Top 5 best Kpop rookie artists in 2021 chosen by 200 industry insiders: aespa received the most votes, no boy group made it onto the list

November 16, 2021Last Updated: November 16, 2021

1 minute read

Let’s find out who are the most outstanding K-pop rookies of 2021 as voted by 200 industry professionals.

On the occasion of its 17th anniversary, the famous entertainment news site JoyNews24 conducted a survey from October 12 to 19 to select the best dramas, movies, actors, singers and entertainment programs of 2021 with the participation of 200 industry insiders, including staff of entertainment companies, TV stations, film and content producers and entertainment news reporters.

In the survey, the category of ‘Best Rookie Artist of 2021’ draws much attention. Although the leading positions of this category are predictable, many netizens are curious as to which artist the rest of the rankings belong to.

The following artists each received one vote: Jeon Somi, Bookku Ddoong, Yang Ji Eun, Brave Girls, VERIVERY, Weeekly, JUSTB, SSAK3, CIIPHER, HOT ISSUE, LIGHTSUM and CRAVITY.

5th place: Purple Kiss (2 votes)

Purple Kiss’s ‘Zombie’ performance

4th place: MSG WANNABE (11 votes)

MSG WANNABE (M.O.M)’s ‘Foolish Love’ performance

3rd place: Lee Mujin (21 votes)

Lee Mujin’s ‘Traffic Light’ performance

2nd place: STAYC (36 votes)

STAYC’s ‘STEREOTYPE’ performance

1st place: aespa (117 votes)

Ranking No.1 is aespa with 117 votes – an overwhelming number of votes compared to the remaining artists. SM Entertainment‘s rookie girl group debuted in November 2020 and shot to fame in May 2021 after releasing ‘Next Level’ – a hit that has charted high on Korean digital platforms until now.

In October 2021, aespa released their first mini-album ‘Savage‘ and has recorded the highest sales among Kpop girl groups of 2021 (so far). Moreover, ‘Savage‘ has continued to dominate digital music charts and helped aespa become the first 4th generation K-pop group to achieve Realtime All-Kill.

aespa performed the song ‘Savage’

‘Savage‘ debuted at No. 20 on Billboard Global 200, while aespa peaked at No. 20 on Artist 100. ‘Savage’ also topped the World Albums and Independent Albums Chart. Thanks to their remarkable domestic and international success, it’s understandable that the group received the most votes from industry officials. aespa is also expected to win Best New Artist and Best Female Group at different year-end awards.

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