“Fan or not, the song is just bad…”

A viral post on Pann has accused Pledis Entertainment boy group TWS of chart manipulation after their new song “If I’m an S, Can You Be My N” and its performance on the charts failed to meet expectations.

Recently, a post titled “TWS Confirmed for Music Chart Manipulation” has become a trending topic on the popular community site Pann. With more than 70,000 views and hundreds of comments, the post has triggered a wave of backlash towards Pledis’s rookie boy group.

TWS made their first comeback this week with the new title track, “If I’m an S, Can You Be My N.” Though fans of the group really liked the track, it seems like the wider public doesn’t have it among its favorites, as the song is struggling to stay within Melon’s TOP 100 chart. The viral post brought this to attention, stating that TWS “failed to enter the Melon Top 100, ranked 19th on the Hot 100.”

The group had previously set higher expectations, as their debut song, “Plot Twist,” charted incredibly on almost every chart and even broke multiple records. Now, netizens are wondering if those unexpected achievements were due to chart manipulation, considering their comeback song has failed to even reach the Melon TOP 100.

• “It’s the first time I’ve seen a group that was a contender for annual number one not even make it to the charts… Last time they blamed it on being a pre-release track, so what’s the excuse this time?”
• “But how are they controlling TWS? It’s just overblown; there’s no substance like with others. The market isn’t big, they aren’t selling albums, and their tracks aren’t consistently doing well. I’m just curious if the previous controversy was true or not.”
• “What’s going on with Pledis these days?? Seriously? Are they short on money? They don’t even have that many fans left. It’s pathetic.”
• “High ranking for a new song: ‘They did it again.’ Low ranking for a new song: ‘So the last one was manipulated.’”
• “Fan or not, the song is just bad, so I don’t listen to it.”