“Dash” from virtual boy band Plave’s latest EP, “Caligo Pt.1,” debuted at No. 195 on the Billboard Global 200 chart released on Wednesday.

With this feat, Plave became the first virtual idol group to land a song on the chart.


The Billboard Global 200 ranks songs based on online streams and digital sales from 200 countries worldwide.

On the album’s release day, Feb. 3, the lead track, "Dash," topped the leading domestic music platform Melon Chart, followed by the other four tracks: “Rizz,” “Chroma Drift,” “12:32 (A to T)” and “Island.”

The tracks from “Caligo Pt.1” hit one million streams within two hours and 20 minutes of release and reached 10 million within 24 hours, setting a record on the Melon Chart, according to Vlast.

“Caligo Pt.1” sold 1.03 million copies within its first week, according to Vlast, making Plave the first virtual idol group to achieve this milestone.

Plave is a five-member virtual boy band — with real people behind the scenes — created by Vlast, a tech startup that originated as a special project from television broadcaster MBC in 2021. The company was founded in February 2022, and Plave debuted on March 12, 2023.

By winning MBC’s weekly music show “Show! Music Core” on March 9, 2024, with “Way 4 Luv,” Plave became the first-ever virtual idols to claim the No. 1 prize on one of Korea’s regular television music programs.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]