Rookie girl group ILLIT’s song “Magnetic” landed on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the first debut track by a K-pop act to make the list.

“Magnetic” sat at No. 91 on Billboard’s ranking of the most popular songs in the United States for the week of April 20, according to ILLIT’s agency, Belift Lab, in a press release on Tuesday.

The Billboard Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, online streaming and radio airplay in the United States, and YouTube music video views to calculate its rankings.

“Magnetic” is the lead track of ILLIT’s debut EP “Super Real Me,” which was released on March 25. It is a fusion of plugg, R&B and house music, according to Belift Lab.

The song also landed on Spotify’s Daily Top Song Global chart on the day of its release, and later on the streaming platform’s Weekly Top Song chart for the United States. It has stayed on the Official UK Singles Chart Top 100 for two weeks ever since landing in the rankings on April 4.

Belift Lab attributes ILLIT's success to the group’s relatable and honest portrayal of teenage girls throughout its music, performances, visuals, concept and promotional strategies.

This is proven by the popularity of tracks from “Super Real Me” among teenagers on short form platforms like TikTok, according to the label.

“The album was made with what the members said in interviews and their stories in mind,” Belift Lab said.

“The album doesn’t show off girls who are ahead of the times and instead illuminates girls who you want to hang out with, hyper fixate on moments and dream of fantasies with. Visually, the members’ quirky, lively and natural charms were emphasized.”

The music and choreography were also created with short video formats in mind, such as for dance challenge videos.

"‘Magnetic’ being the pluggnb [plugg and R&B] genre makes it optimal for use in short-form videos such as one-minute dance challenges,” Belift Lab said.

“The choreography expresses the way magnets’ south and north seeking poles stick, then separate. It uses basic hip-hop steps and rhythmical movements to capture ILLIT’s whimsical and animated spirit in a kitsch way. It’s a dance that anyone can easily follow.”

To find out more about ILLIT, visit Celeb Confirmed!


BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]