Fans Defend “Nugu” Boy Group Facing Payola Accusations Over Their Chart Performance

In late March, BE:LIFT Lab‘s girl group ILLIT made their debut following the successful survival show R U NEXT?

ILLIT’s title track, “Magnetic,” is a catchy and fun song, which has been reflected in the group’s chart performance.  Since its release, the song has remained at the top of many of Korea’s charts, making them the first-ever girl group to debut on Spotify’s Global Chart the same day as its release.

ILLIT have also made big moves on Billboard‘s charts, ranking on multiple.

.@ILLIT_official is now the only kpop group to reach the top 10 of Billboard Global 200 in their debut.#ILLIT #아일릿 pic.twitter.com/vhWuirZgeK

— ILLIT CHARTS (@illitchart) April 8, 2024

On April 9, KST, the group were very close to achieving a Real All-Time Kill, or RAK. A RAK occurs when a group’s song hits #1 on all the “real-time” or hourly music charts.

However, the group ranked number 2 on the Bugs chart, shocking many fans.

.@ILLIT_official "Magnetic" — 12AM KST

#1 MelOn [=]
#1 FLO [+1] *new peak*
#1 Genie [=]
#2 Bugs [-1]#ILLIT #아일릿

— ILLIT CHARTS (@illitchart) April 8, 2024

ARE YOU FUCKINH KIDDING ME https://t.co/tQshPivQoS

— super real ivy ɴ/α (@jeongeunfart) April 8, 2024

WHAT GHE HELL https://t.co/QJEsCfIVhc

— 섬 (@icatseo) April 8, 2024

why this is so funny (I'm laughing ironically) likeee when flo finally moved, i hate it here https://t.co/bKfHYvjUPg

— Vii (@luviolette_) April 8, 2024

Sometimes, popular solo singers will rank higher than K-Pop groups, but in this case, a boy group caused the lower rank!

In 2017, the boy group ONF debuted under WM Entertainment before its acquisition by RBW.

The group has remained active through the years, drawing attention with their appearance on Road To Kingdom and how they handled their military enlistments. ONF has since returned to activities, including their most recent release, “Bye My Shadow.”

“Bye My Shadow” is the track that ranked #1 over “Magnetic,” leading a small minority to make allegations against ONF’s success. Some claimed that ” payola ” led to the “nugu” group’s #1, which fans defended against.

rbwm dgaf enough to payola for onf I promise… not their fault they make good and appealing music https://t.co/nFCS4gpNZ2

— 吃人 (@lovermonth) April 9, 2024

kfuses are just good at streaming and it was at 12am on BUGS so definitely not fraudulent https://t.co/2eTLfs8X5A

— (@atbonf) April 8, 2024

Bruh, WM is too broke for payola because they spent it all on the orchestra for a mere MCountdown performance. MCountdown doesn't even deserve to be graced by ONF's performance because it deserves to be in Korea's music & arts museum. https://t.co/ARM5OhnJPw

— Momo (@Mom0151806) April 9, 2024

Luckily, most know that the charts constantly change, especially with new releases. ILLIT have since gotten their RAK, as well!

[REAL TIME ALL-KILL] ILLIT “Magnetic” 02AM KST Update:

#1 MelOn (=)
#1 Genie (=)
#1 Flo (+1)
#1 Bugs (=)

— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) April 9, 2024

Congratulations to both of these talented groups for their chart success!