Music Show Criteria: Overview
What are music shows?
Korean music shows are TV shows that broadcast live music performances. K-Pop artists such as XLOV attend these shows to promote their music.
In addition to the live performances, music shows also have a competition aspect. Each week, songs are given scores for different categories and the song with the highest total score is the winner. The winner is announced at the end of the music show episode and the artist of the winning song receives a special trophy.
Why is winning important?
It is important for XLOV to win music shows because:
- The XLOV members have said many times that they want to get a music show win
- Winning 1st place on a music show is considered a huge achievement (especially when an artist wins for the first time) and it helps artists to gain recognition in Korea
- It may provide opportunities for XLOV such as appearing on reality and variety shows and performing at year-end award shows
- XLOV deserve rewards and recognition for their talent and hard work
Winning Criteria
Each music show has slightly different winning criteria, but they all include the following categories:
- Digitals (how a song performs on Korean music charts)
- Voting (fan voting that takes place before or during the music show broadcast)
- Broadcast (radio play and TV appearances)
- SNS (MV views on YouTube and use of the song on TikTok)
- Physicals (album sales)
Please click on the above hyperlinks and read the articles/guides in addition to this one as they provide more detailed information about each of these music show categories.
When talking about music show criteria and how much they are worth, points will be described as either "max" or "shared".
Max (short for maximum) means that the top song in that category earns the max points, and the other songs are scored lower, usually relative to how the top song performed (with some exceptions).
Shared means that the points are distributed to every song, regardless of when it was released; and the fraction of the shared points a song receives is based on how it performs in that category as a portion of the total number of streams/sales/etc across all music during the tracking period.
For more details, see "a bit on score calculation" at the end.
Show Champion
Show Champion is broadcast every Wednesday at 5pm KST. It can be viewed on the ALL THE K-POP YouTube channel.
Tracking period for digitals, physicals, SNS (KST)
Monday 12am - Sunday 11:59pm
Digitals - Max 3,500 points
Score determined using the Melon, Genie, Flo and Bugs charts
Pre-Voting - Max 2,000 points
App: IDOLCHAMP
Voting period (KST): Friday 8pm - Monday 3pm
1 vote = 1 ticket (5🩵 OR 1🩷)
Voting is unlimited and the gap matters
Broadcast - Max 2,000 points
Points are given if XLOV attend Show Champion
Physicals - Max 1,500 points
Score determined using the Hanteo Chart (album purchases from Hanteo Family stores)
SNS - Max 1,000 points
Score determined using MV views on YouTube
Stage Champion
Show Champion has an additional award separate from their main prize called Stage Champion. This award is not an official music show win but the winner receives a trophy and some promotion.
All artists who perform on Show Champion are eligible for the Stage Champion award and the results are determined 100% by voting.
The top 3 are announced on the following Show Champion live broadcast and the winner receives a trophy.
Voting app: IDOLCHAMP
Voting period (KST): Wednesday 7pm - Saturday 10:59pm
1 vote = 10 chamsims (🩵 OR 🩷)
Voting is unlimited and the gap does not matter
M Countdown
M Countdown is broadcast every Thursday at 6pm KST. It can be viewed on the Mnet Plus app.
XLOV must attend at least one music show (doesn't have to be M Countdown) in order to be eligible to win.
Tracking period for digitals, physicals, SNS, broadcast (KST)
Monday 12am - Sunday 11:59pm
Digitals - Max 4,500 points
Score determined using the Circle Global K-Pop Chart
The Circle Global K-Pop Chart reflects streaming data from Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs, Samsung Music, Spotify (global), Apple Music (global), YouTube Music (global), QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo Music.
Physicals - Max 1,500 points
Score determined using the Circle Album Chart
Pre-Voting - Max 1,000 points
App: Mnet Plus
Voting period (KST): Saturday 12am - Monday 11:59pm
5 votes per account per day (no collecting needed), 1 account per device
The gap in votes matters
Broadcast - Max 1,000 points
Points are given if XLOV attend M Countdown and/or if their promoted song is played on Mnet TV shows
YouTube SNS - Max 1,000 points
Score determined using MV views on YouTube
Live Voting - Max 1,000 points
- Only the top 2 candidates based on all other criteria are nominated for the live vote.
- App: Mnet Plus
- Voting opens during the M Countdown live broadcast (usually starts Thursday 6pm KST) once the nominees are announced and is open for about 1 hour.
- 5 votes per account (no collecting needed), 1 account per device
- The gap in votes matters
TikTok SNS - Max 500 points
Score determined using TikTok data (likely the number of videos created using the official audio)
Music Bank
Music Bank is broadcast every Friday at 5:05pm KST. It can be viewed on the KBS WORLD TV YouTube channel.
In order for XLOV to be eligible for winner nomination, XLOV's song must enter the top 200 on the weekly chart on at least one of the following platforms:
Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs.
Tracking period for digitals, physicals, SNS, broadcast (KST)
Monday 12am - Sunday 11:59pm
Digitals - Share 120,000 points
Score determined using the Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe and Bugs charts
Broadcast - Share 40,000 points
Points are given if XLOV attend Music Bank and/or if XLOV's promoted song is played on KBS TV or radio shows
Pre-Voting - Max 2,000 points
App: Fancast
Voting period (KST): Sunday 3pm - Wednesday 11am
1 vote = 50💙 OR 50💛
You can cast max 500 votes (25,000 hearts) at a time, and there is a 10 minute cooldown after voting
The gap in votes matters
SNS - Share 10,000 points
Score determined using the YouTube index from the Circle Social Chart.
This means that not just YouTube views matter but also engagement and other indicators of artist popularity using data from videos containing released music.
Physicals - Share 10,000 points
Score determined using the Circle Album Chart
NOTE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAX AND SHARE POINTS. EVEN THOUGH PHYSICALS ARE GIVEN THE LEAST AMOUNT OF POINTS TO SHARE, THEY OFTEN MAKE THE GREATEST CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SCORE SINCE MOST ALBUM SALES ARE FOR ARTISTS WHO ARE PROMOTING, MEANING THAT ARTISTS WHO ARE PROMOTING EARN LARGE PORTIONS OF THE 10K POINTS. FOR MORE DETAILED INFO, SEE "A BIT ON SCORE CALCULATION" AT THE END OF THIS PAGE.
Music Bank has an additional award separate from the main prize called Fan's Stage Pick. This award is not an official music show win but the winner receives a trophy and some promotion.
All artists who perform on Music Bank are eligible for the Fan's Stage Pick award and the results are determined 100% by voting.
- Voting takes place on the Fancast app from Friday 6:30pm - Thursday 5pm KST.
- 1 vote = 50💙 OR 50💛. You can vote once every 10 minutes. You can cast up to 500 votes at once.
- The top 3 are announced on Music Bank's social media.
- The winner receives a trophy.
Show! Music Core
Show! Music Core (Music Core) is broadcast every Saturday at 3:15pm KST. It can be viewed on the MBCkpop YouTube channel.
Tracking period for digitals, physicals, SNS, broadcast (KST)
Monday 12pm - the following Monday 11:59am
Digitals - Max 5,000 points
Score determined using the Circle Digital Chart.
The Circle Digital Chart reflects usage (i.e. streaming, downloading, BGM and V Coloring) on Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs, Kakao Music, Samsung Music, Spotify (Korea), Apple Music (Korea) and V Coloring.
Broadcast - Max 1,000 points
Points are given if XLOV's promoted song or MV is played on MBC TV or radio shows
SNS - Max 1,000 points
Score determined using MV views on YouTube
Physicals - Max 1,000 points
Score determined using the Circle Album Chart
Pre-Voting - Max 500 points
App: Mubeat
Voting period (KST): Tuesday 6pm - Thursday 11am
1 vote = 3 heart beats. Voting is unlimited.
The gap in votes does not matter, but the gap in rank/position does. 1st place gets 500 points, 2nd place gets 450 points 3rd place gets 400 points, etc.
Viewer Committee Voting - Max 500 points
This vote is only open to members of Music Core's Viewer Committee. Only Korean citizens can apply to join the committee. If you are a Korean EVOL, follow Korean fanbase @XLOVSTRM for information about when and how to apply.
Voting takes place on Music Core's official website from Wednesday 9am - Thursday 11am KST.
Live App Voting - Max 500 points
- Only the top 3 candidates based on all other criteria are nominated for live voting.
- App: Mubeat
- Voting opens during the Music Core live broadcast (usually starts Saturday 3:15pm KST) once the nominees are announced and is open for about 1 hour.
- 1 vote = 1 ticket (30 heart beats)
- 5 votes per account
- The gap in votes matters
Live Text Voting - Max 500 points
- This vote is only open to Korean viewers.
- Only the top 3 candidates based on all other criteria are nominated for live voting.
- Voting opens during the Music Core live broadcast (usually starts Saturday 3:15pm KST) once the nominees are announced and is open for about 1 hour.
Stage M Pick
Music Core has an additional award separate from the main prize called Stage M Pick. This award is not an official music show win but the winner receives a trophy and some promotion.
All artists who perform on Music Core are eligible for the Fan's Stage Pick award and the results are determined 100% by voting.
- Voting takes place on the MUNIVERSE website from Saturday 5pm - Thursday 11am KST.
- No collecting needed. 10 votes per account per day. Multiple accounts are allowed.
- The top 3 are announced on the following Music Core live broadcast.
- The winner receives a trophy.
Inkigayo
Inkigayo is broadcast every Sunday at 3:20pm KST. It can be viewed on the SBSKPOP X INKIGAYO YouTube channel if you have a channel membership.
XLOV's song must enter the top 200 on the weekly Circle Digital Chart to be eligible for nomination.
The Circle Digital Chart reflects usage (i.e. streaming, downloading, BGM and V Coloring) on Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs, Kakao Music, Samsung Music, Spotify (Korea), Apple Music (Korea) and V Coloring.
Tracking period for digitals, physicals, SNS, broadcast (KST)
Monday 12pm - the following Monday 11:59am
Digitals - Max 5,000 points
Score determined using the Melon, Genie, Flo and Circle Global K-Pop charts.
The Circle Global K-Pop Chart reflects streaming data from Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs, Samsung Music, Spotify (global), Apple Music (global), YouTube Music (global), QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo Music.
SNS - Max 2,000 points
Score determined using MV views on YouTube
Broadcast - Max 1,000 points
Points are given if XLOV's promoted song or MV is played on SBS TV or radio shows.
Physicals - Max 1,000 points
Score determined using the Circle Album Chart
- App: LiNC
- Voting period (KST): Monday 12pm - Friday 11:59pm (may start Wednesday 6pm depending on comeback date)
- 1 vote = 30FP OR 8 gems
- 10 votes per account per day
- The gap in votes matters
- Only the top 3 candidates based on all other criteria are nominated for the live vote.
- App: Higher
- Voting opens during the Inkigayo live broadcast (usually starts Sunday 3:20pm KST) once the nominees are announced and is open for about 1 hour
- 1 vote = 50 rubies or 5 diamonds
- 5 votes per account
- The gap in votes matters
Weekly Hot Stage
Inkigayo has an additional award separate from the main prize called Hot Stage. There are weekly, monthly and yearly Hot Stage awards. Only details on the weekly Hot Stage prize are provided here. This award is not an official music show win but the winner receives a trophy and some promotion.
All artists who perform on Inkigayo are eligible for the Hot Stage award and The results are determined 100% by voting.
- Voting takes place on the Higher app from Sunday after Inkigayo - Thursday 12pm KST.
- 1 vote = 30 rubies OR 3 diamonds. 10 votes per account per day.
- The winner receives a trophy.
- The top 2 are nominated for monthly Hot Stage.
Summary
Please click the below links as they contain more detailed information about the different music show categories.
A bit on score calculation
Scores for every music show except for Music Bank and the Music Core pre-vote are relative. This means that the artist whose song performs the best in a category earns the maximum points for that category, and the scores for the other songs are calculated proportionally. This means that XLOV's chances of winning these shows are dependent on how they perform in each category relative to their competitors.
For example, the maximum SNS score for Show Champion is 1,000 points. This means that the artist whose music video gained the most views during the tracking period will get 1,000 points; and the other artists' scores are based on their views proportional to the maximum number of views.
Now suppose Group 2 gains 15M views instead of 10M and all other groups' MV views are the same as Example Scenario 1.
What this means is that the gap matters. Whether it's for voting or streaming or album sales, our goal if we want a music show win is for XLOV to perform well compared to other artists promoting at the same time. If XLOV are in the lead, we want them to lead with a big gap. If XLOV are not in the lead, we want the difference between them and whoever is in the lead to be as small as possible.
What about Music Bank and the Music Core pre-vote?
Scores for the Music Core pre-vote are determined by rank only, so the gap does not matter.
For Music Bank, the pre-vote score is still calculated relatively; but for all other categories, the scores are calculated differently: Each category is given a set amount of points, and songs are given a portion of this amount of points based on how it performed during the tracking period.
Heavily Simplified Example: Digitals (120k points shared)
Suppose there are 1 billion total music streams and downloads during the tracking period across Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe and Bugs. Further suppose a song gets a total of 10 million streams and downloads during the tracking period.
The digital score for this song would be
The reality is more complicated than this, but this is just to give the general idea of how it works.
Essentially, instead of the score being relative to the streams/sales of the highest performing artist, it is relative to the total number of streams/sales. So the ratio of points between candidates would be similar to other music shows, but the maximum number of points would be different. So even for Music Bank's calculation method, it is still ideal for XLOV to outperform their competitors in as many categories as possible and the gap still matters.
This guide was made by XLOV SUPPORT @SupportXLOV