If the K-Pop world fascinates you, you must have your own favorite K-pop groups. Since the rise of Korean pop music, most people have found their comfort in the genre. From hip-hop to jazz, from electronic dance to folk, K-pop songs have spread out through all of these genres as well. The craze was seen especially when everyone was grooving to Psy’s Gangnam Style, but with the rise of BTS, the K-Pop world has finally received the craze it deserved. However, there’s still a long way to go.
There are more than 200 K-Pop groups currently, and only some of them make it to the top lists. Though these rankings are not always permanent, it shows when a group rose to its fame. With the rise of K-Pop groups in recent media, we can be assured that the genre would have a much longer stay. K-Pop is not just dominant in the music industry but is an inspiration in the fashion industry as well. It opens up a whole new culture and teaches us that music has the power to surpass language barriers.
Also read: Top 10 4th Generation K-pop Female Visuals – Ranked
Top 10 K-Pop Groups Ranked
Depending on your music taste, your favorite groups might differ. The rankings of these K-Pop groups are not always constant. Let’s take a look at the current K-Pop group rankings according to their monthly Spotify listeners. Did your favorite K-Pop group make it?
10. Astro
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 765k
The six-member group Astro is making its way to being one of the best groups in the K-Pop world. Astro is comprised of six talented artists MJ, Cha Eun Woo, Moon Bin, Rocky, Jinjin, and Yoon San Ha. The group debuted with the song Hide & Seek in 2016 and has won several awards, including the Golden Disk Award on 5th January 2020.
9. GOT7
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 1.8 Million
GOT7 has been active since 2014, when they debuted with their first EP called “Got it?” on 20th January 2014. As soon as their first album was released, it instantly rose to the top of Billboard’s World Albums Chart. GOT7 mainly makes music from the genres of hip-hop and R&B. IN 2022; they received the award for Best Global Artist. Previously, they won the Foreign Artist of the Year in 2020 and Global Artist top 12 in 2019.
8. Monsta X
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 2.7 Million
The K-pop group debuted with seven members in 2015. In 2019, one of the members, Wonho, left the group, making it a six-member group at present. The group has won 51 awards so far and was nominated for 141 awards.
7. Ateez
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 3.1 Million
The K-pop boy band belongs to the fourth generation. They were formed by KQ Entertainment and debuted with eight members in 2018.
6. EXO
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 3.9 Million
EXO was formed in 2011 by SM Entertainment with nine members, including Lay, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Kai, D.O., Chen, Suho, Xiumin, and Sehun. They were also listed in the Forbes list of the top 5 most influential celebrities.
5. Girls Generation
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 5 Million
Girl’s Generation is a girl group also formed by SM Entertainment in 2017. After losing one member, Jessica, the group is presently a right-member group. Girl’s Generation is also known as the first Asian group to get 100 million views in five of their music videos.
4. Red Velvet
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 5.7 Million
Red Velvet made their way into the K-pop industry on 1st August 2014 with their first single, “Happiness” which was released on 4th August of the same year. There were recipients of several awards, including the Golden Disc New Artists Awards and the Asia Artist Award.
3. Stray Kids
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 6.6 Million
Stray Kids debuted on the 25th of March in 2018 under the JYP Entertainment label with District 9. The group is now comprised of 8 members after Woojin left in 2019. Till now, they have received about 37 awards, including the 2019 Groove Award and the 2022 Top Social Global Artist of the Year Award.
2. Blackpink
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 29.1 Million
Blackpink as a girl group has received the most success and is often termed as the “biggest girl group in the world.” They released their first debut song on 8th August 2016 and are still going strong. Among the list of awards they have received, the most notable ones are a Teen Choice Award, three People’s Choice Awards, and six Golden Disc Awards.
1. BTS
Monthly Spotify Listeners: 45.2 Million
BTS is easily the most successful K-pop group with its numerous awards and hit songs. The seven-member group released their first album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, on 12th June 2013.
Currently, they are the best-selling artist in the history of South Korea. Along with receiving awards and breaking records, BTS is also named on Time’s list of 25 most influential people from 2017 to 2019.
