Show! Music Core (Korean: 쇼! 음악중심; RR: Syo! Eumakjungsim), or simply Music Core is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. It is broadcast from MBC Dream Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
History
Prior to the current Show! Music Core, numerous music programs with similar content were aired on MBC. Below is the list in chronological order.
After a brief hiatus, Show! Music Core began airing on October 29, 2005, with charts similar to its predecessors. However, the charts were removed on January 7, 2006, and it continues to air without any charts or awards. Even without the weekly chart award, the show was known for its special production and stages.
From 2007 to 2008, a "Mobile Ranking" segment was used to rank the popularity of songs downloaded to mobile phones and from online music sites.[2]
On March 11, 2013, MBC announced that they would return their chart system after seven years without the segment. The ranking system was reinstalled on April 20, 2013, with a first-place trophy given to the top song amongst the nominees for each week.[3]
November 21, 2015, MBC announced that their chart system would be removed once again. The MBC variety department said: "Instead of the ranking system, we intend to show more diverse genres of music and continue to work hard to be a representative music program of Korea."[4]
On February 11, 2016, MBC announced a trial phase of their simultaneous live broadcast of Show! Music Core in HD and UHD (ultra-high-definition) utilizing a dedicated 4K camera, in preparation for their launch of UHD broadcasts scheduled for 2017. The trial phase had taken place February 13 through March 12, 2016.[needs update][5]
On April 5, 2017, MBC announced that they would, yet again, return to their chart ranking system since April 22, 2017.[6]
In June 2023 MBC reactivated their YouTube channel MBC World. In October 2023 it was announced that the chart show is officially available for live streaming for fans worldwide.
Hosts
Zerobaseone's Kim Gyu-vin (left), Hearts2Hearts's A-Na (center), and TWS's Dohoon (right) are hosting the show as of March 1, 2025
^Na Jae-min (December 18, ep 751) for 2021 and Chani (January 15, ep 754); Juyeon (January 22, ep 755); Jaejun (March 12–19, ep. 758-759); Han (March 26, ep. 760; October 22, ep. 783); Cha Eun-woo (May 21, ep. 766); Jo Yu-ri (June 4, ep. 767); Kim Jaehwan (June 11, ep. 678, September 17, ep. 779); Dahyun (June 25 – July 2, ep. 769-770, September 17, ep. 779); Kang Seung-yoon (July 9, 771); Yeji (July 16, July 23, ep. 772-773), December 3, ep. 788); Juyeon from The Boyz (August 20, ep. 776); Seungmin (October 8, ep. 782); Doyoung (November 12, ep. 785); Lia from Itzy (December 3, ep. 788) for 2022, and Moonbin & Sanha (January 7, ep. 792), Joohoney (January 14, ep. 793); Minhyuk (January 14, ep. 793) for 2023.
^Johnny from NCT (February 4, February 11, ep. 795-796; April 8, ep. 803); Park Si-eun (February 18, ep. 797); Hyunjae and Q from The Boyz (February 25, ep. 798); Younghoon and Juyeon from The Boyz (February 25, March 4, ep. 798-799); Kang Mi-na (March 11, ep. 800); Chani (March 11, ep. 800); Sullyoon (March 25, ep. 802)
^Karina (May 13, ep. 808); Lee Min-hyuk (May 13, ep. 808); Changbin (June 24, ep. 814), Jun Hyun-moo (July 22, ep. 818); Haewon (July 22, ep. 818); Ju Haknyeon and Sunwoo of The Boyz (August 19, ep. 822; September 16, ep. 826), and Eric of The Boyz (August 19, ep. 822); Mark Lee (September 2, ep. 824); Eunseok of Riize (September 9, ep. 825; October 28, ep. 830 ) Seunghan of Riize (October 28, ep. 830)
Music Core brought back the show's chart on April 20, 2013. First-place winners are determined using the ranking system below. The list also shows the current and former scoring computation used. As of June 8, 2013, four nominees had decreased to three nominees. This chart is called M-chart, and tracking from Monday to Monday of the following week.
Asterisk (*) indicates the criteria that are for first-place nominees only.
Based source and explanations for each criterion, in alphabetical order:
Broadcast: MBC radio (April 22, 2017 - now) + TV (February 27, 2021 - now).
Digital sales: Numbers of download, streaming based on Gaon digital chart. During the time that Vibe and FLO sponsor Music Core, this also include Vibe and FLO respectively as a separate criterion and that criterion is for first-place nominees only
Live-vote: Voting during the show. Currently via text message + Mubeat app (June 5, 2021 - now). Always for 1st place nominees only.
Pre-vote: Mubeat app. Before February 27, 2021; this criterion is only for 1st place nominees only. This is held from Tuesday to Thursday (mean 4 days prior to 2 days prior; before February 27, 2021 is Tuesday to Friday, which mean 4 days prior to a day prior).
Video views or SNS: YouTube views, only count from official MV.
Viewer committee: A survey via official Music Core website, 2000 MBC accounts will be randomly chosen to be part of viewer committee voting. This is held from Wednesday to Thursday.
The Top 50 songs of the week are featured on the show, where the Top 30–11 songs are shown via two marquee (one is for 30-21 and another is for 20-11) in the last of two different stages and the Top 10–4 songs are featured by the hosts. The hosts then showcase the Top three songs and announce who will be the winner of the week. The Number 1 song on the chart is the winner of that week's chart and receives an award. Every songs that have been released no more than two months and not got quintuple crown (i. e: 5 wins in this show) yet are eligible on chart. However, OST, songs released through audition program and deemed unsuitable (at MBC's discretion) is not eligible. For top 50 songs of the week (full chart), it will be posted on music show's official website every Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday of the following week.
From May 20, 2017, to February 20, 2021, the rule was every song that is not released no more than three months is eligible. Before May 20, 2017; every songs, regardless of when it release or number of time get the first place, are eligible.
Starting from February 27, 2021, Show! Music Core implemented the Quintuple Crown, which is a song that has received first place five times. After that, the song is removed from the chart and ineligible to win again.[12]
Starting from April 13, 2024, Show! Music Core implemented the Triple Crown, which is a song that has received first place three times. After that, the song is removed from the chart and ineligible to win again.[13]
On 20 April 2013, MBC introduced a brand new ranking system for Show! Music Core, and as such had nominated INFINITE, K.Will, Davichi, and Lee Hi for the first place award. Singer K.Will was mistakenly announced as the winner. He looked confused, and was about to say thanks when the Show! Music Core staff quickly informed everyone on stage that there had been a mistake and that INFINITE was the actual winner. K.Will laughed it off and said: "It's okay, I'm okay." He shouted, "I love INFINITE!" The INFINITE members looked unsure about accepting the trophy.
Afterwards, the staff of the show was highly criticized by viewers. The staff made a statement on their official board and said,
This is the 'Show! Music Core' staff. There was a mistake in announcing the 1st-place winner on the 20 April broadcast. This was a mistake because the text votes were mixed up for the two 1st place nominees. The two team's scores are 100% fair results. The text votes accumulation company has promised to work harder to keep this from happening again. Please excuse us for not running a smooth live broadcast. Thank you.[24]
Notes
^Tiffany was absent for the 2010 episode dated June 19
^Yuri was absent for the episode dated March 6, 2010
^Taeyeon was absent for the 2012 episodes dated April 7, July 28, August 4, August 18, August 25, September 22, September 29, October 20, November 10, November 24, December 1, and the 2013 episodes dated January 19, February 9, February 23, March 9, March 16 and April 6
^Seohyun was absent for the 2012 episodes dated July 28, August 4, August 18, August 25, September 22, September 29, October 20, November 10, November 24, December 1, and the 2013 episodes dated January 19, February 9, February 23, March 9, March 16 and April 6
^Tiffany was absent for the 2012 episodes dated February 18, April 7, July 28, August 4, August 18, August 25, September 22, September 29, October 20, November 10, November 24, December 1, and the 2013 episodes dated January 19, February 9, February 23, March 9, March 16 and April 6
^Minho was absent for the 2013 episodes dated June 29, July 6, August 3, August 10, August 24, October 5, October 19, October 26, and November 30 as well as the 2014 episodes dated January 4, January 18, February 8, April 5, May 31, June 7.
^Kim Sohyun was absent for the episode dated May 31, 2014.
^Noh Hongchul was absent for the 2014 episodes dated July 5 and July 12.
^Minho was absent for the 2015 episodes dated March 21 and April 25.
^Sohyun was absent for the 2015 episode dated April 25
^Zico was absent for the 2014 episodes dated August 30 and September 13 and the 2015 episode dated April 25.
^Cha Eun Woo was absent for the 2017 episode dated September 2 (ep. 567) and the 2018 episodes dated January 20 (ep. 575) and February 3 (ep. 577).
^Xiyeon was absent for the 2017 episode dated December 16, 2017 (ep. 571), and the 2018 episodes dated January 20 (ep. 575) and February 3 (ep. 577)
^Ong Seong-wu absent for the 2018 episodes dated May 12 (ep. 587), June 2 (ep. 590), June 23 (ep. 593), June 30 (ep. 594), July 7 (ep. 595), July 14 (ep. 596), July 21 (ep. 597), August 4 (ep. 599) and August 11 (ep. 600), August 18 (ep. 601), September 8 (ep. 602).
^Mark Lee was absent for the 2018 episodes dated April 28 (ep. 586), May 19 (ep. 588), June 23 (ep. 593), and August 11 (ep. 600).
^Mina was absent for the 2018 episode dated December 8, 2018 (ep. 612) as well as the 2019 episodes dated October 19 (ep. 652) and November 9 (ep. 655)
^Mark was absent for the 2018 episodes dated October 6 (ep. 605) and October 27 (ep. 608).
^Mina was absent for the episode dated December 8, 2018 (ep. 612) as well as the 2019 episodes dated October 19 (ep. 652) and November 9 (ep. 655).
^Chani was absent for the 2019 episodes dated April 20 (ep. 629), April 27 (ep. 630), May 11 (ep. 631), August 10 (ep. 644), August 17 (ep. 645), September 21 (ep. 649), November 16 (ep. 656), December 7 (ep. 658), December 21 (ep. 660), and December 28 (ep. 661) as well as the 2020 episode dated February 29 (ep. 669).
^Hyunjin was absent for the 2019 episodes dated February 23 (ep. 622), April 27 (ep. 630), May 18 (ep. 632), August 3rd (ep. 643), September 28 (ep. 650), November 2 (ep. 654), and November 23 (ep. 657) and for the 2020 episodes dated February 1 (ep. 665), February 8 (ep. 666), February 15 (ep. 667)
^Kim Minju was absent for the 2022 episode dated September 17 (ep. 779) and the 2023 episode dated January 14 (ep. 793)
^Jungwoo was absent for the 2021 episode dated December 18 (ep. 751) and the 2022 episodes dated May 21 (ep. 766), June 4 (ep. 767), July 2 (ep. 770), August 13 (ep. 775), August 20 (ep. 776), August 27 (ep. 777), September 3 (ep. 778), September 17 (ep. 779), October 8 (ep. 782), October 22 (ep. 783), and December 3 (ep. 788) as well as the 2023 episodes dated January 7 (ep. 792) and January 14 (ep. 793).
^Lee Know was absent for the 2022 episodes dated January 15 (ep. 754), January 22 (ep. 756), March 16 (ep. 759), March 26 (ep. 760), April 30 (ep. 763), June 11 (ep. 768), June 25 (ep. 769), July 2 (ep. 770), July 9 (ep. 771), July 16 (ep. 772), July 23 (ep. 773), September 17 (ep. 779), November 12 (ep. 785), and December 3 (ep. 788) as well as the 2023 episode dated January 7 (ep. 792).
^Jungwoo was absent for the episode dated February 25 (ep. 798).
^Lee Know was absent for the episodes dated February 4 (ep. 795), February 11 (ep. 796), February 18 (ep. 797), February 25 (ep. 798), March 4 (ep. 799), March 11 (ep. 800), March 25 (ep. 802), and April 8 (ep. 803).
^Jungwoo was absent for the episodes dated June 24 (ep. 814), July 22 (ep. 818), August 19 (ep. 822), September 9 (ep. 825), September 16 (ep. 826), October 28 (ep. 830).
^Lee Know was absent for the episodes dated May 13 (ep. 808), July 22 (ep. 818), August 19 (ep. 822), September 2 (ep. 824), September 9 (ep. 825), September 16 (ep. 826), and October 28 (ep. 830).
^Sullyoon was absent for the 2023 episodes dated May 13 (ep. 808) and August 19 (ep. 822).
^Sullyoon was absent for the 2023 episode dated December 9 (ep. 836).
^Younghoon was absent for the 2023 episode dated December 9 (ep. 836) and the 2024 episodes dated January 13 (ep. 838) and February 3 (ep. 841).
^Lee, Kyung-ho (November 14, 2015). MBC, '쇼!음악중심' 21일부터 순위제 전격 폐지 [MBC, 'Show! Music Core' the ranking system will be abolished from the 21st]. star.mt.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
^Ha, Spo-jung (April 27, 2024). '음악중심' 아일릿, 활동 끝내도 1위..민희진 저격 후 음방 10관왕 [종합] ['Music Core' Illit, ranked 1st even after finishing their activities..After Min Hee-jin's sniping, they won 10 music show awards [Comprehensive]] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024 – via Naver.
^Lee, Ha-na (June 22, 2024). '음악중심' 뉴진스, 아이브·에스파 제치고 3주 1위..권은비→라이즈 컴백[종합] ['Music Core' NewJeans beats Ive and Aespa to take first place for 3 weeks..Kwon Eun-bi→Riize comeback [Comprehensive]] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024 – via Naver.
^Han, Hae-sun (July 20, 2024). 이영지, (여자)아이들 꺾고 '음중' 1위..NCT127·스키즈·이승훈·하성운 컴백[종합] [Lee Young-ji beats (G)I-dle to take first place on 'Music Core'...NCT 127, SKZ, Lee Seung-hoon, Ha Sung-woon comeback [Comprehensive]] (in Korean). Star News. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024 – via Naver.
^Lee, Ha-na (September 28, 2024). '음악중심' 데이식스 3주 연속 1위, 강다니엘→NCT WISH·피프티피프티 컴백[종합] ['Music Core' DAY6 won first place for 3 consecutive weeks, Kang Daniel → NCT WISH and Fifty Fifty come back [Roundup]] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024 – via Naver.
^Kyung, Ji-min (November 9, 2024). '음악중심' 로제X브루노마스 2주 연속 1위 질주..박진영→TXT 컴백 [종합] ["Show! Music Core" Rose X Bruno Mars has been on top for 2 consecutive weeks... Park Jinyoung → TXT comeback [Roundup]] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via Naver.
^Yoo, Soo-yeon (November 16, 2024). 브루노 마스, '음악중심'까지 정복...로제 'APT.' 1위 등극 [종합] [Bruno Mars Conquers 'Music Core'...Rosé 'APT.' 1st place [Roundup]] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024 – via Naver.
^2025년 1월 18일 음악중심 차트 [Music Core Chart for January 18, 2025]. iMBC (in Korean). January 20, 2025. Archived from the original on January 25, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
^Kin, Jong-eun (January 18, 2025). '음악중심' 지드래곤, 2주 연속 출연 없이 1위 [G-Dragon of "Show! Music Core" won first place without appearing for 2 consecutive weeks] (in Korean). TV Daily. Archived from the original on January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025 – via Naver.
^2025년 2월 22일 음악중심 차트 [Music Core Chart for February 22, 2025]. iMBC (in Korean). February 24, 2025. Archived from the original on February 26, 2025. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
^Jang, Ju-yeon (February 22, 2025). 아이브, '레블 하트'로 '음악중심' 1위…가을·리즈 "다이브 덕분" ['Show! Music Core' Ive, another 1st place win with an overwhelming score, "We're so happy"]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2025 – via Naver.
.jpg)
