K-Pop

fromis_9 won against TWICE Nayeon on music, but the score may be rigged

KOMCA Head Secretary has something to say about the suspicious wins on weekly music shows

On july 7th, fromis_9 earned the 3rd music show cup of their career with their newly-released title “Stay This Way”, winning against TWICE Nayeon. However, suspicions started to rise regarding the digital scores of “Stay This Way”, especially when Nayeon’s title “Pop!” rank way higher of Korean music platforms.

In particular, netizens pointed out that “Stay This Way” earned 5000 points in digital scores – the maximum on M Countdown.  Meanwhile, the song, despite ranking No.14 on Gaon digital chart, flunked badly in every platform, couldn’t even get into Top 100 Melon Daily nor Top 200 Genie and Flo. 

Explaining such a peculiar event, Choi Kwang Ho, the Head Secretary of KOMCA (Korean Music Copyright Association), revealed the “hack” Kpop fandoms use to get wins for their idols. In particular, fans would utilize the music platform Bugs, where registration for people under 14 years old doesn’t require verification. The fans would then sign up and fake their age to be under 14 years, download their idol song (which is reflected on the Gaon chart), then delete their account and register again. 

Choi Kwang Ho also affirmed that such a method is strictly banned according to Bugs’ registration terms, and can be considered a form of cheating on music shows.  

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