The Melon Top 100 is a long-term success indicator for all songs available on the platform, regardless of their release date. Meanwhile, the “Hot 100” chart, another main chart released by Melon, features new songs competing within 100 days of release and is widely used as a measure of current trends.
“Drowning” is a track from WOODZ’s 5th mini album “우리,” released in April 2023. The reason this non-title track became a “national hit” was a pivotal performance on KBS 2TV’s “Immortal Songs – Armed Forces Day Special” aired in October 2024 while he was serving in the military. At the time, WOODZ took the stage as Corporal Cho Seung-youn of the Army Band to deliver a powerful performance of his self-composed song “Drowning”.
This sparked a legendary “reverse run” on the charts, which extended beyond Melon to SBS “Inkigayo,” one of the four major music shows, where he achieved the rare feat of hitting number one despite being in the middle of his military hiatus.
The related videos have also become steady sellers. The live video for “Drowning” released in 2023 remains high on the YouTube Korea Popular Music Video Top 100. On YouTube’s weekly popular rankings, it has charted for 81 consecutive weeks. The performance video from KBS 2TV’s “Immortal Songs – Armed Forces Day Special,” which truly turned the song into an “immortal” hit, has surpassed 30 million views.
WOODZ released his first full-length solo album, “Archive. 1,” in March.
