The most famous K-pop artists have caused a sea change in South Korean pop music over the last decade by taking their songs all over the world. Aside from the Western music industry, K-pop has become one of the most lucrative musical enterprises of all time thanks to its jaw-dropping popularity and immersive performances, which are only surpassed by its enormous fanbase.
Korean pop music has been around for a long time, even before its recent explosion in popularity. The first Korean pop group formed in the 1950s. But the Hallyu wave—sometimes called the Korean wave—didn’t illuminate South Korea’s pop landscape until the early 2000s.
As the likes of EXO, BTS, and BLACKPINK rose to prominence in the middle of the 2000s, K-pop began to have an even greater impact on Western nations.
These days, K-pop is so ubiquitous and well-loved all over the world that each new generation of musicians achieves meteoric rises upon their debut. We Got This Covered has compiled a list of the most popular K-pop bands based on Spotify’s monthly listeners, in case you’re interested in keeping up with the latest scene.
BTS
The fact that BTS has remained the most beloved K-pop group ever is not unexpected. It is impossible to put a price on BTS’s impact, even if the group is always shattering records and reaching heights never previously seen in the industry.
Even though BTS has been around for a while the members are taking a vacation from group activities to participate in the necessary conscription the group’s popularity has never faltered. They are about to celebrate their tenth year of actively working together.
Three rappers (RM, SUGA, and J-Hope) and four singers (Jungkook, Jimin, Jin, and V) made their debut in 2013 as BTS. At the moment, they’re all focusing on developing their unique musical selves. Proof, BTS’s anthology album from 2022, featured four new songs in addition to their greatest hits.
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BLACKPINK
Blackpink followed quickly after, amassing an equally remarkable assortment. With just two studio albums under their belts, the four-piece girl trio still managed to rack up 22 million monthly listeners just last month.
In the same way that BTS established K-pop’s global presence, BLACKPINK did the same. From the very beginning, Lisa, Rosé, Jisoo, and Jennie captivated millions of fans across the world with their fresh perspective on the K-pop industry, which had previously been dominated by bubble gum pop.
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TWICE
One of the most famous K-pop groups right now, TWICE is steadily gaining more and more fans. With singles like “Alcohol-Free” and “FANCY” among their many hits, K-Pop superstar TWICE has been dominating the charts as of late.
Despite the fact that TWICE appears to be a mainstay of the modern girl group scene, right up there with fourth-generation groups, the truth is that they only made their debut in 2015 and have only just begun to utterly transform the South Korean music business with their captivating sound.
NewJeans
Since making its debut in July of 2022, the most popular new female group has been steadily climbing the charts. In spite of their relative inexperience in the K-pop industry, NewJeans have achieved impressive statistics with their four-song EP and single. Considering how brief their career is, this female group’s achievement of amassing over nine million monthly listeners as of December is very remarkable.
Stray Kids
After appearing on a reality show produced by JYP Entertainment, fourth-generation boy group Stray Kids (or SKZ for short) made their debut in 2018 under the label. Considering they were a young group comprised of inexperienced performers, Stray Kids’ meteoric rise to fame as one of K-Pop’s most sought-after male groups was all the more remarkable. Their legion of devoted fans had been cheering them on during their auditions.
With nine members, including six singers (Bang Chan, Lee Know, Han, Seungmin, I.N., and Woojin) and three rappers (Changbin, Felix, and Hyunjin), Stray Kids have released two studio albums and multiple EPs and compilations.
Woojin, one of the singers, however, departed the group and ended his contract for reasons nobody knows. Similarly, Hyunjin did not do anything for a while. Stray Kids are still one of the most famous K-pop groups today, despite their troubled career, thanks to their eight million monthly listeners and counting.
TXT
After Bighit, who had previously solely managed BTS, expanded into other groups, Tomorrow x Together (TXT) gained an enormous fanbase almost instantly. Because of their direct link to the most famous K-pop artists in the world, attentive fans have been keeping a watch on this family group for four generations.
They are the first male K-pop group to have a debut EP reach number one on the Billboard World Albums Chart and number 140 on the US Billboard 200 with 2019’s The Dreamcatcher: Star. For more updates you can join us on our Twitter account.
