IVE and AKMU have emerged as the artists who dominated the Melon weekly charts for the longest period in the first half of 2026.

On July 9, Kakao Entertainment's music platform, Melon, released its music chart review for the first half of 2026 through its data analysis content, Data Lab. IVE and AKMU were identified as the artists who held the number one spot on the weekly chart for the longest duration.

IVE topped the weekly chart for six consecutive weeks with "BANG BANG", the double title track from their second full-length album. AKMU also tied for first place, holding the top spot for six weeks each with the tracks "Joy, Sorrow, A Beautiful Heart" and "Paradise of Rumors" from their fourth full-length album.

Among songs released in 2026, IVE's "BANG BANG" also held the number one spot on the daily chart for the longest time, remaining at the top for 40 days. Combined, AKMU's two tracks spent a total of 41 days at number one on the daily chart, with "Joy, Sorrow, A Beautiful Heart" recorded as the most-liked song of the first half of the year.

Melon selected RESCENE as a representative artist for the first half of this year. The title track "LOVE ATTACK" from their first mini-album, released in August 2024, experienced two chart resurgences over the past two years, climbing to 5th place on the Melon TOP100 as of June 30.

According to Melon, "LOVE ATTACK" first entered the daily chart at 904th place in September 2024 and has since shown a steady upward trend. Streaming surged significantly after the "Geoje Yaho" meme, which became a hot topic through member WONI's YouTube content, spread. Compared to the time the YouTube channel was launched, streaming increased by up to 2,019% and listeners by 977%. Searches for RESCENE on Melon also increased by 6,550%.

The House genre, which has seen a revival after about 10 years, was highlighted as a key K-Pop trend for the first half of this year. KiiiKiii's "404 (New Era)" and Hearts2Hearts' "RUDE!" were mentioned as representative tracks.

KiiiKiii's "404 (New Era)" reached number one on the Melon TOP100 just 16 days after its release, the first song released in 2026 to do so, and recorded 12 consecutive days at number one on the daily chart and two consecutive weeks on the weekly chart. Hearts2Hearts' "RUDE!" also achieved long-term success, climbing to 2nd place on the TOP100 immediately after its release.

Melon analyzed, "The first half of 2026 showed that despite the strength of new releases, the steady resurgence of RESCENE and the return of the House genre were the most significant trends." 

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)