BTS gives up #1 spot on Melon to Ive

Controversy is brewing within the fandom as BTS's new song 'SWIM' loses the top spot on Melon's daily chart to IVE's 'Bang Bang'. A post on the online community Theku has become a hot topic, and some BTS fans have come forward to claim the rival fandom's 'reverse streaming' strategy.

According to the post, BTS fans claimed that other group fandoms, including New Jeans, Blackpink, EXO, Big Bang, and Seventeen, were intentionally streaming 'Bang Bang' to bring down 'Swim's' ranking.

‘Reverse streaming’ claims and fans’ reactions

One fan expressed his anger on social media, saying, "Large-scale reverse streaming. Does this make sense?" Another fan claimed, "Reverse streaming and reverse purchasing are being systematically carried out not only in Korea but also overseas. This shows how big a presence BTS is."

'Reverse streaming' is a fandom term that refers to the act of intentionally playing a song by a specific artist, not because you like it, but to lower the chart ranking of another artist.

Skeptical views of netizens

However, many netizens are reacting skeptically to this conspiracy theory. The post also pointed out that Ive's number of listeners did not actually increase, and that BTS's decline in ranking was likely due to general listening trends.

Netizens seem to be dismissing the conspiracy theory, saying, "It is difficult to consistently stream your favorite singer's songs, so it is unrealistic for several fandoms to systematically reverse stream." In the K-POP market, where competition between fandoms is fierce, controversies surrounding chart rankings occur repeatedly, but it is difficult to prove actual manipulation.