Just a week after their official debut in Japan, popular K-pop idol group Girls Generation’s first single “Genie” climbed to the second spot in the Oricon charts Sunday.

The single dropped down a notch to No. 3 as of Monday.

The single climbed after entering the Japanese charts at No. 5, while most singles in Japan fall away in subsequent weeks. 

The group’s ascent in the charts is unsurprising, as their pre-release concert last month at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo entertained a packed house of more than 22,000.

The performance also attracted wide media attention from some of Japan’s large news networks and dailies such as NHK, Fuji TV and Nikkan Sports.

The nine-member group has been keeping busy as part of the ongoing concert series “SM Town World Tour” performing alongside SM Entertainment’s roster of K-pop acts such as BoA, Shinee and Super Junior.

The group is later scheduled to perform at Japan’s biggest fashion show “Girls Award 2010 Autumn/Winter” on Sept. 18 at the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo.

Girls Award is the biggest fashion event in Japan and attracts legions of teenagers and young adults every year. The event fuses pop music and fashion shows and is attended by luminaries from both industries.

This year’s guests include ISSAXSoulJa, W-inds, Kumi Koda, 4Minute, Yuri Ebihara, Aki Hoshino, Leah Dizon, Moe Oshikiri and JAY’ED.

By Song Woong-ki (kws@heraldcorp.com)