NCT Dream's 'Best Friend Ever' tops Japan's Oricon Weekly Singles Chart

Boy band NCT Dream [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

Boy band NCT Dream topped Japan’s Oricon Weekly Singles Chart with the band’s Japanese debut single “Best Friend Ever,” the band’s agency SM Entertainment announced Tuesday.

Released last Wednesday, the single has been at the top of the Oricon Daily Singles Chart for four days straight.

The single also ranked No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Top Singles Sales Chart, with 348,000 copies sold in the first week of its release, according to Billboard Japan.

NCT Dream will continue its second Japanese tour “The Dream Show2: In a Dream – in Japan” in Osaka, performing for three days starting on Feb. 17. The Korean leg of the tour last year was held at Seoul Olympic Stadium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, making the band the seventh K-pop idol group to ever perform at the venue.

NCT Dream debuted in 2016 as a subunit of the boy band NCT with its song "Chewing Gum." The band is best known for songs including "My First and Last" (2017), "Boom" (2019), "Hello Future" (2021), “Glitch Mode” (2022) and “Candy” (2022). Their latest Korean EP, “Candy” sold over 1.5 million copies in the first week of its release, making it the ninth most-sold album in Korea within the first week.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]