SM's Fourth-Quarter Roadmap Sets Up the Year-End Chart Race
SM's Fourth-Quarter Roadmap Sets Up the Year-End Chart Race Photo: Melikamp / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) — illustrative image While August's comeback war dominates headlines, the shape of K-pop's year-end chart race is already visible — because SM Entertainment published it. On August 5, the agency released its second-quarter business report including the artist lineup for the remainder of 2026, and the fourth quarter is loaded: full-length studio albums from Yesung, Jaehyun, and NCT DREAM, mini albums from Changmin, Xiaojun, NCT WISH, and an EXO unit, plus a RIIZE comeback — all landing into a market that just posted record first-half sales. Why the Q4 Slate Matters The context makes SM's calendar aggressive rather than routine. K-pop album sales hit 49.53 million copies in the first half of 2026, already above the all-time first-half record of 46.17 million set in 2023 — and August added Stray Kids' ninth consecutive Billboard 200 No. 1, BIGBANG...