Power of short-form videos sends 13-year-old K-pop song up the charts

“We wanted so badly to make the top 100 when we were promoting this song. I never imagined it would climb the charts all these years later…”

Former BESTie member Uji shared her excitement on social media after “Love Options” entered the charts on Melon, Korea’s largest music streaming platform, 13 years after its release.

Released in 2013 as the group’s second single, “Love Options” is enjoying the attention that eluded it during BESTie’s active years. In a music scene flooded with new releases, such belated breakthroughs are rare. Their unpredictability is also part of the appeal: There is no telling when an old song will catch on or what will set it off.

“Love Options” entered Melon’s daily chart on Aug. 27 and climbed to No. 175 as of Sept. 7. It has also appeared on Apple Music’s Top 100 chart for Korea and YouTube Music’s weekly chart, while reaching No. 1 on music recognition service Shazam’s charts in both Korea and Vietnam.

The spark was a fan-made short video that paired a performance of Hearts2Hearts’ “Lemon Tang” with “Love Options.” The newer girl group’s choreography fit the older track’s melody so well that the mashup earned the nickname “Lemon Tang March.”

Viewers began searching for and streaming the song, helping push it up the charts. More than 180,000 TikTok posts have used the track, which has also ranked among trending audio on Instagram Reels.

The upbeat, instantly memorable melody helped it catch on with a generation of listeners discovering it for the first time. Its growing reputation as a guilty pleasure also helped spread the word.

BESTie’s former members have joined in the revival. Hyeyeon, who now performs as a trot singer, filmed a short video of the “Love Options” choreography with Haeryung, the group’s youngest member. Dahye, also known for her appearance on the dating show “EXchange,” referenced the song’s lyrics in a video with her boyfriend, Dong-jin.

The phenomenon extends beyond songs overlooked on their original release. AOA’s “Miniskirt,” a hit in 2014, returned to the spotlight last October after creator Ponggwi used it as the soundtrack to a series of story-driven short videos that went viral.

“Miniskirt” was already a hit when it came out in 2014, but its return 11 years later showed how an old favorite could find an audience in an entirely new context, and how the renewed attention can bring tangible rewards. During a radio appearance in June, AOA’s Jimin said she had received a substantial windfall in royalties.

“The royalty payments were really generous,” she said. “It felt like suddenly getting a big chunk of pocket money.”

She added that the earnings had helped her prepare a new album, showing how a revival sparked by short videos could even help fund new music.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.