WAKER
The group WAKER has begun to truly enter the growth trajectory in the global short-form market.
The group WAKER (Kohyeon, Kwonhyeop, Ijun, Leo, Saebyeol, Sebum) reached 49th place in Korea and 28th in Japan on January 11 with the new song “Like that” in the daily popular titles ranking of YouTube Shorts, simultaneously entering the charts in both countries.
Since the short-form ranking is calculated based on actual user reactions and content consumption volume, this result shows that WAKER has secured strong media presence and a powerful fandom in both Korea and Japan. In particular, WAKER is a group that targeted Japan as a main activity area before their debut, building a local fandom centered on performances and fan meetings, and direct shots and fan content from this process spread via short-form platforms, leading to this chart success.
As WAKER, which built a solid fanbase in Japan, captured the domestic market with this comeback, they elicited a significant response in both countries, Korea and Japan. The simultaneous entry into Korean and Japanese charts also raises expectations for an expansion of activities in the global market.
The fact that an artist belonging to a mid-sized agency rather than a major agency entered a global algorithmic ranking is also remarkable. In the structure of short-form platforms, where it is difficult to spread without actual user response, WAKER’s performances carry additional significance as they were created by content competitiveness and voluntary fan consumption, rather than marketing.
Previously, WAKER made a comeback on January 8 with the mini-album “IN ELIXIR: SPELLBOUND“. This new work, with a full-album-level finish, entered 2nd place on HANTEO’s daily album chart on the day of its release, and the track “Like that” reached 23rd place on real-time trends on X, receiving global attention.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: SNS WAKER
