The Number That Ruled the First Half: IVE's 'BANG BANG'

In three lines

• On July 9, Melon released its 2026 first-half wrap-up. The number that ruled the first half belongs to IVE's 'BANG BANG'.
• A pre-release double title track from their 2nd full album 'REVIVE+', it spent six straight weeks at No. 1 on Melon's weekly chart and 40 days atop the daily chart.
• IVE and AKMU both had a strong first half, and the return of house music emerged as one of the year's chart keywords.

Let's start with the numbers. IVE's 'BANG BANG' was a pre-release double title track from 'REVIVE+', the group's 2nd full album, out February 9. On February 24 it pulled off a Perfect All-Kill (PAK) — sweeping every major domestic chart at once — and that momentum never let up through the whole first half.

The records 'BANG BANG' set

Metric	Record
Melon weekly chart	6 weeks at No. 1
Melon daily chart	40 days at No. 1 (longest for a 2026 release)
Perfect All-Kill	Achieved Feb 24
Album	2nd full album 'REVIVE+' (Feb 9)

A single song holding on for half a year isn't a common thing on today's charts. When new releases pour out almost daily, 40 days atop the daily chart can't be explained by fandom firepower alone. It means the wider public kept it on repeat.

IVE debuted in 2021 with 'ELEVEN', then rose quickly to the top tier with songs like 'LOVE DIVE' and 'I AM'. That their 2nd full album — arriving in their fifth year — turned into a run this long is a sign the group has moved past the flash-hit stage into something steadier: a group that keeps winning listeners over.

How the first half shook out

Alongside IVE, AKMU also landed on Melon's first-half wrap-up. On the genre side, the return of house stood out. Bright synths riding a steady four-on-the-floor beat and a hook that keeps coming back — the mellow "easy listening" wave of a few years ago seems to have shifted this year toward house, the more danceable side. It's a genre that pairs well with summer, too.

There were surprises, too. Girl group RESCENE saw its Melon search volume jump 6,550% in a single day, leaping from No. 904 to No. 1. When one short clip gets a particular song talked about, the rankings can flip overnight — a scene that captures how today's charts work.

One song that held on for half a year, and a ranking that flipped in a day. The charts are still alive and moving.

Right now

If the wrap-up is the record of the first half, the chart right now is the start of the second. Here's how the top of this week's chart looks.

Rank	Song
1	CORTIS 'REDRED' (5th week at No. 1)
2	aespa 'LEMONADE'
3	ILLIT 'It's Me'

That's the last of the numbers. Now, the music. Records get broken eventually, but the memory of a summer when everyone was humming the same song — that stays. This summer, what was your No. 1 of the year so far?