ILLIT / Courtesy of BELIFT LAB
Short-form platforms are changing the nature of K-pop. While overall quality and musical flow once defined a song’s success, a 15-second “killing part” can now determine whether a track goes viral or fades away, pushing K-pop songs to become noticeably shorter, to the point where even three minutes can feel too long.
Chorus first, built for challenges
ILLIT’s “Not Cute Anymore,” which gained traction on short-form platforms, runs just 2 minutes and 12 seconds. Other songs popular on such platforms are similarly short, all falling under the three-minute mark: Le Sserafim’s “Spaghetti” runs 2 minutes and 53 seconds, BLACKPINK’s “Jump” 2 minutes and 45 seconds, Jennie’s “Like Jennie” 2 minutes and 4 seconds, Hearts2Hearts’ “Focus” 2 minutes and 58 seconds, and TWS “Overdrive” 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
The compact length is driven by structural changes that minimize introductory sections and move quickly to the chorus, reflecting the nature of short-form platforms, where content needs to hook users immediately.
The shift has been developing in K-pop for some time, as dance challenges built around a song’s chorus have become central to its success. While musical flow still matters to some degree, the deciding factor is increasingly how much attention a 15-second section in the chorus attracts — and how often it is reused and spread through short-form content.
The same trend is visible in data from global music platforms. According to Chartmetric, a music data analytics platform, newer songs that rank at the top of the charts tend to be shorter and reach the chorus more quickly.
Hearts2Hearts / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Album success depends on short-form virality
A report published by TikTok and music data company Luminate found that 84 percent of songs on the Billboard Global 200 first went viral on TikTok. The report also showed that 96 percent of artists exhibited a correlation between TikTok views and streaming performance on music platforms.
The pattern is not limited to Billboard charts. A considerable portion of songs currently on the Melon Top 100 — South Korea’s leading domestic streaming chart — gained attention after being used in dance challenges or other short-form content following their release.
Facing these changes, entertainment agencies are also rushing to adopt marketing strategies centered around short-form content. Agencies now release challenge videos ahead of the song itself, collaborate with other artists on dance challenges and quickly respond to popular fan-created short-form content to amplify viral momentum.
Industry observers note that, unlike in the past when songs gained popularity after their release, trends and attention generated through short-form content increasingly drive album sales and public reception.
TWS / Courtesy of PLEDIS Entertainment
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reached a similar conclusion in a report, stating that short-form platforms have increasingly become a major channel for discovering and listening to new music.
Repeated exposure to a short video featuring a specific section of a song, the report said, can lead to wider recognition, resulting in more streaming and album sales — a trend that is continuing to influence the sound of K-pop.
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.