It's that week again. Grab your coffee, open Melon, and let's see what Korea is actually listening to right now.
This week's chart is a pretty stable one at the top — but "stable" doesn't mean boring. CORTIS and AKMU are in a quiet standoff that's been going on for most of May, and ILLIT is lurking right behind them. Meanwhile a surprise re-entry is getting people talking. Let's get into it.
This Week's Melon Top 5 (May 26, 2026)
#1 — REDRED / CORTIS Still sitting at the top. REDRED has been dominating the chart since its release and shows no signs of moving. At this point it's not a hot new song anymore — it's just the song of this season.
#2 — It's Me / ILLIT ILLIT's lead single from their fourth EP Mamihlapinatapai (released April 30) has been climbing steadily. The drum and bass + electro-pop blend caught people off guard — and it's clearly sticking.
#3 — 소문의 낙원 (Paradise of Rumors) / AKMU AKMU refuses to leave this chart. 소문의 낙원 is their most resilient release in years — the Circle Chart confirmed it topped 16.7 million points for the week of May 10–16, edging out REDRED during that period. These two artists have been going back and forth all month.
#4 — 갑자기 (Suddenly) / I.O.I ⬆️ +1 The I.O.I comeback continues to surprise. Sitting at #4 this week with an upward move. The nostalgia factor is doing serious work here.
#5 — 기쁨, 슬픔, 아름다운 마음 (Joy, Sorrow, A Beautiful Heart) / AKMU ⬇️ -1 Yes, AKMU has two songs in the top 5 simultaneously. Make that two songs in the top five for multiple consecutive weeks. I don't know what else to say. They're just built different.
Comeback Spotlight: CORTIS — The Group That Doesn't Play It Safe
If you haven't caught up on CORTIS yet, here's the fast version: five-member HYBE boy group (Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, Keonho), debuted August 2025, already one of the fastest-rising acts in recent K-pop history.
Their second EP GREENGREEN dropped May 4th — and the numbers are hard to argue with. First-week sales hit 2,313,291 copies, their debut album on the Billboard 200 at #3, and REDRED became the first song by a boy group debuting in the last five years to crack Spotify's Weekly Top Songs Global chart (debuting at #103 for the week of April 24).
The album's concept is almost aggressively anti-concept: green for what they're chasing, red for what they're rejecting. Musically it leans into scuzzy bass, raw production, and a kind of deliberate messiness that feels genuinely different from most of what's on the K-pop landscape right now. Martin described it as: "We don't like to play it safe. We don't give a damn." And the sales suggest a lot of people are into that energy.
The six-track EP includes TNT, REDRED, ACAI, YOUNGCREATORCREW, Wassup, and Blue Lips — and if you've only heard the title track, the rest of the album goes even harder in places.
Personal Take: I'll be honest — REDRED wasn't an instant love for me. The bassline almost felt confrontational the first listen. Then I played it again. And again. By the third time I completely understood why it's been glued to #1. It's one of those songs that earns you rather than charms you. CORTIS might be the most interesting new act to watch this year.
Chart Mover of the Week: I.O.I — 갑자기
I.O.I at #4. In 2026. Let that sink in.
The original project group reunited and released 갑자기 (Suddenly), and it's been quietly climbing all month. It's not challenging the top three — but it doesn't need to. It's the kind of re-entry that proves original fandoms never really disappear, they just wait. The fact that this is charting alongside brand new acts says something real about K-pop's generational depth.
If you were around during the Produce 101 era, this one's going to hit you somewhere specific.
Quick Mentions
YENA – 캐치 캐치 (Catch Catch) holds at #6. Choi Yena has been remarkably consistent this year — this song has been on the chart for weeks now without making a fuss about it.
AKMU double chart sweep: 소문의 낙원 was actually the #1 song on Circle Chart for the week of May 10–16 with 16,780,488 points, ahead of CORTIS's REDRED at 16,090,087 and ILLIT at 14,606,920. So depending on the chart you're looking at, AKMU could be making the stronger argument for the top spot right now.
What to Watch Next Week
CORTIS is performing at Olympic Park (KSPO Dome and 88 Lawn Field) June 6–7 — the closest thing to a headline moment for the group since their debut. Expect some chart movement around that weekend as casual listeners rediscover REDRED.
Also keeping an eye on ILLIT — It's Me has been climbing steadily and might have another push left in it.
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