If you like K-Pop and regularly watch K-Pop videos on YouTube, you have surely seen countless performances by your favorite idols from the various music shows like Inkigayo or M Countdown. Thanks to the shows, we can look forward not only to many different performances every week, but also to the trophies that are awarded weekly.
Many groups win these trophies regularly, but just as many wait years for their first win on a music show. For most idols, winning a music show trophy means that they are successful. Especially for these smaller groups, who wait a long time for their first win, it represents a breakthrough!
Even for bigger groups that win regularly, these trophies are not irrelevant. The success of a song is measured, among other things, by how many music show wins it has brought in. Besides that, when idols' records are mentioned, it is often also noted how soon after their debut they won a music show for the first time and whether they have achieved Triple Crowns.
But have you ever wondered by which criteria the winner is determined every week? In this article we explain the chart system of the individual music shows and also translate special terms like “Triple Crown” for you.
- Criteria for winning on music shows
- The chart system of the individual music shows in detail
- Terms around music shows
The music shows that have a chart system and award trophies include Music Bank, Show! Music Core, Show Champion, Inkigayo, The Show and M Countdown. Before we continue, we will introduce them to you very briefly:
Show! Music Core was first broadcast in October 2005 and is the successor of several different chart shows that were previously aired on the network MBC. However, the chart system was abolished just a year later in order to focus more on the music. In the following years, the charts were introduced and abolished several more times. Only since 2017 has today's chart system been part of the program again!
Inkigayo is the oldest of the music shows that exist today, since it has been broadcast since 1998. In fact, the show already existed in 1991 under the name “SBS Popular Song”; however, it was canceled in 1993 and only picked up again in 1998. Inkigayo also abolished the chart system in 2012 in order to focus more on the music, but reintroduced it as early as 2013.
The Show is one of the younger music shows, since it has only existed since 2011. In 2014 the chart system known today was introduced.
Show Champion was first broadcast in 2012, so it is even younger than The Show. Since 2013 the show has also been aired live, instead of being recorded first and broadcast afterwards.
Music Bank has existed since 1998 and is therefore one of the oldest music shows. It was originally broadcast live, but in 2005 the producers decided to change the format and to record the show in advance. Because the ratings dropped, Music Bank returned to the live format two years later.
M Countdown has been broadcast since 2004 and is known today, among other things, for challenges like the MCD Vocal Challenge, in which idols who are currently performing on the show cover a well-known song together.
The fact that several music shows temporarily abolished their chart system and then reintroduced it after a short time shows us that it contributes to the popularity of the shows. Other reasons for the success of these shows are, of course, that all the popular idols perform there and that fans thus have the chance to see their stars live several times a week during a comeback; whether online or in person. Thanks to YouTube and subtitles, international fans all over the world can also watch the whole show or particular performances without any problems.
These are the biggest Korean networks and their programs!
Recently, in another article, we introduced you to the best-known Korean TV networks and their programs. There you will also find a list of all the music shows that are currently being broadcast, which network they belong to and which other shows are aired on the same network. If you are interested, feel free to take a closer look at the article.
There are many different criteria that play a role in determining the winners on music shows. The four music shows Show! Music Core, Show Champion, Inkigayo and The Show are based on the following five:
- Digital sales
- Physical sales
- Music video views
- Viewer voting
- Broadcast (This refers to how often the song was aired on the network to which the respective music programs belong.)
In the following we give you a brief overview of how much weight the criteria have on the individual music shows and which ones play the biggest role in each case.
These numbers change again and again over the years, and it also happens that a criterion is abolished entirely or a new one is added. The numbers we are presenting to you now (September 2022) may therefore change again in the future.
Show! Music Core, for example, is based 50% on digital sales! The other 50% consist of viewer voting (20%), physical sales (10%), music video views (10%) and broadcast (10%).
Inkigayo: Digital sales 55% / Music video views 30% / Broadcast 10% / Physical sales 10% / Viewer voting 10%
The Show: Digital sales 40% / Music video views 20% / Broadcast 15% / Viewer voting 10% / Physical sales 10%
Show Champion: Digital sales 35% / Broadcast 20% / Viewer voting 20% / Physical sales 15% / Music video views 10%
In fact, we can generally say that digital sales always make up the biggest part of the overall score. The viewer voting looks a little different on every show. Sometimes live votes are meant by it, and sometimes the voting takes place in advance. Often the viewer voting criterion also consists of a mixture of both.
As announced, let's now clarify a few terms you should know when it comes to music shows!
Triple Crown: When a song takes first place on the same music show three weeks in a row. An artist can therefore theoretically even win several Triple Crowns with one song; one per music show. But even popular artists only win a Triple Crown now and then, so this award is a big success for them too!
On most music shows, a song that has won three times is excluded from the ranking afterwards.
Promotion: The advertising for the current comeback. The performances on music shows are part of the promotions.
Comeback Stage: The various performances by K-Pop idols on music shows are called “Comeback Stage” or simply “Stage”.
Goodbye Stage: When artists perform their song on a music show for the last time because the promotion for the current comeback ends afterwards, this last performance is often referred to as a “Goodbye Stage”.
Special Stage: These are special performances, such as one-time collaborations between different artists. Every now and then, among others, the MC’s perform a song together, especially when one or more new MC’s join a show.
MC: An MC is the host or presenter of a show. The term “MC” is an abbreviation of the English term “Master/ Mistress of Ceremonies” (in German: “Meister der Zeremonien”). It is used not only on music shows, but on all kinds of entertainment programs in South Korea.
Fanchant: Literally translated “fan song” or “chant”.
For most K-Pop songs, at least for the title tracks of the albums, there is an official fanchant; words or phrases that are sung by the fans at certain points of the song in order to cheer on the artists on stage. Most of the time, fanchants mostly consist of the idols' names and are sung at moments when the idols themselves are not singing, so as not to disturb them.
The fanchants are sung at all performances, such as concerts, and of course also on music shows.
B-Side: As you know, every album has a title track that has a music video and is performed on the music shows. All the other songs on the album are called B-Sides. Sometimes artists on music shows perform not only their title track, but also a B-Side.
Do you still have any questions about the topic of music shows that we should answer, or terms we should clarify? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
