Top 30 female idols with the highest number of Unique Listeners on Melon in history: BLACKPINK almost makes it to the Top 10, MAMAMOO leads all girl groups
Meanwhile, no representative of the 4th generation has reached the same level as their seniors to enter this digital ranking.
K-pop fans must be no longer unfamiliar with the concept of Unique Listeners (ULs for short) on the Melon chart. Unlike the number of streams that can be counted multiple times for the same account, with Unique Listeners, no matter how much an account listens to a certain song over and over, it will still only be counted as one ULs unit. For this reason, while streaming volume reflects fandom power, Unique Listeners are considered the most accurate measure of the public popularity of any artist or song.
Recently, Korean netizens have compiled and shared a ranking of 30 female idols (both girl groups and female soloists) with the highest number of Unique Listeners on Melon in Kpop history. This ranking also includes some other factors such as cumulative streaming, most streamed songs and songs with the most Unique Listeners by each artist. However, the key factor determining the rankings is the total number of Unique Listeners they have earned in their careers, thereby showing which female artists have the highest public recognition on Melon, Korea’s biggest music streaming platform.
1. IU
Total number of Unique Listeners: 326.56 million
Total stream counts: 6.75353 billion
Most streamed song: “Through The Night” (346 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Through The Night” (7.2 million)
2. Taeyeon
Total number of Unique Listeners: 121.94 million
Total stream counts: 2.25356 billion
Most streamed song: “Four Seasons” (194.6 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Four Seasons” (5.2 million)
3. MAMAMOO
Total number of Unique Listeners: 121.2 million
Total stream counts: 2.05157 billion
Most streamed song: “Starry Night” (182.8 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Starry Night” (5 million)
4. TWICE
Total number of Unique Listeners: 91.41 million
Total stream counts: 2.72256 billion
Most streamed song: “Cheer Up” (274.1 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Cheer Up” (5.8 million)
5. SNSD
Total number of Unique Listeners: 91.16 million
Total stream counts: 1.18223 billion
Most streamed song: “Lion Heart” (90.5 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Party” (3.9 million)
6. Red Velvet
Total number of Unique Listeners: 86.22 million
Total stream counts: 1.937 billion
Most streamed song: “Red Flavor” (223.2 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Red Flavor” (5.7 million)
7. 2NE1
Total number of Unique Listeners: 83.49 million
Total stream counts: 1.26010 billion
Most streamed song: “Come Back Home” (83.8 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “I Don’t Care” (4.5 million)
8. SISTAR
Total number of Unique Listeners: 71.21 million
Total stream counts: 1.1843 billion
Most streamed song: “SHAKE IT” (132.2 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “SHAKE IT” (4.8 million)
9. A Pink
Total number of Unique Listeners: 62.72 million
Total stream counts: 1.23164 billion
Most streamed song: “Mr. Chu” (123.1 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Mr. Chu” (4.4 million)
10. T-ara
Total number of Unique Listeners: 62.38 million
Total stream counts: 916.44 million
Most streamed song: “Roly-Poly” (69.8 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Roly-Poly” (3.6 million)
11. BLACKPINK
Total number of Unique Listeners: 62.34 million
Total stream counts: 1.77887 million
Most streamed song: “DDU-DU DDU-DU” (228.3 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “DDU-DU DDU-DU” (5.6 million)
12. BoA
Total number of Unique Listeners: 61.26 million
Total stream counts: 597.27 million
Most streamed song: “Only One” (63.5 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Atlantis Princess” (3.2 million)
13. Soyou
Total number of Unique Listeners: 60.38 million
Total stream counts: 1.17777 billion
Most streamed song: “Some” (243 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Some” (5.3 million)
14. Brown Eyed Girls
Total number of Unique Listeners: 59.48 million
Total stream counts: 677.2 million
Most streamed song: “Abracadabra” (53.6 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Must Have Love” (3.8 million)
15. GFRIEND
Total number of Unique Listeners: 53.28 million
Total stream counts: 1.33586 billion
Most streamed song: “Rough” (191.6 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Me gustas tu” (5 million)
16. Wonder Girls
Total number of Unique Listeners: 52 million
Total stream counts: 696.1 million
Most streamed song: “Why So Lonely” (118.2 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Why So Lonely” (4.1 million)
17. f(x)
Total number of Unique Listeners: 49.69 million
Total stream counts: 614.52 million
Most streamed song: “Rum Pum Pum Pum” (56.9 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Hot Summer” (3.5 million)
18. Hyorin
Total number of Unique Listeners: 46.29 million
Total stream counts: 735.5 million
Most streamed song: “Blue Moon” (142.3 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Blue Moon” (4.4 million)
19. Chungha
Total number of Unique Listeners: 45.43 million
Total stream counts: 866.45 million
Most streamed song: “Roller Coaster” (159.4 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Gotta Go” (4.8 million)
20. Jung Eunji
Total number of Unique Listeners: 43.1 million
Total stream counts: 840.79 million
Most streamed song: “Hopefully Sky” (144.3 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “All For You” (4.8 million)
21. Oh My Girl
Total number of Unique Listeners: 43 million
Total stream counts: 996.31 million
Most streamed song: “Nonstop” (155.5 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Nonstop” (4.3 million)
22. Girl’s Day
Total number of Unique Listeners: 40.23 million
Total stream counts: 647.59 million
Most streamed song: “Something” (97.4 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Darling” (4 million)
23. 4Minute
Total number of Unique Listeners: 34.85 million
Total stream counts: 478.7 million
Most streamed song: “What’s Your Name?” (76.3 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “What’s Your Name?” (3.4 million)
24. AOA
Total number of Unique Listeners: 34.14 million
Total stream counts: 715.45 million
Most streamed song: “Heart Attack” (140.3 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Heart Attack” (4.4 million)
25. Suzy
Total number of Unique Listeners: 33.14 million
Total stream counts: 545.4 million
Most streamed song: “Dream” (136.3 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Dream” (4.2 million)
26. Lee Hyori
Total number of Unique Listeners: 32.91 million
Total stream counts: 291.85 million
Most streamed song: “U-Go-Girl” (37.9 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “U-Go-Girl” (3.2 million)
27. Sunmi
Total number of Unique Listeners: 31.78 million
Total stream counts: 670.58 million
Most streamed song: “Gashina” (156.7 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Gashina” (4.9 million)
28. Gain
Total number of Unique Listeners: 31.68 million
Total stream counts: 447 million
Most streamed song: “Bloom” (62.6 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Bloom” (3.1 million)
29. Hyuna
Total number of Unique Listeners: 30.97 million
Total stream counts: 432.89 million
Most streamed song: “Bubble Pop” (49.8 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Bubble Pop” (3.4 million)
30. KARA
Total number of Unique Listeners: 30.13 million
Total stream counts: 357.82 million
Most streamed song: “Step” (41.9 million)
Song with the most Unique Listeners: “Lupin” (2.6 million)
