Younha earns first No. 1 on TV music show in 15 years with 'Event Horizon'

Younha's hit ballad "Event Horizon" dropped in March as part of her album "End Theory" (2022). [C9 ENTERTAINMENT]

Singer Younha won her first No. 1 on a television music show in 15 years with her ballad “Event Horizon” on Sunday.

Younha’s “Event Horizon” took the top spot on SBS’s weekly music program “Inkigayo” on Sunday, coming before popular numbers like Ive’s “After Like” and Le Sserafim’s “Antifragile.”

“Event Horizon” was released in March and was out of the music charts’ top 100 by September. However, after Younha performed the number live on college campuses during the autumn festival season, the song garnered newfound popularity and is currently topping domestic streaming charts.

The song became a prime example of “climbed the charts,” as K-pop fans say when a song becomes a late-bloomer hit months or even years after its original release. “Event Horizon” is still at No. 1 on Korea’s major music streaming tracker Melon Chart.

The last time Younha topped a television music show was in 2007 with her hit number “Password 486.”

Younha expressed her gratitude through a statement released via her agency C9 Entertainment.

“I did not expect a No. 1 on a music show at all,” she wrote. “It feels like every day is my birthday these days. It’s my first ‘Inkigayo’ trophy in 15 years. I’ll make sure I’ll be creating good music 15 years from now on.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]