BLACKPINK Beats BTS, TWICE, Red Velvet, EXO; Crowned Korea’s Power Celebrity 2019

K-Pop is taking the world by storm. While this genre’s popularity was previously confined only in Korea and its neighboring countries, it’s no longer unusual to see popular K-Pop stars such BTS, BLACKPINK, Red Velvet and TWICE perform in the international arena.

And now, Forbes Korea finally compiled the nation’s top power celebrities of 2019. This year, BLACKPINK topped the list, uprooting 2018’s number 1 celebrity BTS.

Aside from topping Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 2019’s overall ranking, BLACKPINK likewise scored high in a few categories. For instance, the group also claimed the top spot as the influential celeb on social media with its more than 17.9 million Instagram followers. It was able to beat other popular groups such as Red Velvet and BTS in this category.

The girl group was also ranked second in earnings. It was also ranked eleventh in media exposure, as well as 15th in broadcast activities.

For the uninitiated, BLACKPICK is a four-member all-female South Korean group under YG Entertainment that debuted on Aug. 8, 2016. While the overall group has been crowned the most influential K-Pop group, its individual members are no slouches either. Jennie has 16.1 million IG followers, Lisa has 16.1 million, Rosé has 14.2 million and Jisoo has 13.6 million.

Meanwhile, last year’s top-ranked celebrity, BTS, has fallen one spot lower in the 2019 ranking. The all-male group is now ranked second right after BLACKPINK.

Apparently, BTS’s decrease in rank is due to its low activity in South Korea last year. The group was only ranked 39th in the broadcast activities category.

However, the decrease in ranking should not worry BTS fans as the group is doing more than okay. In fact, the boys are laughing all the way to the bank. The group is ranked first in the earning category, thanks to their lucrative international engagements.

“Although they came in first in media exposure and earnings, BTS, who did not have many domestic activities last year, took No. 39 in terms of broadcast activities and came in second overall,” Forbes Korea explained.

Following BTS in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 2019 rankings is Wanna One at third, Kang Daniel at fourth and Red Velvet at fifth. Meanwhile, popular boyband EXO, which ranked third last year, plunged all the way to the 10th spot in the current list.