Illit surpasses 100m streams in Japan

Illit surpassed 100 million streams in Japan with its first Japanese single, “Almond Chocolate,” according to Oricon on Wednesday.

The track reached the milestone on Oricon’s Weekly Streaming Ranking, becoming the group’s second song to exceed 100 million plays on the chart following “Magnetic,” which has accumulated more than 300 million streams.

Released in February last year, “Almond Chocolate” was produced as the theme song for the film “It Takes More Than a Pretty Face to Fall in Love.” The sentimental track drew attention for its delicate melody and the group’s clear vocal tone, gaining traction after performances on Japanese music programs.

The song’s popularity has remained steady since its release. Within about five months, it earned Gold certification in the streaming category from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for surpassing 50 million plays, and appeared on several year-end charts, including Billboard Japan Year-End Charts.

The track also won the excellence award at the Japan Record Awards, becoming the first Japanese original song by a K-pop group to receive the honor.