Ssak 3 debuts on ‘Show! Music Core’ with record ratings

Ssak 3 made their debut on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” on Saturday, after sweeping the music charts with their song, “Beach Again.”

The trio, made up of entertainer Yoo Jae-suk, singers Lee Hyo-ri and Rain, performed their songs “Beach Again” and “In Summer,” on the weekly live music show Saturday afternoon, bringing a ’90s vibe to the K-pop idol stage.

“Show! Music Core” reached its highest viewership rating of the year -- 2.1 percent -- with Ssak 3’s appearance, according to Nielsen Korea. The show usually has around a one percent viewership rating.

Before the program started, the trio held an online fan meeting after their rehearsal to talk about reaching the top of the music charts with “Beach Again.“ Over 70,000 people tuned in to the livestream.

“Reaching the number one spot on the music charts these days is very difficult, even though we are doing this through a television program. I sincerely thank everyone for making the impossible happen,” said Yoo during Saturday’s online fan meeting.

MBC’s “Hangout with Yoo” on Saturday premiered the music video for “Beach Again” and showed how it was made. The video, uploaded concurrently on YouTube, had over 3 million views as of noon on Monday. “Play that Summer,” released on the same date, also reached the top spot on various music charts.

Solo songs by each member of Ssak 3 are scheduled to be released during the show‘s next episode. Ssak 3 will appear on Mnet’s music program “M Countdown” on Thursday.

By Lim Jang-won (ljw@heraldcorp.com)