AI-vocal song hits No. 1 on Melon, a first for K-pop, beating Rescene

A song with AI-generated vocals has just done something no AI-assisted track in K-pop had done before: it hit No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 chart.

As of 5 p.m. on 13 November, "Did You Become the Adult You Dreamed Of?" by an artist called Meomureu (머무르) sat at the top of Melon, South Korea's best-known music streaming platform. It pushed past the new single "With" by Rescene.

What happened?

The song came out in June, so it took roughly five months to reach the summit. It is a familiar-sounding rock ballad with relatable lyrics. One line goes, roughly: "Did you become the adult you dreamed of? Worries you didn't know as a kid settle quietly on your shoulders."

The vocals weren't sung by a person. They were generated by Suno, a generative AI music tool that has let people make songs with AI vocals from text prompts since December 2023.

Meomureu says the planning, the lyrics and the overall production direction were their own work. In the song description, the artist calls AI "a modern instrument" and a partner that helps turn imagination into reality.

Why is everyone talking about it?

Melon's Top 100 is one of the most closely watched popularity measures in Korea. Even K-pop acts with huge fandoms struggle to get in at the top.

This time, the AI-assisted song beat Rescene (No. 2), A2O Light (No. 3) and ILLIT (No. 5).

The listener data is interesting too. According to Melon, people in their 30s made up the biggest group at 36%, followed by those in their 40s (30%), 20s (19%) and 50s (11%).

What's next?

Music critic Jung Min-jae says the AI wave in pop was expected, since film and TV already use AI widely. Musicians and songwriters probably won't welcome an AI song at No. 1, he said, but human creators will have to focus on making even better music.

Whether this is a one-off or the start of a trend is still an open question. For now, one AI-vocal ballad is sitting above some of K-pop's biggest names.