FIRST READ · MON 7 AM ETTHE WEEKEND LEXICON · SAT 9 AM ETFirst Read Mondays, 7 a.m. ET · The Weekend Lexicon Saturdays, 9 a.m. ET
Free. Both editions. Unsubscribe in one click from any email.
K-POP LEXICON Design Desk
ENHYPEN's new single announcement comes with a Billboard 200 No. 1 behind it. Here is how the two chart names work in K-pop fan talk.
On Monday, Oct. 26, Belift Lab announced ENHYPEN's next single, and The Korea Times put a chart credential in its first lines: the group earned its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this summer. In K-pop fan talk, the Billboard 200 is the Billboard chart that ranks albums, and the Hot 100 is the one that ranks songs. So when an album "made the 200," the full record charted, and when a single "hit the Hot 100," a song did.
That split explains a lot of chart-day arguments. A group can top one list while its lead track sits on a completely different one.
Billboard 200: albums. The K-pop coverage of the past few months gives plenty of examples. The Korea Times reported that ENHYPEN's THE SIN : BLISS opened at No. 1. The Korea Herald reported that LE SSERAFIM's second full-length album, released in May, entered at No. 10. Billboard noted that LISA's Alter Ego, released last year, peaked at No. 7.
Hot 100: songs. Billboard reported that LISA's pre-release single "SaWaDiKa" entered the Hot 100 at No. 69 in September.
The spinoff you will see in K-pop coverage: the Bubbling Under Hot 100, which is a separate Billboard chart. The Korea Herald reported that LE SSERAFIM's lead single "Boompala" landed there at No. 14. The Korea Times said "Bloody Paradise," the lead track from THE SIN : BLISS, was ENHYPEN's first entry on it.
The verbs carry meaning too. "Entered" or "debuted" tells you where a release landed in its first appearance. "Peaked" tells you the highest spot it ever reached. Mix them up and someone in the replies will correct you.
The Korea Times, Oct. 26. Belift Lab announced on Weverse that ENHYPEN will wrap its "THE SIN" series with a spinoff single, THE SIN : PARALLEL WORLD, The Korea Times reported. It is the group's third release of the year and the first since THE SIN : BLISS, the six-member lineup's first album, which also became ENHYPEN's fifth album to top 2 million in sales. The agency said the single is a way to "repay the unwavering love and support" of ENGENE, the group's fandom. This matters for chart watchers because the follow-up arrives with a Billboard 200 No. 1 already on the group's record.
The Korea Herald, Oct. 22. Source Music announced that LE SSERAFIM's Sakura would sit out the group's Paris show after a sudden fever, The Korea Herald reported. The concert is part of the European leg of the "Pureflow" tour, which takes its name from the album that entered the Billboard 200 at No. 10. It shows how a chart result can carry over into a tour title months later.
Billboard. In its ranking of the tracks on LISA's Press Play, Billboard laid out her chart history on both lists: a No. 7 peak for Alter Ego on the Billboard 200 and a No. 69 Hot 100 entry for "SaWaDiKa." The outlet also reported that LISA won best pop at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27 for "Dream," the first K-pop soloist to take that category.
ENHYPEN's Oct. 26 announcement brought the group's Billboard 200 No. 1 back into the conversation, as The Korea Times introduced the new single by pointing to it. LE SSERAFIM is touring Europe under the name of a top-10 Billboard 200 album, according to The Korea Herald. And LISA's new album arrives with a Hot 100 entry from September already behind it, per Billboard.
"THE SIN : BLISS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, so the bar for the next one is high."
"'SaWaDiKa' entered the Hot 100 at No. 69 back in September."
"'Boompala' made Bubbling Under, not the Hot 100, but Pureflow went top 10 on the 200."
The etiquette is simple: check which chart you mean. Calling an album a Hot 100 hit, or a Bubbling Under entry a Hot 100 debut, is the quickest way to start a correction thread. Rival fandoms argue about chart numbers all the time, so quote the real position and the right chart and you will be on solid ground.
Is this word in your vocabulary?
Tap one to see how other readers landed.
In Billboard's K-pop coverage, albums show up on the Billboard 200 and songs on the Hot 100. LISA has appeared on both: Alter Ego peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and "SaWaDiKa" entered the Hot 100 at No. 69, Billboard reported.
Yes. THE SIN : BLISS debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 this summer, giving the group its first No. 1 there, The Korea Times reported.
No. It is its own chart. The Korea Times counted "Bloody Paradise" as ENHYPEN's first entry on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, released in the same era as the group's Billboard 200 No. 1.
Their second full-length album, released in May, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 10, and lead single "Boompala" reached No. 14 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, according to The Korea Herald.
THE SIN : PARALLEL WORLD comes out on digital platforms at 2 p.m. on Nov. 20, and the physical edition follows at noon on Nov. 23, The Korea Times reported.
First Read lands Monday at 7 a.m. ET with the week's biggest stories. The Weekend Lexicon rounds it all up on Saturday.
Free. Both editions. Unsubscribe in one click from any email. See a sample issue →
