Starship girl group enters Melon Top 100, while new SM act misses chart
Starship Entertainment girl group KiiKii is gaining momentum in its predebut competition against SM Entertainment’s Hearts2Hearts, showing a stronger performance in music charts and brand reputation rankings. Meanwhile, Hearts2Hearts has drawn more views for its debut song “The Chase,” largely due to SM’s global influence and its built-in fan base abroad.
Both groups are highly anticipated as they mark the first girl groups from their respective agencies in years -- KiiKii being Starship’s first since Ive debuted four years ago and Hearts2Hearts SM Entertainment’s first since aespa debuted five years ago. Given that Ive and aespa are two of the leading fourth-generation girl groups, their successors are expected to compete fiercely to lead K-pop’s next-generation.
Despite not yet officially debuting, KiiKii’s prerelease track “I Do Me,” unveiled Feb. 24, made an impressive debut at No. 13 on Melon’s Hot 100 chart. The next day it also stood at No. 70 on the Melon Top 100.
In contrast, Hearts2Hearts’ debut “The Chase,” also released Feb. 24, failed to enter Melon’s Top 100, but landed at No. 27 on the Hot 100 on Feb. 25.
As South Korea’s largest music streaming service, Melon’s Top 100 chart ranks songs based on streaming and downloads, reflecting usage data from the prior 24 hours and the last hour, leading to rapid fluctuations. Meanwhile, the Hot 100 chart, based on cumulative data from the past 30 days, is more stable and resembles the ranking system of Billboard’s Hot 100.
On YouTube’s trending video rankings, “I Do Me” ranked No. 3 on Feb. 25, just ahead of “The Chase” at No. 4. However, in total views for the music videos of their new songs, “I Do Me” had recorded over 6.7 million views, while “The Chase” stood at more than 10.3 million, as of Monday.
Industry insiders attribute Hearts2Hearts’ stronger YouTube performance to SM Entertainment’s global reach and the group’s diverse lineup, which includes Carmen from Indonesia and Canadian Korean member Stella, drawing significant international interest.
In brand reputation rankings, KiiKii came out on top.
According to the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, Monday, KiiKii ranked No. 1 in its rookie idol group brand reputation rankings for March 2025, followed by Hearts2Hearts in second and BabyMonster in third. BoyNextDoor and TOZ ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
Brand reputation rankings are determined by analyzing consumer engagement, media coverage, communication and community interactions based on big data. The research institute focused on rookie groups that debuted after 2023.
Koo Chang-hwan, head of the research institute, noted KiiKii’s rapid rise in recognition.
“In the rookie idol group brand reputation rankings for March, KiiKii ranked No. 1. The brand’s big data showed a 28.11 percent increase compared to the 12,197,575 data points collected in February,” Koo said.
“In link analysis of KiiKii, the terms ‘debut,’ ‘free-spirited’ and ‘hip’ ranked highly, while a keyword analysis highlighted ‘I Do Me,’ ‘debut song’ and ‘Gen Z vibe,’” he added.
However, music critic Lim Hee-yun cautioned it is still too early to determine which group has the upper hand in the long run.
“It’s rare for a girl group to become an immediate success with just their debut song. Even Girls’ Generation, f(x) and Red Velvet gained attention but didn’t see explosive success right away,” Lim said Monday. “Most groups release a couple of singles or mini albums before one of their songs takes off. Aespa’s ‘Black Mamba’ didn’t make a huge impact initially either.”
He also pointed out that the current music market is highly competitive, with major artists like G-Dragon and Blackpink members releasing new music, along with unexpected viral hits such as Hwang Garam’s chart resurgence.
“With such strong competition, it will be difficult for rookie girl groups to hit No. 1 instantly,” Lim added. "We’ll need to observe their progress over time."
jaaykim@heraldcorp.com
