Korean Netizens Accuse TWS Of Chart Manipulation In Viral Post

A viral post on Pann has accused Pledis Entertainment boy group TWS of chart manipulation after their new song “If I’m an S, Can You Be My N” and its performance on the charts failed to meet expectations.

Recently, a post titled “TWS Confirmed for Music Chart Manipulation” has become a trending topic on the popular community site Pann. With more than 70,000 views and hundreds of comments, the post has triggered a wave of backlash towards Pledis’s rookie boy group.

TWS made their first comeback this week with the new title track, “If I’m an S, Can You Be My N.” Though fans of the group really liked the track, it seems like the wider public doesn’t have it among its favorites, as the song is struggling to stay within Melon’s TOP 100 chart. The viral post brought this to attention, stating that TWS “failed to enter the Melon Top 100, ranked 19th on the Hot 100.”

#TWS "If I'm S, Can You Be My N?" debuts at #104 on MelOn daily chart with 48,019 daily unique listeners. pic.twitter.com/rYXVvsywFI

— TWS Charts (@tws_charts) June 25, 2024

.@TWS_PLEDIS ‘If I'm S, Can You Be My N?’ – 17PM KST:

#33 Bugs (+9)
#65 Flo (-1)
#83 Genie (+12)
#99 Melon #TWS #투어스#247WithUs @TWS_PLEDIS

— TWS UPDATES (@TWS_UPDATES_) June 25, 2024

The group had previously set higher expectations, as their debut song, “Plot Twist,” charted incredibly on almost every chart and even broke multiple records. Now, netizens are wondering if those unexpected achievements were due to chart manipulation, considering their comeback song has failed to even reach the Melon TOP 100.

• “It’s the first time I’ve seen a group that was a contender for annual number one not even make it to the charts… Last time they blamed it on being a pre-release track, so what’s the excuse this time?”
• “No one is feeling threatened by TWS, though… The whole thing is just overblown. The market isn’t big, they aren’t selling albums, and their tracks aren’t consistently doing well. I’m just curious if the previous controversy was true or not.”
• “What’s going on with Pledis these days? Like, seriously? Are they short on money? TWS doesn’t even have that many fans. It’s pathetic.”
• “When a new song gets a high ranking: ‘Oh, they manipulated the charts again.’ When it gets a low ranking: ‘Oh, so their previous release was manipulated.'”
• “Fan or not, the song is just bad, so I don’t listen to it.”