"Love Options," a song by girl group BESTie, who disbanded in 2018, is staging an unexpected chart reversal by entering Melon's TOP100.
As of 9 a.m. on September 28, "Love Options" climbed to No. 64 on the Melon TOP100. Released in 2013, the song has broken into South Korea's largest music streaming chart 13 years after its release and eight years after the group disbanded. The track also placed at No. 7 on Apple Music Korea's TOP100 and No. 20 on YouTube Music's Weekly TOP100. It also made the charts in Singapore, Vietnam, and Taiwan, ranking in their respective TOP100s.
On the global music recognition platform Shazam, the track peaked at No. 1 on the South Korea chart and recently hit No. 1 on charts in Thailand and Vietnam as well. On the iTunes Taiwan chart, it reached No. 11. Cumulative streams on YouTube Music have surpassed 33 million, while the music video's view count has exceeded 19.3 million.
The song's resurgence began on short-form video platforms. Approximately 30,000 clips on YouTube Shorts, 570,000 on TikTok, and 40,000 on Instagram Reels have been created using the audio. "Love Options" features witty, straightforward lyrics about ideal partner traits, paired with an upbeat melody and an intuitive chorus. Online users who came across the content shared responses like, "It still sounds great and doesn't feel outdated at all," and "I can't believe it's already been 13 years."
BESTie debuted on July 12, 2013, as a four-member girl group under YNB Entertainment. Their group name is short for "BEST friend," reflecting their desire to be an approachable group like a close friend. During their career, they released tracks including "Pitapat," "Love Options," "I Need You," "Hot Baby," and "Excuse Me."
Following the disbandment, the members ventured onto separate paths. Hyeyeon transitioned into a trot singer, competing on "Miss Trot 2" in 2021 and earning the nickname "Trot Squirrel" for her cute looks. UJI has been active as a singer and musical actor, appearing in stage productions such as "Frida" and "Frozen." Dahye became a YouTube creator after parting ways with the group and drew widespread attention on "EXchange 3," which began airing in 2023. Haeryung transitioned into acting and is currently working under the stage name Han Da Ra.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)