ITZY’s ‘That’s a No No’ Makes an Unexpected Comeback: What Sparked the 6-Year Resurgence?

Photo: respective agencies

[Sports Today reporter Yoon Hye-young] The K-pop world is in the midst of another wave of chart resurgences.

The movement this year began with ITZY. The group’s track \”THAT’S A NO NO,\” from their March 2020 mini-album IT’z ME, re-entered the charts six years after its release — an uncommon comeback for a catalog song.

The resurgence was driven by performance. In February, during the group’s new world tour TUNNEL VISION, ITZY premiered a live stage for \”THAT’S A NO NO\” and drew thunderous applause.

Capitalizing on that energy, JYP Entertainment uploaded the performance to ITZY’s official social media channels. The footage — which showcased the group’s reputation as performance powerhouses — ignited an intense reaction: it topped YouTube’s domestic daily popular music video chart and racked up a steep rise in views. The song climbed Melon’s daily chart and re-entered the platform’s Top 100.

Months of quietly honed craft paid off. ITZY sustained momentum with a special stage on Mnet’s M Countdown and a performance of \”THAT’S A NO NO\” for Mnet digital studio M2’s Relay Dance series, answering fans’ renewed interest.

N.Flying, who previously made a surprise comeback with \”Rooftop,\” has also launched a fresh chart push with \”Flashback.\”

\”Flashback\” is a track from their 2021 full-length album Man on the Moon, co-written by Lee Seung-hyub and Yoo Hwe-seung. Critics note the song’s yearning lyrics — mourning something that won’t return — pair with shifting seasons and time to create a lingering emotional resonance.

The song remained outside the Top 100 through February, but live clips shared across social platforms generated word-of-mouth momentum and pushed it onto multiple streaming charts. As of the 6th, \”Flashback\” sat at No. 71 on Melon’s Top 100, No. 30 on Bugs’ real-time chart, No. 35 on Genie Music’s Top 200, and No. 38 on YouTube Music’s weekly popular songs chart.

Responding to the renewed attention, N.Flying released a special clip and returned to the stage on KBS2’s Music Bank on the 3rd, reinforcing the song’s upward trajectory.

Following ITZY and N.Flying, singer-actor Do Kyung-soo has become another beneficiary of the seasonal surge: his two-year-old track \”Popcorn\” has emerged as a sleeper hit.

\”Popcorn\” recently entered Melon’s real-time chart and climbed to No. 27 on Melon’s daily chart on the 6th, drawing broad attention. The track not only hit upper real-time ranks but also appeared in Melon’s popular-song search trends and period charts. It peaked at No. 2 on FLO, No. 7 on Bugs, and No. 24 on Genie, demonstrating cross-platform momentum.

The song appears on Do Kyung-soo’s third mini-album Growth, released in May 2024. \”Popcorn\” likens the giddy excitement of sharing moments with a loved one to kernels popping. Its buoyant lyrical imagery, whistling motif, and Do’s tender, fluttering vocal color amplified the track’s breezy mood and earned it wide affection on release.

In November, the song resurfaced in public consciousness after an appearance on the tvN variety show \”Kong Simeun-de Kong Naseo: Overseas Exploration,\” where a road-trip segment featured Kim Woo-bin requesting \”Popcorn.\” Do joked that it was (Kim) Woo-bin hyung’s favorite and launched into the song, creating a warm, spontaneous moment that resonated with viewers and generated post-broadcast buzz.

The song’s depiction of love as a string of sweet, popping moments also fits perfectly with spring in full bloom — a seasonal alignment that has further fanned the resurgence.

[Sports Today reporter Yoon Hye-young ent@stoo.com]
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