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K-pop rookie group Ive (Starship Entertainment) |
Surviving the cutthroat K-pop industry is a daunting challenge for any group. It has been about nine months since rookie girl group Ive began its musical career, and the six-piece act not only surviving, but thriving in the K-pop scene.
According to Aug. 22-28 data from local album sales tracker Hanteo Chart published Monday, Ive sold 924,363 copies of its third single "After Like" in the first week of its release.
While first-week sales tallies usually indicate the size and loyalty of an act's fans, Ive’s previous singles “Eleven” and “Love Dive” sold some 152,000 copies and 338,000 copies, respectively, in their first week. The act now looks to have its first million-seller title with the latest EP.
Leading the single is the title track “After Like,” which is a continuation of the act’s previous lead track “Love Dive” which is about the courage it takes to “dive into love.” Based on EDM and house, “After Like” conveys a theme of elegance and self-love, the concept that the girl group is known for.
“After Like” has topped major local music streaming sites, including Melon, Genie and Bugs. The song also sweeps global music streamers’ charts such as YouTube Music, Apple Music and Spotify, and was added to Spotify’s “New Music Friday” playlist.
Ive has achieved recognition on local music programs as well. The group won first place on SBS M and SBS FiL’s “The Show” with the song earlier this week, which led the act to hold the honor of winning first place 24 times in its musical career. It previously won 13 trophies with “Eleven” and 10 trophies with “Love Dive.”
At this year’s K Global Heart Dream Awards held in Jamsil, Seoul, on Thursday, the six-piece act also brought home two trophies in K global bonsang, which is equivalent to the award’s main prize, and K global super rookie award.
By Jie Ye-eun (
yeeun@heraldcorp.com)
