Hearts2Hearts Wins Their First 'Lemon Tang' Trophy: The Basics
Two weeks after their first stage, Hearts2Hearts walked off a Mnet studio floor holding a trophy. The SM Entertainment group's summer title track "Lemon Tang" took No. 1 on "M Countdown" in only its second week of promotions.
Hearts2Hearts won their first music show trophy for "Lemon Tang" on the July 2, 2026 broadcast of Mnet's "M Countdown" (Episode 935), finishing with 6,431 points . The song had premiered as a first-public stage one week earlier, on the June 25 episode (EP. 934) of the same program, making this a second-week win .
The essentials of the win:
- Who: Hearts2Hearts, the SM Entertainment girl group that debuted February 24, 2025 with the single album "The Chase"
- What: No. 1 trophy for "Lemon Tang" with 6,431 points, beating the only other nominee that week — the LE SSERAFIM x ILLIT x KATSEYE collaboration "ICONIC BY MISTAKE"
- When: July 2, 2026 broadcast, "M Countdown" EP. 935
- Where: Mnet's "M Countdown," which also uploaded the No. 1 encore stage to its official channel
It was a first win for the song but not a first for the group. Hearts2Hearts had already picked up multiple trophies during its "RUDE!" promotional run earlier in the year, including a triple crown on "M Countdown" in March .
What Hearts2Hearts Beat to Take the Trophy
Hearts2Hearts won the July 2 "M Countdown" trophy over a single competitor: "ICONIC BY MISTAKE," the cross-label collaboration single by LE SSERAFIM, ILLIT and KATSEYE, which was the only other nominee that week . "Lemon Tang" finished with 6,431 points, a tally that sits directly between two "ICONIC BY MISTAKE" wins on the same program . In other words, the collaboration held the No. 1 spot the week before and reclaimed it the week after — Hearts2Hearts broke the run in the middle.
The four-week sequence on Mnet's chart-winner log reads as follows, according to Wikipedia's List of M Countdown Chart winners (2026):
| Episode | Broadcast date | Winner | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP. 933 | June 18, 2026 | aespa — "Lemonade" | 6,263 |
| EP. 934 | June 25, 2026 | LE SSERAFIM x ILLIT x KATSEYE — "ICONIC BY MISTAKE" | 6,654 |
| EP. 935 | July 2, 2026 | Hearts2Hearts — "Lemon Tang" | 6,431 |
| EP. 936 | July 9, 2026 | LE SSERAFIM x ILLIT x KATSEYE — "ICONIC BY MISTAKE" | 6,876 |
The gap is narrow in both directions. Hearts2Hearts landed 223 points below the collaboration's June 25 total and 445 below its July 9 total, but 168 above aespa's June 18 winning score . Music show scores combine digital and physical sales, broadcast points, social metrics and live viewer voting, so a one-week swing of this size usually reflects a shift in the vote and sales windows rather than a change in the songs themselves.
The rest of the EP. 935 lineup was crowded. Performers that night included SEVENTEEN's V8 unit, EVAN (Heeseung), RIIZE, MEOVV, izna, IDID, CLASSy, Choi Yoojung, Jang Haneum, Keyveatz, USPEER, AtHeart, UAU, dodree, UDTT, Baek A Yeon and Haena . Several of those acts — including SEVENTEEN V8, UAU and dodree — were nominated on other music shows during the same promotional stretch, which makes the July 2 result less a quiet week than a case of the collaboration and Hearts2Hearts splitting a full field's attention. Full performance coverage of the episode is available via Soompi, and Mnet posted the No. 1 encore stage to its official "M Countdown" channel.
Why This Win Matters for Hearts2Hearts
The July 2 trophy marks Hearts2Hearts crossing from viral breakout to repeat music-show winner roughly 16 months after debut. The group debuted on February 24, 2025 with the single album "The Chase" , and broke through commercially with the February 2026 single "RUDE!", whose spoken interlude circulated widely online . "Lemon Tang" is the follow-up that converted that attention into a second consecutive winning promotional cycle.
"RUDE!" had already delivered the group's first win on a public broadcast network music show, taking MBC's "Show! Music Core" on March 14, 2026 with 7,514 points, followed by a triple crown completed on the March 19 "M Countdown" broadcast, where "RUDE!" posted 8,136 points against BLACKPINK's "GO" . Against that record, the July 2 "Lemon Tang" win extended a trophy run that had already produced multiple wins that spring. A follow-up trophy arrived six days later, when "Lemon Tang" won MBC M's "Show Champion" Episode 602 on July 8, 2026 with 6,280 points.
Timing is the other reason the win registered. It landed in only the second week of "Lemon Tang" promotions, after the song's first public stage on the June 25 episode (EP. 934) . In the encore, members thanked SM Entertainment staff who worked on the second mini album and the fandom, officially named S2U, with several saying the result did not feel real this early in the cycle .
"I thought I had misheard when our name was called," Ian said during the encore, per fan translations of the segment; Korean outlet Topstarnews headlined the same speech with the member ad-lib "하츄 사랑해." Attribution of individual lines varies between the Korean report and English fan translations.
The Comeback Behind the Trophy: 'Lemon Tang' Mini Album
"Lemon Tang" is Hearts2Hearts' second mini album, released on June 22, 2026 , and it is the record that carried the group into its first trophy run of the summer. The six-track set opens with the title song and runs through "15-LOVE," "Baby Steps," "heart emoji (♡)," "Secret Recipe" and "RUDE!" — the last being the February 2026 single whose spoken interlude circulated widely online and became the group's commercial breakthrough.
The sales figures are where the release separates itself from the group's earlier work. SM Entertainment reported first-week sales of 592,312 copies on the Hanteo Chart, the label's stated highest figure for the group to date and its first half-million-selling release . One dating note worth keeping straight: the Korean coverage of that milestone is dated June 29, 2026, which is sometimes misread as the album's release date rather than the June 22 street date .
Chart performance followed across formats and markets. The mini album took No. 1 on Circle's weekly retail album chart, while the title track reached No. 1 on both the K-pop weekly chart and the trending/rising chart on China's QQ Music .
The concept is built into the name. "Lemon Tang" is a portmanteau of the sour "lemon" and the sharp, fizzy "tang," framing a dance-pop summer track around the idea that something sour on its own turns sweet-and-sour when shared . That shared-flavor framing also ran through the release's tie-ins, including a limited premium ice cream flavor themed to the song's lemon–cheesecake–popping-candy profile, though pricing and availability windows appear only on the respective brand pages .
What Comes Next: Promotion Schedule and Where to Watch
Hearts2Hearts kept promoting "Lemon Tang" without a break after the M Countdown trophy, appearing on KBS 2TV's "Music Bank" on July 3 and MBC's "Show! Music Core" on July 4, with three members serving as special MCs that week . A second trophy followed quickly: the group won MBC M's "Show Champion" Episode 602 on July 8, 2026 with 6,280 points .
That Show Champion nominee field was wider than the two-way M Countdown race, including dodree's "HAWWAH," ATEEZ's "BAD," SEVENTEEN V8's "singasong," and UAU's "GENE" (source: Soompi, 2026-07). It was the group's second trophy for "Lemon Tang" specifically, following the July 2 M Countdown win .
Beyond weekly music shows, the same promotional cycle took the group to festival stages, including 2026 MyK FESTA and the 2026 Busan One Asia Festival (BOF with NOL) .
For fans who missed the live broadcast, two official uploads cover the win itself:
- Mnet M Countdown (official channel) — the full No. 1 encore stage, posted as "7월 1주 1위 'Hearts2Hearts'의 'Lemon Tang' 앵콜 무대! (Full ver.) #엠카운트다운 EP.935" (YouTube).
- Mnet MPD fancam channel — a 4K No. 1 encore fancam dated 2026.7.2, filmed as a single-member focus rather than the broadcast cut .
The practical takeaway: two trophies in seven days, on two different networks, with a 592,312-copy first week behind them (source: Kyunghyang Sports, 2026-06) — which means the next things worth tracking for Hearts2Hearts are festival bookings and any tour announcement out of SM Entertainment, not whether "Lemon Tang" charts.
Frequently asked questions
When did Hearts2Hearts win their first trophy for 'Lemon Tang'?
Hearts2Hearts won their first "Lemon Tang" trophy on July 2, 2026, on Episode 935 of Mnet's "M Countdown," finishing with 6,431 points . The win came in only the second week of promotions for the song, which had its first public stage on the June 25 broadcast (EP. 934) of the same program (source: Soompi, 2026-07).
Who did Hearts2Hearts beat to win on M Countdown?
The only other nominee that week was "ICONIC BY MISTAKE," the collaboration single by LE SSERAFIM, ILLIT and KATSEYE . It was a narrow window: "ICONIC BY MISTAKE" took the trophy on either side of the July 2 broadcast, winning EP. 934 on June 25 with 6,654 points and EP. 936 on July 9 with 6,876 points (source: Wikipedia M Countdown chart winners, 2026-07).
How many music show trophies does Hearts2Hearts have as of this win?
Several from earlier in the year: "RUDE!" won on Mnet's "M Countdown" on March 5, 2026, on MBC's "Show! Music Core" on March 14, 2026 with 7,514 points, and completed a triple crown back on "M Countdown" on March 19, 2026 with 8,136 points . "Lemon Tang" then added a second trophy six days after its July 2 M Countdown win, taking the July 8, 2026 episode of MBC M's "Show Champion" (Episode 602) with 6,280 points .
What songs are on the 'Lemon Tang' mini album?
"Lemon Tang," released June 22, 2026, is a six-track mini album containing the title track "Lemon Tang," plus "15-LOVE," "Baby Steps," "heart emoji (♡)," "Secret Recipe" and "RUDE!" . "RUDE!" is the February 2026 single whose spoken interlude circulated widely online and became the group's commercial breakthrough (source: Kyunghyang Sports, 2026-06).
How well did 'Lemon Tang' sell commercially?
SM Entertainment reported first-week sales of 592,312 copies on the Hanteo Chart, the group's first half-million seller and its highest sales figure to date . The mini album also took No. 1 on the Circle weekly retail album chart, while the title track reached No. 1 on both the K-pop weekly chart and the trending chart on China's QQ Music (source: Hankyung, 2026-06).
Official Sources
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This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
