Sky Garden Ignites the Charts

The band Group Sound had grabbed the title of "The Band That Won the Audition Without Even Releasing a Full Album," only to vanish into a several-month hiatus despite it. With every member being underage high school girls still in school, their break was due to academics—a perfectly reasonable and justifiable reason that made it hard for anyone to openly complain.

Yet, there were always those who spat out malice anyway.

So-called hipsters—from those who saw them as squandering Korea's indie rock revival, to fans bitter that their favorite band didn't win. They tore into Group Sound with glee. Some even hurled utterly absurd and malicious attacks, like "I just don't like them" or "A hen crowing means the country's doomed."

Group Sound was on the verge of becoming the indie rock hipster community's public enemy, the band that blew the revival's big chance. That is, until their debut full-length album's pre-release single, Sky Garden, dropped.

Elements that seemed destined to clash: noisy, shoegaze-style dreamy melodies and sounds from a Jazzmaster. Contrasting vintage tones and J-rock/jazzy bass lines blasting from a Rickenbacker 4001. Beautiful background keyboard melodies, with synths and sound samples slotted in so perfectly there was no empty space. Drums pounding away at the foundation, sometimes leading the whole track, other times laying down the rhythm just right. And vocals that murmur softly before hitting that perfect high note right when you crave it—making listeners grin ear-to-ear or want to jump up and dance.

Five elements in perfect harmony, the kind of song that makes anyone think, "I need to keep listening" or "Gotta add this to my playlist."

The rock communities exploded. When was the last time a proper rock band even touched No. 1 on Korea's music charts, even briefly? You'd have to go back years, and staying in the top ranks long-term was impossible unless it was some overplayed major-label hit that everyone was force-fed. Rock revival? A pipe dream. They'd hype up occasionally—"Is the boom finally here?"—only to shrug, "Yeah, figures," and walk away.

But Sky Garden felt different. A track that could spark a renaissance... or at least light the fuse. Not waiting for the tide—it made its own wave.

As a result, Sky Garden won over not just regular rock listeners, but even...

...the hipsters themselves surrendered. And on day two of release—no promotions yet, no buzz even. Pure organic reach...

It was the kind of metric that made you wonder just how high it could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠climb once promotions kicked in and word spread.

Silence hung in the meeting room. The projector screen was black. Jeong Yu-young said nothing, slowly clicking through menus with her mouse. Finally, she clicked Charts.

No one expected top 10. Instead, she scrolled straight to the bottom. Tension built as it climbed from 100. Around 90, a familiar name popped up higher.

"72nd place!"

Choi Iseo screamed it like a battle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cry, pointing at the screen where Sky Garden blazed clearly. Cheers erupted. Iseo went wild, Yoo Seoha clapped, Jeong Hyeona giggled to herself, Team Leader Go Kyung-min pumped his fist, staffers comforted each other with "We worked so hard," and President Lee Hyein looked ready to dash out for cake. Ha Suyeon was getting her head shaken every which way by the president's grip.

Not dizzy at all. Marketing Manager Jeong Yu-young let out a huge sigh of relief.

Back at her old company, she'd just been a team member grinding away, no real responsibility. But leading? It weighed a ton. She missed her old boss—crude mouth, but good at the job.

"Let's check Melon too!"

"Melon's pointless right now. It's gotta be there already."

Ha Suyeon shot her a look demanding explanation at Iseo's excited shout turning to a pout. Under that mother-snake-glaring-at-threat gaze, Yu-young jumped in.

Melon charts were idol and trot streaming machines outside off-seasons. With comebacks everywhere now, no chance for newcomers to sneak in...

"So the last climb was luck?"

"You're talking about the audition flop, right? That had the show's hype! Plus, the organizers probably pushed some promo. And anyway..."

As Ha Suyeon replied, Yu-young reflected on her strategy. Conventional wisdom targeted Melon, the standard benchmark. But she thought different. Unlike idols battling over ranks and stats, Group Sound needed to reach real music fans. Idol tracks dominated mainstream K-pop; band rock was a whole other world. Worry about getting on the table before fighting over seats.

Her play: YouTube. Shorts, playlists, YouTube Music promos. No direct chart pushes. Unlike Melon's Top 100 spinners, YouTube Music users streamed via algorithms and playlists. Results? Right there on screen.

'The song's great, sure.' No promo turns trash to treasure—maybe average at best. But no promo can't stop a banger from finding its spot.

"Now we just climb from here till full album drop. Let's grind!"

At least, that's what she believed.

"Ah, yes. Understood. Thank you."

"Yes, good night."

He hung up. Eyes turned his way. Answering mid-MV shoot had everyone—staff and bandmates—staring.

"Who was it?"

"Sookyeong... Choi Sookyeong, the... singer... uh, DJ. DJ, right?"

"You went on her radio before?"

He nodded at Iseo's question. His old disciple, Choi Sookyeong. They'd kept loose contact via KakaoTalk or calls from her radio gig. He hadn't even mentioned the single, but she'd called offering airplay. No charge.

"Ooh, nice. Huge W?"

"Yeah, pretty helpful."

"You don't seem thrilled."

"Nah, it's not that. Super grateful opportunity."

He scratched his head a bit. Sookyeong offered prime exposure—hard to buy, even with money. Late-night radio, but she'd intro the track specially. Weekend live talk with the whole band? Best she could do.

But jumping for joy? He'd gotten too many breaks lately. Taylor'd's Kim Cheol-yeon asking mid-tour, "Mind if I cover this?" Juhyeon posting on SNS, "Sky Garden~what I'm jamming lately." Projeckt 6's Ryujin hyping it on fan live: "Got a killer new track!" Ex-idol Lee Yu-na slipping it into her YouTube stream. Countless contacts spreading the word organically—celebs via SNS/lives, sessions and normies via word-of-mouth.

Grateful. Surreal.

'Did I live right after all...' Good deeds bring blessings? He'd never bought it. But now? Maybe time to rethink, live extra saintly.

"Anyway, back to the MV shoot."

"Oh, right."

At Iseo's nudge, he scanned around. Under the sharp stares, he realized he'd blanked on filming.

"Resuming then. Let me fix my outfit."

Director's cue, staff swarmed: brushing dust, adjusting angles. Silent, pro moves.

"So, uh... know any good mastering studios?"

"Outta nowhere. Single sounded fine to me."

"I did it myself, so I'm not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thrilled."

Im Jonghun pondered. No quick answer. He hadn't expected much—Jonghun was session vet, but mastering (final polish post-mixing) wasn't his lane.

"You mix it too?"

"Yeah. EP was rushed. Audition they handled. This one, deadline crunch, so I winged it intuitively... but for album, proper studio."

"Why not learn it yourself?"

"Time sink. Mixing maybe, but mastering? Nah."

Jonghun nodded. Her old-school terms were quirky, but par for the course. Probably Seo Myeongjeon's influence.

"Ah, phone."

Unknown number. Myeongjeon hesitated, then stepped out. 070? Instant hang-up. But proper mobile—better answer.

"Hello, Ha Suyeon speaking."

"Yes, that's me."

The voice was young, a bit nasal and childish—like that radio sub-writer from before. Totally different timbre, though.

"Yes."

His eyes widened. EBS? Amplifier Now? He'd heard of it. Ransacking memory pre-response: long-running live music show, critically acclaimed, about a decade on air.