ILLIT earns double platinum certification from Japan Record Association

ILLIT setting new record for fastest female group

By KTimes

K-pop girl group ILLIT’s debut song "Magnetic" has been certified double platinum by the Japan Record Association.

According to the association on Thursday, "Magnetic," the title track of ILLIT’s debut mini album "Super Real Me," surpassed 200 million cumulative streams as of January, earning a double platinum certification in the streaming category.

The achievement comes just 10 months after the song’s release, setting a new record for the shortest time a girl group — domestic or international — has reached this milestone in Japan.

Previously, "Magnetic" was certified platinum (100 million streams) within just three months, also the fastest for a female group. The song continued to gain traction, reaching 200 million streams in just seven months, further proving its widespread popularity.

ILLIT’s success with "Magnetic" extended across Japan’s major music charts. The song ranked highest among international artists on Billboard Japan’s Hot 100 and NTV’s Year-End Music Awards and was the only K-pop track included in the LINE Music Trend Awards 2024.

On the strength of these achievements, ILLIT won the Best New Artist Award at the 66th Japan Record Awards, marking the first time in 13 years that a K-pop girl group had received the honor.

The group’s latest release, "Almond Chocolate," their first original Japanese track and the theme song for the film "I Don’t Like You Just for Your Face" (translated from the Korean title), has also been well received by local fans.

Upon release on Feb. 14, the song topped AWA Music’s real-time rising chart and Spotify Japan’s daily viral chart. It is rare for a K-pop girl group, especially one that has yet to officially debut in Japan, to be selected as the theme song artist for a Japanese film.

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