[Hanteo News = Reporter JUNG JUNHWA] If albums are a record of “ownership,” digital music is a record of “repetition.” In the first half of 2026, K-POP’s power was proven once again not just by “how much was sold,” but by “how much was played again.” Once the play button was pressed, it rarely stopped, and that repetition extended beyond domestic digital music charts to color the weekly No. 1 spots in the U.S., Japan, and China. Looking back at the first half through Hanteo Chart’s digital music data, K-POP was being played on infinite repeat around the world.

 


Hanteo Global, which operates Hanteo Chart, released Chapter 2 of its data report ‘Hanteo Rewind — 2026 First-Half Review’ on the 23rd. The report, titled ‘K-POP Revival,’ consists of four chapters, and Chapter 2, ‘Played on Infinite Repeat, K-POP Addicted the World,’ analyzed digital music data from K-POP artists.

 


► “Addictiveness” dominated digital music charts…From WOODZ to NMIXX

 


No. 1 in Hanteo’s digital music score for the first half of 2026 was WOODZ’s ‘Drowning,’ which recorded a cumulative score of 1,761,242 points. HWASA’s ‘Good Goodbye (with. Duomo)’ followed with 1,729,734 points, while HANRORO’s ‘0+0’ formed the top tier with 1,634,925 points. DAVICHI’s ‘Time Capsule’ ranked No. 4 with 1,583,304 points, followed by NMIXX’s ‘Blue Valentine’ at No. 5 with 1,540,414 points, showing that solo artists and bands, as well as ballads and dance tracks, evenly shared the upper ranks.

 


What is interesting is that the rankings for “score” and “number of plays” differ. Looking only at cumulative plays, HWASA recorded the highest number with 83.96 million plays, followed by NMIXX with 63.87 million plays and WOODZ with 59.24 million plays. The fact that the No. 1 in score, WOODZ, and the No. 1 in plays, HWASA, are different is a sign that listeners in the first half did not flock to one specific song, but repeatedly consumed multiple songs in depth. In other words, the digital music market in the first half was sustained not by “the sparkle of one song,” but by “unstoppable replay.”

 


► The three maps drawn by the World Chart — U.S., Japan, and China

 


Hanteo’s World Chart selects the weekly No. 1 in three categories: the U.S., Japan, and China. Looking at the 26 weeks of the first half, the tastes of the three countries were clearly divided.

 


The U.S. was “dominated by HYBE labels.” Artists under HYBE took No. 1 for 17 out of 26 weeks, or 65%, led by BTS with five times and ENHYPEN with four times, along with CORTIS and LE SSERAFIM with two times each, and &TEAM, ILLIT, BOYNEXTDOOR, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER with one time each, making a total of eight teams that reached the top.

 


Japan, in contrast, was a market where “the face changed every week.” BTS was the only team to maintain No. 1 for three or more consecutive weeks, and the only teams with consecutive No. 1 records were BTS and NCT JENO & JAEMIN. Instead, 18 teams reached No. 1, the most among the three countries, showing that a broad range of artists were evenly loved.

 


China can be summarized as “unchanging support.” Over 26 weeks, only seven teams reached No. 1. CORTIS and BTS each took No. 1 seven times, aespa five times, and EXO three times, with the same faces repeatedly holding the top spot.

 


► BTS, four consecutive weeks of “triple crown”

 


The three different maps overlapped in just one section. From the 3rd week of March to the 2nd week of April, BTS simultaneously held No. 1 for four consecutive weeks in the U.S., Japan, and China categories. It was the only period in the first half when the top spots of all three charts overlapped with one team, and it was a moment that once again confirmed through digital music the strength of K-POP in the first half, which was called “the return of the kings.”

 


► The K-POP rewind continues

 


What Hanteo Chart’s digital music data for the first half of 2026 showed was not the success of a single song, but the time and scale created by unstoppable replay. In domestic digital music charts, dense repeat consumption filled the upper ranks, and on the World Chart, the three countries played K-POP on infinite repeat in their own ways. This record, completed on top of the play button, now continues into the next story.

 


Meanwhile, Hanteo Chart’s data report series ‘Hanteo Rewind - 2026 First-Half Review’ will sequentially cover K-POP artists’ album sales, digital music performance and RESCENE’s chart reversal issue, and the revival of reunited artists.