WOODZ’s ′Drowning′ tops digital song chart, Stray Kids leads album chart in 2025

WOODZ’s 'Drowning' tops digital song chart, Stray Kids leads album chart in 2025: K-POP / 연합뉴스 / 2026-01-09 10:45:04

▲ This photo of K-pop singer WOODZ is provided by Edam Entertainment. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- In the Circle Chart’s year-end summary for 2025, WOODZ’s “Drowning” took first place on the digital chart, while Stray Kids’ “KARMA” ranked No. 1 on the album chart.

The Korea Music Content Association, which operates the Circle Chart, announced these results from its 2025 annual chart tally on Friday.

Released in 2023, “Drowning” climbed to the top of the annual digital chart on the back of a viral chart-reversal trend. The digital chart ranks songs by combining streaming, downloads, and ringtone sales.

“Drowning” began gaining renewed popularity after a video went viral in October 2024 showing WOODZ, then serving in the military, passionately singing the song while wearing his uniform on a television program. The track also topped the annual streaming chart, which counts streaming figures alone.

Second place on the digital chart went to girl group aespa’s “Whiplash,” while third place was claimed by “Golden,” an original soundtrack (OST) track from the Netflix animated film “K-Pop Demon Hunters.”

On the album chart, Stray Kids’ fourth full-length album “KARMA” took first place with total sales of 3,397,810 copies. Seventeen’s “HAPPY BURSTDAY” ranked second with 2,559,694 copies sold, and Stray Kids’ album “DO IT,” released last November, placed third with sales of 2,314,271 copies.

On the Global K-pop Chart, the “K-Pop Demon Hunters” OST and BLACKPINK’s group and solo tracks accounted for nine of the Top 10 entries. From the OST, “Golden” ranked first, followed by “Soda Pop” in third place and “Your Idol” in fourth, with a total of six tracks entering the Top 10.

BLACKPINK’s Rose placed second with her solo song “APT.,” Jennie ranked fifth with “like JENNIE,” and the group’s song “JUMP” came in seventh.

Meanwhile, Lim Young-woong topped the download chart with “More Beautiful Than Heaven,” an OST from the drama of the same name, marking his fifth consecutive year at No. 1 on the annual download chart since 2021.