this cheerful tune that put Oh My Girl back on the map thanks to an Instagram story that IU posted. The soloist also released a brief cover of “Dolphin” which led to the song reentering the charts. In 2020, “Dolphin” was the longest charting b-side track on Gaon Digital Chart Top 10 for a girl group.

4. LABOUM – “Journey to Atlantis”

LABOUM’s journey is rebooted! While “Journey to Atlantis” has always been loved by fans and soldiers serving in the military alike, it remained unknown to the general public. But when it suddenly resurfaced on Korean music charts, it led to discussions about the girl group performing this resurging hit on music shows.

5. PENTAGON – “Shine”

While being slept on when it first came out, “Shine” eventually received the attention it deserved a month after its original release. This lively bop finally made its way into Melon’s top 100 real-time chart thanks to idols reprising the “hammer dance” key dance point.

6. Brave Girls – “Rollin'”

“Rollin'” is another career-saving song that put Brave Girls back in the spotlight. Four years after its original release, the song has skyrocketed on various Korean music charts thanks to a YouTube video showing a compilation of the group’s various performances of the song, along with comments – most of them written by men who finished their military service.