Notes

Inkigayo debuted as SBS Popular Song in 1991 as a chart show but was canceled in fall 1993 because it was replaced by TV Gayo 20. It was later revived in 1998 with its original title and format. In 2003, the chart format was removed and was replaced by Take 7, where seven of the most popular artists from the week are featured and the most popular artist receives the award for Mutizen Song.

In spring 2007, the program changed from a recorded broadcast to a live broadcast in an effort to boost ratings, as well as changing the English name to The Music Trend. On November 2, 2008, the program moved from 3:20 pm to 4:10 pm Sunday afternoons, airing before Good Sunday, also to boost ratings. In spring 2010, the program expanded to 70 minutes beginning at 3:50 pm every Sunday.

On July 10, 2012, SBS announced revamping the show removing the Take 7 system and Mutizen Song award, explaining that "we believe that rather than the ranking system, the most important thing is the genre K-Pop being recognized worldwide. Therefore, we have decided to abolish the system after much discussion. There’s really no meaning behind a ranking system. We have decided to undergo this change in hopes that viewers can just enjoy the music. There are a lot of K-Pop stars in the music industry that have talent. We wanted to break free from the repetitive system, in which artists release new songs and perform, so we plan on redesigning our system by having the concept of more special stages. For viewers to enjoy the music, we will have more collaboration stages and much more." The revamped show, without Take 7 and Mutizen Song award, began on July 15, 2012.
On March 3, 2013, the program announced the revival of the chart system with the Inkigayo Chart. The new chart is a collaboration with the Music Industry Association of Korea's Gaon Chart and began March 17, 2013.

Take 7 is the representative segment of Inkigayo. Every week, seven of the most popular songs of that week are featured, where most artists will perform. At the end of the show, the Mutizen Song ("Mutizen" is a portmanteau of "music" and "netizen", symbolizing a song chosen by netizens) is the most popular song of the week, receives the award. This has replaced the regular countdown charts format seen in most music programs and eliminates the need to rank artists. One song can only receive the award a maximum of three times. The following week, it is removed from the Take 7 list. This system was abolished on July 10, 2012.

K-pop, short for Korean popular music, is a genre of music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It is influenced by styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, experimental, rock, jazz, gospel, hip hop, R&B, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. The more modern form of the genre emerged with the formation of one of the earliest K-pop groups, the boy band Seo Taiji and Boys, in 1992. Their experimentation with different styles and genres of music and integration of foreign musical elements helped reshape and modernize South Korea's contemporary music scene.