Rookie groups ILLIT, BabyMonster, Kiss of Life land on Billboard charts

K-pop

Published: 17 Apr. 2024, 16:19 Updated: 17 Apr. 2024, 16:22

Rookie groups ILLIT, BabyMonster, Kiss of Life land on Billboard charts

Girl group ILLIT [BELIFT LAB]

Who runs the Billboard? Girls. Rookie K-pop girl groups ILLIT, BabyMonster and Kiss of Life are making their mark on the Billboard music chart just months after their debuts, signaling another year led by talented women of the Korean music industry.

HYBE's latest girl group ILLIT landed at No. 91 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart on Tuesday with its debut track "Magnetic," making it the first debut song from a K-pop act to land on the Hot 100 chart. ILLIT also became the fastest K-pop artist to land on the chart since its debut, which was March 25.

"We never imagined this could happen," members of ILLIT said in a press release through its agency Belift Lab, a subsidiary of HYBE.

"We know that this was possible thanks to everyone's support. We are so honored. We thank everyone who made the wonderful song and loved ILLIT and 'Magnetic.' We promise to try harder and grow to be a better artist."

YG Entertainment's rookie girl group BabyMonster shot up 38 places on the Billboard Global 200 albums chart this week with its first EP "Sheesh," sitting at No. 49 of the albums chart for the third week of April. "Sheesh" also inched up to No. 23 on the Billboard Global Excluding U.S. chart, sitting on the list for the second consecutive week.

Girl group BabyMonster [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

"Sheesh" was released on April 1 as BabyMonster's first official album with seven members, after two singles were released during member Ahyeon's absence in November last year and February this year. More than 401,000 copies of the album were sold during the first week of release, the highest for a K-pop girl group's debut album.

BabyMonster has also been appointed the honorary ambassador for global sportswear brand Adidas. Adidas will begin its "SS24 Originals Campaign" in partnership with BabyMonster.

The septet is set to begin its meet and greet tour around Asia with two events in Tokyo on May 11 and 12, followed by stops in Jakarta, Indonesia on June 8, Singapore on June 15, Taipei, Taiwan on June 23 and Bangkok, Thailand on June 29.

Girl group Kiss of Life [S2 ENTERTAINMENT]

Kiss of Life landed at No. 165 on the Billboard Global 200 chart with its single "Midas Touch," which was released on April 3. This is the first time that the quartet landed on the Billboard chart.

The girl group sold 70,000 copies of "Midas Touch," the highest for the girl group. Kiss of Life is managed by S2 Entertainment, a newly-founded agency, and the group's accomplishment comes as a "miracle of the little guys" among its Billboard peers and other larger K-pop companies' artists.

Find out more about ILLIT, BabyMonster and Kiss of Life at Celeb Confirmed

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]