June 1, 2026, SEOUL, KOREA – Kakao Entertainment’s music streaming platform, Melon, has officially launched the “Global-K Chart” with Tencent Music and LINE MUSIC on June 1. As the first K-pop chart to aggregate both music streaming and fandom activity indices across major consumer markets, it delivers deep insights into K-pop’s global trends and artists’ worldwide influence.

Under the slogan “The Global K-POP Standard,” the “Global-K Chart” consists of a comprehensive global chart alongside platform-specific charts. Powered by verified data from leading platforms in Korea, China, and Japan – major K-pop consumer markets – it showcases the most influential K-pop stars of the moment. Joining forces, the three platforms have created a unique chart that aggregates both music streaming and fandom activity indices, thereby presenting music engagement patterns in a unified manner while keeping pace with global K-pop trends. Artists and their labels can also gain a new reference point for devising their future strategies.

Melon and LINE MUSIC offer daily, weekly, and monthly charts, while Tencent Music’s QQ Music launches its service with daily charts. All charts are updated simultaneously across the platforms, calculating scores based on the previous 24 hours of total usage data and combining each platform data with various fan activity metrics. In Melon’s case, the score incorporates music consumption data like the number of streaming and download users, as well as fandom engagement metrics such as the number of likes. Leveraging its extensive experience in operating various household charts, Melon aims to further expand its scope by utilizing data from Tencent Music and LINE MUSIC.

“Going beyond music consumption, the ‘Global-K Chart’ captures the devotion that fans in Korea, China, and Japan show to their stars,” Melon said. “Leveraging actual usage volume and fan activities from each platform, we will establish this chart as the premier K-pop chart that reflects K-pop’s global trends most accurately, while taking meaningful steps to help artists and fans connect more deeply.”

In celebration of the chart’s inauguration, numerous K-pop stars, including NCT’s Taeyong, LE SSERAFIM, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, and AND2BLE, sent congratulatory video messages on Melon and official social media channels on May 26, fueling high anticipation for the birth of a new yardstick chart dedicated to K-pop.  

Monthly Top 5 in May: aespa, BTS, ILLIT, CORTIS, IVE

Based on streaming usage and fandom engagement data compiled from Melon, Tencent Music and LINE MUSIC, K-pop icon aespa clinched the historic first-ever No. 1 spot on the new chart’s daily, weekly (May 25-31), and monthly rankings for May. While data collection for May’s monthly chart began on the 11^th, data will be tracked from the first of each month from June onward.

Before releasing its highly anticipated second full-length album “LEMONADE” on May 29, aespa unveiled “WDA (Whole Different Animal)” featuring G-DRAGON, generating significant buzz for both tracks. With this latest accomplishment, the group has become the chart’s inaugural triple crown winners, setting a new benchmark for K-pop artists.

K-pop juggernaut BTS, which recently made a comeback in March with its fifth full-length album “Arirang,” ranked second on all daily, weekly, and monthly charts. Reaffirming its superstar status, the septet recorded jaw-dropping numbers in the comprehensive score that combines streaming usage and fan activity indices from all three platforms.

Coming in third on the monthly chart is ILLIT that recently made waves with its fourth mini-album “MAMIHLAPINATAPAI.” Fourth place went to the rookie boy group CORTIS, whose latest release ‘REDRED’ has become a chart-topper on Melon. IVE, which is going strong in Japan with its new release “LUCID DREAM,” landed at No. 5, underscoring its seamless crossover into international markets.

The “Global-K Chart” updates at 12:00 p.m. (KST) on Melon (m2.melon.com), QQ Music, and LINE MUSIC.