The K-pop hierarchy just got its weekly report card — and the results are stacked. 3The Korea Music Content Association has announced the results for week 22 of 2026, from the period of May 24th to May 30th, highlighting strong performances from CORTIS, aespa, and BTS.3 CORTIS and aespa each achieved double crowns on the chart, while BTS topped the Global K-pop Chart. Meanwhile, ALPHA DRIVE ONE and ILLIT dominated the download and social charts respectively. Here’s the full breakdown.
Table of Contents
This Week’s Circle Chart Winners — At a Glance
| Chart | No. 1 | Song / Album |
|---|---|---|
| 📀 Physical Album Chart | aespa | LEMONADE |
| 📊 Overall Digital Chart | CORTIS | REDRED |
| 🎧 Streaming Chart | CORTIS | REDRED |
| ⬇️ Digital Download Chart | ALPHA DRIVE ONE | OMG! |
| 🌍 Global K-Pop Chart | BTS | SWIM |
| 💬 Social Chart | ILLIT | — |
Physical Album Chart — aespa’s “LEMONADE” Reigns Supreme
1 aespa topped this week’s physical album chart with their new album “LEMONADE,” which debuted at No. 1. 3 The album recorded 926,543 copies in physical sales on the Album Chart and 321,596 copies on the Retail Album Chart.
| Rank | Artist | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | aespa | LEMONADE | Debut week — double crown (Album + Retail) |
| 🥈 2 | AND2BLE | Sequence 01: Curiosity (Regular) | Debut mini album |
| 🥉 3 | XLOV | I,God | Debut |
| 4 | CORTIS | GREENGREEN (Weverse) | Re-entry |
| 5 | AND2BLE | Sequence 01: Curiosity (POCA) | Separate charting |
1 AND2BLE claimed two spots in this week’s top five with their debut mini album “Sequence 01: Curiosity.” The regular version of the mini album entered the chart at No. 2, and the POCA version charted separately at No. 5. 3 aespa secured first place on both the Album Chart and Retail Album Chart with their second full-length album LEMONADE. 3 Total combined sales for all versions (CD and Nemo editions) reached 990,923 copies on the Album Chart TOP100 and 335,530 copies on the Retail Album Chart TOP50.
Overall Digital Chart & 🎧 Streaming Chart — CORTIS’s Double Crown Continues
1 CORTIS maintained their double crown on the Circle charts this week, with their hit song “REDRED” remaining No. 1 on both the overall digital chart and the streaming chart. 3 CORTIS topped both the Digital Chart (Circle Index: 18,323,046) and Streaming Chart for a second consecutive week with their mini album title track REDRED.
Streaming Chart Top 5
| Rank | Artist | Song | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | CORTIS | REDRED | ➡️ Same as last week |
| 🥈 2 | ILLIT | It’s Me | ➡️ Same as last week |
| 🥉 3 | AKMU | Paradise of Rumors | ➡️ Same as last week |
| 4 | I.O.I | Suddenly | ⬆️ +75 ranks |
| 5 | HANRORO | Landing in Love | — |
1 The top three songs on this week’s streaming chart were exactly the same as last week: CORTIS’s “REDRED” came in at No. 1, ILLIT’s “It’s Me” at No. 2, and AKMU’s “Paradise of Rumors” at No. 3.
The biggest mover? 1I.O.I’s “Suddenly” jumped an impressive 75 ranks to take No. 4 for the week, with HANRORO’s “Landing in Love” rounding out the top five. The reunion effect is real — I.O.I’s 10th-anniversary comeback is clearly resonating with listeners.
Overall Digital Chart Top 5
| Rank | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | CORTIS | REDRED |
| 🥈 2 | ILLIT | It’s Me |
| 🥉 3 | I.O.I | Suddenly |
| 4 | AKMU | Paradise of Rumors |
| 5 | — | — |
1 ILLIT’s “It’s Me” also maintained its position at No. 2 on the overall digital chart. 1 I.O.I’s “Suddenly” shot to No. 3 on this week’s chart, while AKMU’s “Paradise of Rumors” stayed strong.
Digital Download Chart — ALPHA DRIVE ONE’s “OMG!” Dominates
1 ALPHA DRIVE ONE’s new title track “OMG!” debuted at No. 1 on the digital download chart, while AND2BLE’s debut track “Curious” entered the chart at No. 2.
| Rank | Artist | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | ALPHA DRIVE ONE | OMG! | New debut |
| 🥈 2 | AND2BLE | Curious | Debut track |
| 🥉 3 | I.O.I | Suddenly | Holding strong |
| 4 | IDID | FLY! | — |
| 5 | aespa | LEMONADE | New debut |
1 I.O.I’s “Suddenly” held steady at No. 3, followed by IDID’s “FLY!” at No. 4. 1 Finally, aespa’s new title track “LEMONADE” debuted at No. 5.
Global K-Pop Chart — BTS’s “SWIM” Continues to Reign
1 The top five songs on this week’s global K-pop chart remained exactly the same as last week. BTS’s “SWIM” held onto its spot at No. 1, trailed by HUNTR/X’s “Golden” (from the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack) at No. 2.
| Rank | Artist | Song | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | BTS | SWIM | ➡️ Holding No. 1 |
| 🥈 2 | HUNTR/X | Golden | ➡️ Same |
| 🥉 3 | CORTIS | REDRED | ➡️ Same |
| 4 | ILLIT | It’s Me | ➡️ Same |
| 5 | Rosé & Bruno Mars | APT. | ➡️ Same |
1 The top 5 also included CORTIS’s “REDRED” at No. 3, ILLIT’s “It’s Me” at No. 4, and BLACKPINK’s Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” at No. 5.
BTS’s global dominance with “SWIM” from the ARIRANG album shows no signs of slowing down, maintaining its position as the most consumed K-pop track globally for yet another week.
Social Chart — ILLIT Takes the Crown From BTS
1 ILLIT rose to No. 1 on this week’s social chart, followed by BTS at No. 2, aespa at No. 3, Yena at No. 4, and LE SSERAFIM at No. 5.
| Rank | Artist | Change from Last Week |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | ILLIT | ⬆️ Up from No. 2 |
| 🥈 2 | BTS | ⬇️ Down from No. 1 |
| 🥉 3 | aespa | ⬆️ Up from No. 4 |
| 4 | Yena | — |
| 5 | LE SSERAFIM | New entry |
The social chart shuffle sees ILLIT reclaim the top spot, driven by continued buzz around “It’s Me” promotions, while aespa climbed to No. 3 fueled by the LEMONADE album release.
The Biggest Trends This Week
🔥 CORTIS — The Unstoppable Rookies
CORTIS’s “REDRED” continues to dominate, holding the No. 1 position on both the digital and streaming charts for a consecutive week. The Big Hit Music rookies are proving that their debut momentum is only accelerating — with simultaneous presence on the physical chart (GREENGREEN re-entry at No. 4) and the global chart (No. 3).
🌸 I.O.I — The Reunion Effect
The 10th-anniversary reunion is delivering chart results. 1I.O.I’s “Suddenly” jumped an impressive 75 ranks to take No. 4 on the streaming chart for the week. The track also held No. 3 on the download chart and climbed on the overall digital chart — proving that nostalgia combined with genuine musical quality is a winning formula.
🍋 aespa — LEMONADE is a Physical Monster
3 The album recorded 926,543 copies in physical sales on the Album Chart, with total combined sales for all versions reaching 990,923 copies on the Album Chart TOP100. Nearly crossing the million-copy threshold in a single tracking week is massive — and the album simultaneously debuted on the download chart at No. 5.
This Week vs. Last Week — Chart Movement Summary
| Chart | Last Week’s No. 1 | This Week’s No. 1 | Change? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Album | LE SSERAFIM (PUREFLOW pt.1) | aespa (LEMONADE) | 🔄 New champion |
| Overall Digital | CORTIS (REDRED) | CORTIS (REDRED) | ➡️ Same |
| Streaming | CORTIS (REDRED) | CORTIS (REDRED) | ➡️ Same |
| Digital Download | Various new entries | ALPHA DRIVE ONE (OMG!) | 🔄 New champion |
| Global K-Pop | BTS (SWIM) | BTS (SWIM) | ➡️ Same |
| Social | BTS | ILLIT | 🔄 New champion |
What Is the Circle Chart?
Circle Chart (formerly known as Gaon Chart) is South Korea’s national music chart, operated by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). It tracks album sales, digital downloads, streaming numbers, and social media engagement to create the most comprehensive picture of Korean music consumption.
The chart is considered the official measurement for K-pop sales and streams — equivalent to Billboard in the US or Oricon in Japan. Awards shows like MMA, MAMA, and the Golden Disc Awards all use Circle Chart data for their nominations and award calculations.
For a complete overview of Circle Chart’s methodology and history, visit the official Circle Chart Wikipedia page.
What to Watch Next Week
With tripleS’s “Baby Flower” winning on Show Champion, TREASURE’s “IF I” crossing 1 million first-week sales, and MEOVV’s “DDI RO RI” in full promotional mode — the Week 23 Circle Chart battle is going to be fierce. Key questions include:
- Will CORTIS maintain their streaming crown? REDRED has held No. 1 for consecutive weeks, but new competition is incoming
- Can aespa hold the physical chart? TREASURE and MEOVV both had massive first-week sales
- Will I.O.I continue climbing? The 75-rank jump this week suggests even higher positions ahead
- BTS’s global reign — How long can “SWIM” hold the global chart summit?
👉 Also Read: Latest K-Pop & Music News on TechnoSports
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FAQs
Q: Who topped the Circle Weekly Charts for the week of May 24–30, 2026?
3 CORTIS and aespa each achieved double crowns on the chart, while BTS topped the Global K-pop Chart. CORTIS led both the digital and streaming charts with “REDRED,” aespa topped both the physical album and retail album charts with “LEMONADE,” ALPHA DRIVE ONE debuted at No. 1 on the download chart, and ILLIT led the social chart.
Q: How many copies did aespa’s “LEMONADE” sell on this week’s Circle Chart?
3 The album recorded 926,543 copies in physical sales on the Album Chart and 321,596 copies on the Retail Album Chart. Total combined sales for all versions reached 990,923 copies on the Album Chart TOP100.
