KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – K-Pop boy band Infinite became the first Korean music group to chart No. 1 on Billboard’s Twitter Emerging Artists chart for the week of Sept. 20, 2014 with their song “Last Romeo,” the promotional track off of their second full album entitled Season 2.
According to the official Billboard website, the weekly Emerging Artists chart ranks the top 50 most shared songs on Twitter in the U.S. by “up-and-coming artists” over a seven day period. This includes artists with fewer than 50,000 Twitter followers who have also not appeared in the top 50 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
Inspired by the music and sounds of the 80s, “Last Romeo” was originally dropped back in late May. Four months after its round of promotions, Infinite brought the track back into conversation when they released a “dance practice” video through their company’s official YouTube channel, showcasing their famous synchronized choreography and launching the seven member band into multiple Billboard charts.
There is, however, an issue involving the chart rules and the fact that Infinite, like many other K-Pop bands, has multiple Twitter accounts. Many would claim that @Official_IFNT is the group’s “official” Twitter because it is used for their Korean and International activities, which make up the bulk of their promotions. This account has over 154K followers and therefore breaks the “less than 50,000 followers” rule set by Billboard. Infinite was technically eligible to enter the chart through their Japanese promotional account, @INFINITE_UM, that has only 20K followers.
After claiming No.1, Infinite is still currently on the Emerging Artists chart for their fourth week in a row, ranking No. 45. Although they have yet to break into the Billboard Top 100, Infinite achieved major accomplishments with “Last Romeo.” The track also ranked No. 33 in the Twitter Top Tracks, surpassing other Korean artist Girls’ Generation, as well as other renowned American acts such as Miley Cyrus, Jason Derulo, and Chris Brown.