"Proudly Hit No. 1 on the Music Chart"... "Shocked" by Copyright Royalties: The Song That Even Beat RESCENE - What Happened?

AI-generated song claims first-ever No. 1 on Melon's Top 100
MEOMURU's "Have You Become the Adult You Dreamed Of?" tops the chart
Composed and performed with Suno; planning and production handled by humans

A song composed and performed using artificial intelligence (AI) has topped a chart on a leading domestic music streaming platform for the first time ever.

According to Yonhap News Agency on November 13, the AI music project MEOMURU's digital single "Have You Become the Adult You Dreamed Of?" ranked No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 chart as of 5 p.m. that day.

MEOMURU's "Have You Become the Adult You Dreamed Of?" is a rock ballad about the difference between the adults people imagined as children and the reality they face after growing up. Its lyrics describe how worries and responsibilities that were unfamiliar in childhood begin to weigh on their shoulders one by one in adulthood.

Released on June 23, the song reached the top of the chart in about five months. It is the first song composed and performed entirely using AI to reach No. 1 on Melon's Top 100. It also drew attention for surpassing new releases by popular girl groups, including RESCENE's "With," A2O Light's "Neon," and ILLIT's "I'll Arrest You."

The AI music project MEOMURU's digital single "Have You Become the Adult You Dreamed Of?" topped Melon's Top 100 chart.

The song was produced using Suno, a generative AI music service. The vocals, too, were generated by AI rather than sung by an actual vocalist. Human creators, however, handled the planning, lyrics, and overall production direction.

In the song's description, MEOMURU said the vocals were generated using Suno's AI technology and that it personally handled the planning, lyrics, and overall production direction. On its YouTube channel, the project also described its process of writing lyrics based on emotions felt in everyday life and using AI tools to turn them into melodies and music.

The project was planned by Glorywave, a production team involving composer and producer Lee Yongseok (Martin East) and Choi Seonghyeok (Beatjaru). In the music-making process, AI generates the melody, arrangement, and vocals, while human creators develop the lyrics and overall direction. In a song description they wrote themselves, they said, "We write lyrics ourselves about feelings that pass through our daily lives," adding, "AI is a modern instrument and a partner that helps bring my imagination to life."

However, the song has not been registered with the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA), and Glorywave reportedly has not received royalties for the lyrics, composition, or arrangement. The team receives separate payments from music distribution. In August, KOMCA announced trust registration standards recognizing human creative contributions to works made using AI, but later withdrew them, citing insufficient public discussion.

According to Melon's figures, listeners in their 30s accounted for the largest share of the song's audience by age group, at 36%. They were followed by listeners in their 40s at 30%, those in their 20s at 19%, and those in their 50s at 11%. In particular, people in their 30s and 40s made up 66% of all listeners, suggesting that the lyrics about the concerns and realities of adulthood resonated with the song's main audience.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.