fromis_9's 'Glow ME' Sells 93,900 in Week One — What a 5-Member Comeback Proves

Fewer members, a new agency — and fromis_9's fandom still opened its wallet. Here's what the numbers say.

What the Album Is

fromis_9 released their 2nd full album, [Glow ME], at 6 p.m. KST on July 21, 2026. The 10-track album's title song is "Vitamin ME." It's their first full album since [Unlock My World] in June 2023 — and their first full-length release under a new agency.

fromis_9's contract with Pledis Entertainment, a HYBE label, expired at the end of 2024. Five members — Song Hayoung, Park Jiwon, Lee Nagyung, Lee Chaeyoung, and Baek Jiheon — signed with the newly founded agency ASND in January 2025. The other three, Lee Saerom, Lee Seoyeon, and Roh Jisun, chose to pursue individual activities and left the group. There were early concerns over who would hold the rights to the "fromis_9" name, but after negotiations with Pledis, the group kept it. [Glow ME] is the first full album from this reorganized 5-member lineup.

The Numbers Behind the Comeback

On release day, July 21, [Glow ME] topped Hanteo's daily physical album chart with 33,082 copies (No. 2 was 8TURN's [Ⅷ.X] with 21,119, No. 3 was CORTIS's [Color Outside the Lines] with 19,769). Cumulative first-week sales (July 21–27) came in at roughly 93,900 copies (trackers differ slightly, ranging from about 93,633 to 93,964).

Comparing this to past releases shows what the number really means. fromis_9's all-time first-week record is [from our Memento Box] (2022, still a 9-member group), with 138,170 copies. [Glow ME] is their 4th-best first week ever, and it beat the ~90,000 first-week figure of 2024's single [Supersonic].

Digital chart performance told a quieter story. Title track "Vitamin ME" peaked at only No. 56 on Melon's real-time TOP100 and No. 104 on Genie's real-time chart. On YouTube Music's domestic weekly chart, it debuted at No. 22 with 961,348 streams. Meanwhile, on Ktown4u — a physical-album sales platform aimed at overseas fans — all four album versions (Fruit, Photobook, Vitamin, Glow) landed in the daily top ranks (No. 1, 2, 6, and 7), signaling solid overseas physical demand.

What Drove This Performance

The most notable backdrop is that sales held up despite fewer members. Compared to the group's all-time high of 138,170 copies as a 9-member act, this 5-member first week (about 93,900) comes in at roughly 68%. Given that the lineup shrank by about 44% (from 9 to 5), per-member sales contribution actually increased — a sign that loyalty toward the remaining five members is remarkably strong.

Second is the agency change. Without the marketing and distribution muscle of a major label (HYBE-affiliated Pledis), a first full album from a newly founded agency, ASND, still posted first-week numbers this strong — suggesting the group's own fandom purchasing power mattered more than the agency's brand.

Third is the physical-digital gap. Near-record album sales paired with a No. 56 streaming peak suggests a large share of purchases were driven by collecting and fan-support motives rather than streaming intent. The four separate album versions, and their sweep of the top ranks on Ktown4u, back up the idea that this performance rests on organized global-fandom buying power rather than mainstream domestic popularity.

Records and What They Mean

[Glow ME]'s 4th-place first-week ranking is unusually strong for a group eight years into its career and just months into a major lineup change. Beating [Supersonic]'s record reaffirmed the general rule that full albums outsell singles. It still trails the final cumulative sales of [Unlock My World] (2023, roughly 190,000 on Circle Chart) — but that's a comparison between a first-week figure and a finished promotional cycle's total, and [Glow ME]'s sales can still climb from here.

What's Next

[Glow ME]'s opening week gives fromis_9 solid evidence that its core fandom held firm through both an agency change and a smaller lineup. If the streaming weakness persists, though, stronger music-show and digital promotion will likely be the group's next challenge. If album sales keep climbing steadily in the coming weeks, and YouTube views and overseas streaming follow suit, this release stands a good chance of being remembered as the group's first hit since going independent.

This is nuloq's own analysis based on the public charts, reporting, and official data listed under Sources, written with the help of AI. It is an interpretation of public data for information only — not a definitive judgment of any artist or agency — and chart figures reflect the time of writing. We correct the text if errors are found.