If you are a music fan, you will have noticed the growing popularity of K-pop music and stars around the world. K-pop music and idols are trending all over the internet thanks to their unconventional music style and performances. There have been debates on who the most popular K-pop stars are and we offer our opinion here in this post.
Sehun (EXO)
Oh Sehun, or just Sehun, was scouted by SM Entertainment at the tender age of 12 while he was out having lunch with his friends. He joined the group in 2008 and went through four auditions in two years and emerged as EXO’s fifth member in January 2012. He received the Weibo Star Award as voted by users of Chinese social networking site Sina Weibo at the 5th Gaon Chart K-pop Awards.
Lee Ji Eun
Lee Ji Eun, known as IU is one of the most popular singer-songwriters in South Korea. Her name combines I and You, which means “We are one through music”. She signed with Kakao Entertainment as a trainee at the age of 15 and made her first album Lost and Found. She failed at least 20 auditions before making hits like Palette, Bibbi and Bluming. Besides being a popular singer, she is also an actress to be reckoned with. IU was nominated for the Excellence in Acting Award at the 2013 KBS Drama Awards for her performance in Dream High.
Jennie Kim (Blackpink)
Jennie Kim, from the K-pop girl group Blackpink is the second most followed K-pop idol on Instagram, right behind Lisa, her fellow bandmate. She debuted as a Blackpink member in August 2016 under YG Entertainment and made her debut two years later with the single, Solo. She was initially supposed to be sent to the United States to be trained as a lawyer while studying in New Zealand. But she was interested in K-pop when she heard it while in New Zealand and was particularly interested in music from YG Entertainment. Her family supported her return home to South Korea and the rest is history.
Lisa (Blackpink)
Lisa or Lalisa, is the most followed Blackpink member and K-pop artist on Instagram. Born in Thailand to a Thai mother and Swiss father, Lisa auditioned for YG Entertainment in Thailand in 2010 when she was just 13 years old. She was the only one to qualify out of 4,000 applicants. She was the first to join YG label as a non ethnic trainee in 2011. She debuted as one of four members of Blackpink in 2016, with their single, Whistle topping all South Korean charts upon debut.
She became the third member from Blackpink to release her own single album titled Lalisa. Its lead single of the same name was released in September 2021 with the song charting at number two on the Billboard Global 200. The single sold 736,221 copies in Korea in its first week of release and set the record for the highest first-week sales among all female artists. Lisa became the first female soloist to achieve 500,000 copies in first-week sales.
Jimin (BTS)
Jimin debuted with BTS in 2013 and is the lead vocalist and dancer of the group. Under the super-popular band, he released three solos - Lie, Serendipity, and Filter. Both Lie and Serendipity surpassed fifty million streams on Spotify in 2018, followed shortly by the full-length version from BTS’ Love Yourself: Answer compilation album which met the milestone in 2019. He became the only Korean artist to ever cross the 50 million streams each. Psy held the record previously with his hit Gangnam Style and Gentleman.
Kim Tae-Hyung (BTS)
Kim Tae-Hyung, more popularly known as V, is a singer-songwriter from BTS. He was a secret member of BTS, purposely hidden by Big Hit Entertainment until he made his debut in 2013. V’s solo song Singularity made its UK radio debut on BBC Radio in October 2019. Singularity was well received by critics as Billboard included the song in their Critics’ list of the Top 50 BTS songs at number 28. V came up with the phrase “I purple you” during BTS’ fan meeting in November 2016 and since then, purple has become a symbol of BTS and their fans. UNICEF has also used the phrase for its anti-bullying campaign in collaboration with BTS.
Jungkook (BTS)
Jungkook is the youngest member and vocalist of BTS. He is not only popular in South Korea but has a global fan base. His fame lies in his performance in raps and unique dance moves. His fascinating personality and looks have also helped him continue with his success. He was initially rejected in Superstar K auditions but received training offers from seven entertainment companies. He picked Big Hit Entertainment, after seeing his fellow BTS bandmate RM’s performance.