Butter is ahread of NL on Gaon so far, NL hasnt surpassed it. Butter also has PAKs and was #1 for a longer time. Butter did it with no Korean promo and while being an English song. Its impact i Korea was purely organic.
Internationally there is no competition, Butter is one of the 2 biggest hits by a Korean group, has broken multitude of charting, Spotify and YT records (with no ads) while NL isnt even doing as well as 4th gen boy group songs on Spotify.
That's not taking into account that NL isnt even an original song, its a cover of a previously released song. So is it even eligible?
So, if we put it all together, Butter deserves SOTY objectively.
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oh usually these SOTY thread imply South Korea only.
Next level will pass Butter on Gaon in 2 to 3 weeks. It has been passed and charting better than Butter on every charts in South Korea including youtube music more than 2 months.
Here what I posted in an other thread.
Talking strictly about SOTY, I would give it to Brave Girls Rollin If not for ineligibility. Not only this song have the chart to back it up, but it also captured the public, and celebrities dance to their viral dance. It propelled their career to a new height. Now, that's an impact, and we love to see it.
Beside Rollin, aespa Next Level is the most deserving song this year. It follows similar pattern, but to a lesser extend. It also have the chart to back it up, but it peaked lower than rollin and the longevity is kinda similar. It also captures the public and celebrities. Many celebrities dance to viral hand gesture. Till today, their public broadcast point in inkigayo is still max.
One thing that Next Level does way better than Rollin and all song this year is korea youtube music. Consider youtube music might be the second biggest market, I think it relevant to mention this. The stream for this song is unusual high for this chart. I only check a few songs to compare. For similar time frame, Next level streams is double celebrity around 80 mil compare to 40 mil. A quick look, Rollin is doing similar number to celebrity, maybe less. To see how massive Next Level on this chart. They are currently on their way to 10 weeks at number 1. I am not sure they can top Dynamite 18 weeks, but it might get close.
About butter and celebrity, they have the chart, but this feel like normal release for them. Now, this is not to downplay them. When BTS and IU release a song, the public and the fans will consume them in large numbers. This is a testament to the popularity. For BTS, Dynamite is that song. For IU, there are many earlier in her career, I am not sure, lost count.