IVE tops Japanese annual charts...global popularity peaks

"Generation MZ wannabe icons" IVE (An Yu-jin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Won-young, Liz, and Leeseo) have once again proven their global influence as they dominate major Japanese music charts.

According to the 2024 Annual Chart released by Billboard Japan, IVE.'s second Japanese album, "ALIVE," ranked No. 21 on the Hot Albums chart and No. 19 on the Top Album Sales chart. In addition, Ive's strong local presence is evident in the Artist 100 chart, where he debuted at No. 44.

Along with this, IVE's second EP album 'IVE SWITCH', which was released in Korea, was also named as one of the '25 Best K-Pop Albums of 2024' by Billboard in the U.S., recognizing his popularity and musicality both at home and abroad.

Ive's performance was also notable in Japan's Tower Records annual chart. On the "2024 Best-Selling K-Pop Top 20," "ALIVE" ranked No. 8 and "IVE SWITCH" ranked No. 14, making IVE the only girl group to have both Korean and Japanese albums on the list. Tower Records noted that "ALIVE" topped the Oricon Daily Album Chart (August 28-30) immediately after its release, setting a new record for the group, surpassing the sales of their first Japanese album "WAVE" released last year.

Ive also topped the K POP/World Sales chart in Japan, and the album topped the Daily Pre-Order Sales chart immediately after pre-sales, confirming the strong interest from local fans.

The realization of Ive's popularity came at the Japanese concert finale of her first world tour, SHOW WHAT I HAVE, at Tokyo Dome in September. It was a sold-out show with 95,000 people in attendance over two nights, and was covered by major local media outlets with front-page coverage.

Through this achievement, I HAVE has established itself as a leading K-pop act in Japan and around the world, raising expectations for future activities.