[Music Talk Talk] WINNER’s 1000 Days After its Debut
[OSEN=이소담 기자] It seems that WINNER’s “REALLY REALLY” will not likely to go down the charts although it’s been a month since the song was released. May 12 marks the 1000th day since WINNER first went up on the stage for its debut performance. The group is proving once again that it is a group that will last for a long time.
The beginning of WINNER was on Mnet’s survival program “WIN: WHO IS NEXT”, a show that aired in 2013 to create a new YG boy group. KANG SEUNGYOON, SONG MINHO, KIM JINWOO, LEE SEUNGHOON, and NAM TAEHYUN were members of TEAM A, and their team won the show. The members each had different backgrounds and different stories to tell: KANG SEUNGYOON was on Mnet’s Super Star K, LEE SEUNGHOON was on SBS’s K Pop Star, KIM JINWOO was the oldest YG trainee at that time, SONG MINHO had been preparing to debut as a Block B member and even debuted as a member of a ballad group before joining YG.
On August 17, 2014, WINNER put on its debut stage on SBS’s Inkigayo and performed “EMPTY”, the title track of its debut album “2014 S/S”. The song swept the charts and gave WINNER the nickname of “monster rookie” by making WINNER win the No.1 spot on music show charts in the shortest time in history.
WINNER topped the charts with its debut song, but members did not become complacent and kept on honing their skills. SONG MINHO appeared on Mnet’s Show Me The Money 4 and became the runner-up, breaking the stereotypical image of idol rappers. He also appeared in Na Young Suk’s variety show and gained great popularity. WINNER had its share of difficulties when NAM TAEHYUN left the group, but they came back with force. By releasing “FATE NUMBER FOR” album on April 4 after a 14-month break, WINNER proved that it still has what it takes to make it to the top.
WINNER has won five music show trophies, including its first Inkigayo trophy in almost three years, with its new song “REALLY REALLY” and topped the online charts. WINNER is now going viral globally as its album became No.1 on the iTunes chart of 21 countries and been chosen as Apple Music’s Best of the Week. A stronger and firmer WINNER is attracting a flow of new fans.
It is also noteworthy that WINNER’s song is still high up on the charts despite fierce competition from other popular musicians. It’s is not easy to be up high on the charts even for a day these days, but WINNER is proving that good songs defy those rules with a song that members themselves participated in making.
“REALLY REALLY” climbed up on the charts again and took the No.3 spot on Melon’s realtime chart last week. As of May 15, the song ranks No.5. The reason why the song is doing so well on the charts is partly due to the fact that Yang Se Hyun sang “REALLY REALLY” on MBC’s Inifinite Challenge on May 6 and Yoo Jae Suk introduced the song as the No.1 chart song.
WINNER experienced quite a journey during the past 1000 days after its debut. We know that WINNER members worked so hard even before their debut, and that’s why we wish that everything will turn out good for them.
2017. 5. 12.
