Singer-songwriter IU is the most beloved domestic artist of the past two decades. (Image courtesy of Melon)
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s leading music streaming platform, Melon, revealed that singer-songwriter IU is the most beloved domestic artist of the past two decades, while Paul Kim’s ballad “Every Day, Every Moment” ranks as the most frequently added song to playlists.
The data, released Monday, is based on an analysis of Melon’s archive service, Music Drawer, which compiles users’ listening habits from playlists, likes, and fan connections over the platform’s 20-year history.
Melon users have created over 102 million playlists, featuring around 12.84 million songs by 1.13 million artists. The cumulative number of song additions across all playlists surpassed 8.15 billion.
IU topped the list, appearing 91.85 million times across 16.97 million playlists. BTS followed in second place, featured 68.1 million times in 9.5 million playlists.
Paul Kim’s “Every Day, Every Moment” emerged as the single most-added track, included 3.93 million times in playlists created by 2.13 million users. The song has also remained in Melon’s annual Top 100 chart for seven consecutive years since its release in 2018.
IU’s “Through the Night” ranked second, with 3.44 million playlist additions by 1.92 million users, while BTS’s “Spring Day” took third place, appearing in over 3.07 million playlists. Notably, “Spring Day” holds the record for the longest chart presence and the highest streaming count on Melon to date.
In the international category, Maroon 5 and Justin Bieber were the most popular foreign artists. Maroon 5 led in total song additions (23.08 million across 7.65 million playlists), while Bieber topped the playlist count with 8.4 million playlists featuring his tracks a total of 22.41 million times.
The most frequently added foreign song was Anne-Marie’s “2002”, which topped Melon’s international year-end charts for two consecutive years and remained in the Top 20 for six straight years through 2024, underscoring its enduring popularity.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
