The most famous Kpop idols in each continent based on a survey: BLACKPINK and BTS don’t top the rankings as expected

phuonganhvu119February 7, 2024Last Updated: February 7, 2024

3 minutes read

The results of a survey conducted among Kpop fans around the world brought a big surprise.

On November 11, the results of the survey “The most popular K-pop idol in each continent” were announced on Reddit. The final rankings, as voted by thousands of Reddit users, reveal the popularity of Kpop idol groups in different geographical regions around the world, including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

North America

The two biggest Kpop groups when it comes to the North American market are definitely BTS and BLACKPINK. BTS has had many smash hits like “Dynamite“, “Butter“, “Permission To Dance” that sweep Billboard over the last 2 years. BLACKPINK has also achieved much success when both the group’s songs and the members’ solo tracks are well received in North America.

*BLACKPINK has achieved remarkable success since debut*

*BTS is considered the most globally famous Kpop group*

However, the 1st place in North America belongs to Red Velvet with 1,115 votes, followed by TWICE (1,087 votes).

*Red Velvet unexpectedly tops the survey in terms of popularity in North America*

3rd place belongs to the rising girl group LOONA, while BTS is in 4th place. BLACKPINK ranks 6th place with 658 votes, lower than another JYP’s girl group, ITZY at 5th place.

*LOONA with a unique concept is appealing to North American Kpop fans*

*The remaining positions belong to Dreamcatcher, NCT, SHINee and SNSD respectively*

South America

There is no big difference compared to North America when in South America, Red Velvet still occupies the 1st place with 82 votes, once again followed by TWICE with 74 votes.

Dreamcatcher and LOONA also prove their popularity overseas by getting 3rd and 4th place respectively. BTS is 5th place overall and the highest ranked male group in terms of popularity in South America.

*Despite losing to many girl groups, BTS still leads the boy groups*

*In the South America survey, BLACKPINK is nowhere to be seen in the final rankings*

Europe

In Europe, TWICE shows their overwhelming popularity at No.1 with 506 votes, accounting for 15.1% of the total votes. Red Velvet is the runner-up with 448 votes.

Dreamcatcher brings a big surprise by ranking 3rd in European countries, outranking even BTS in the survey. Meanwhile, BLACKPINK only ranks 7th overall, surpassed by junior girl groups LOONA and ITZY.

Dreamcatcher - the girlgroup famous for its horror concept — *Dreamcatcher continues to rank high as voted by foreigh fans even though their popularity in Korea is not outstanding*

... and ITZY both get higher ranks than BLACKPINK — *… and ITZY both get higher ranks than BLACKPINK*

*(G)I-DLE, MAMAMOO and Stray Kids are the remaining groups in the final results*

Asia

In Asia, Red Velvet, TWICE and BTS lead the popularity rankings as shown through the survey results. Specifically, with 16.4% of the votes, Red Velvet is 1st place, followed by TWICE with 15.6% and BTS with 9.8%.

red velvet scaled — *Red Velvet ranks 1st in Asia*

*TWICE is also popular with Asian Kpop fans*

ITZY also proves their huge popularity as one of the leading Kpop groups of the 4th generation. The JYP’s girl group receives more votes than both SNSD and BLACKPINK.

*ITZY increasingly asserts the group’s popularity in the 4th generation*

Notably, BLACKPINK is often known as a girl group with a large number of Southeast Asian fans, especially Thai fans thanks to the maknae Lisa. Therefore, the fact that BLACKPINK fell from the top positions definitely causes great surprise.

*BLACKPINK has a Thai member, but still get fewer votes from Asian fans than some other groups*

Known as Kpop’s “flower garden”, having visuals that match well with the tastes of Asians, SM Ent has 5 groups that occupy top positions in the survey. This proves that SM has a significant role in bringing the Hallyu wave to Asia and the whole world.

*SM groups namely Red Velvet, SNSD, NCT, EXO all have high rankings*

Oceania

Having the “Australian sweetheart” Rosé in the lineup, but BLACKPINK fails to get the most votes in Oceania. Specifically, BLACKPINK only ranks 9th with only 80 votes, tied with the less popular girl group Dreamcatcher.

*Despite having Rosé and Jennie, BLACKPINK ranks*

... at the same level with Dreamcatcher — *… at the same level with Dreamcatcher*

Notably, girl groups continue to overshadow boy groups in this survey as TWICE, Red Velvet, and ITZY take over the Top 3, followed by BTS, NCT and Stray Kids at 4th, 5th and 6th place.