A study has found singer Yoon Jong-shin's (pictured) 2017 hit "Like It" as the most popular tune to sing at a noraebang (karaoke room) in the country from 2014 through last year. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Dasom

A recent study found that singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin's 2017 hit "Like It" was the most popular song to sing at a noraebang (karaoke room) over the past decade.

Kim Jin-woo, senior researcher at the country's leading album sales tracker Circle Chart, analyzed data on the top 400 songs on noraebang charts nationwide for his column titled "What's Your Favorite Noraebang Song from 2014-23?"

The first five of the 10 most popular songs were ballads, with "Like It" at No. 1, followed in order by M.C the Max's "No Matter Where," Lim Chang-jung's "A Glass of Soju," Izi's "Emergency Room" and Ailee's "I Will Go to You Like the First Snow."

So Chan-whee's "Tears" was the lone dance track in the top 10.

Among the top 100 noraebang songs of the past decade, ballads overwhelmed the chart with 70 entries, followed by rock and metal with 10 and R&B and soul seven.

The annual number of times people sang the top 400 tunes at a noraebang peaked in 2019, the study said, but plummeted after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A brief rebound was seen in 2022 as the coronavirus grew endemic but the decline resumed.

Kim said, "In addition to COVID-19, the decline in the release of ballads, a genre traditionally popular at a noraebang, is believed to have been caused by the nation's pop music market targeting the global K-pop sector, which prioritizes dance music."

dlektha0319@korea.kr