Top 5 most searched female idols on Youtube Korea every year within the last 12 years: BLACKPINK never ranks first?
BLACKPINK tops female idols in terms of global popularity but not in their home country.
Every year, the Kpop industry sees the debut of numerous new girl groups from big, medium and small entertainment companies. The Korean public is very fond of female idols, but with such a large number of artists and a market that is getting saturated, it’s impossible for every idol to shine equally.
During the 12 years from 2010 to 2021, the fluctuations in the popularity of female idols in Korea can be shown through their search rankings on YouTube Korea. If we take a look at the Top 5 most searched female artists on YouTube over the past 12 years, it can be seen that although each year differs, IU is indeed Korea’s No.1 female singer with a consistent popularity.
2010
2010 was MissA’s debut, and the JYP’s group excellently entered the Top 5 most searched female idols in the same year, along with top names at the time like SNSD, KARA, IU, T-ARA. In particular, SNSD earned first place thanks to the release of 2 smash hits, Oh! and Run Devil Run.
5th place: MissA
4th place: T-ARA
3rd place: IU
2nd place: KARA
1st place: SNSD
2011
2011 continues to be a successful year for the “nation’s girl group” SNSD. Along with the release of the hit The Boys, SM’s golden girlgroup also began to transform into a more mature and classy concept. Notably, 2NE1 had an impressive rise to 3rd place.
5th place: SISTAR
4th place: T-ARA
3rd place: 2NE1
2nd place: IU
1st place: SNSD
2012
Another year without much change in the popularity of female idols. “Summer queen” SISTAR rose to 4th place, while T-ARA dropped out of Top 5 due to their bullying scandal.
5th place: T-ARA
4th place: SISTAR
3rd place: 2NE1
2nd place: IU
1st place: SNSD
2013
2013 was considered a successful year for both Girl’s Day and APINK. If Girl’s Day made a strong impression with Expectation, APINK drew massive attention with the classic hit NoNoNo. 2013 was also the year SNSD ended their domination streak for 4 consecutive years.
5th place: SISTAR
4th place: Girl’s Day
3rd place: APINK
2nd place: IU
1st place: SNSD
2014
From 1st place, SNSD dropped straight to 5th place in the most searched female artists in Korea. APINK achieved great success thanks to 2 smash hits Mr. Chu and LUV, and became the most searched girl group in 2014.
- 5th place: SNSD
- 4th place: AOA
- 3rd place: Girl’s Day
- 2nd place: IU
- 1st place: APINK
2015
APINK‘s overwhelming impact in Korea lasted until the end of 2015, although the group’s later title tracks were no longer as well received as before. On the other hand, EXID made a spectacular comeback thanks to Hani’s viral fancam, and AOA rose to the top thanks to the great success of “Heart Attack“.
5th place: AOA
4th place: EXID
3rd place: SNSD
2nd place: IU
1st place: APINK
2016
With the debut of TWICE, Kpop girl group industry turned to a new page. TWICE’s super hits “Cheer Up” and “TT” in the same year have helped them achieve a position that no one can beat. In addition, the top 5 most searched female artists on YouTube Korea also welcomed many new names including I.O.I, MAMAMOO, and G-FRIEND.
5th place: G-FRIEND
4th place: IU
3rd place: MAMAMOO
2nd place: I.O.I
1st place: TWICE
2017
After the world-shaking debut, BLACKPINK entered the list for the first time at No. 4. Red Velvet also jumped to No.3 thanks to the success of the song “Russian Roulette”. This is considered the beginning of the brilliant golden age of 3rd Gen Kpop girl groups, and the beginning of the trio TWICE – BLACKPINK – Red Velvet.
5th place: MAMAMOO
4th place: BLACKPINK
3rd place: Red Velvet
2nd place: IU
1st place: TWICE
2018
2018 was a brilliant year for TWICE. The group released consecutive hits “What Is Love?”, “Dance The Night Away”, “YES Or YES” and affirmed their unrivaled level on the Kpop race.
5th place: MAMAMOO
4th place: BLACKPINK
3rd place: Red Velvet
2nd place: IU
1st place: TWICE
2019
Compared to 2018, TWICE started to show signs of decline in popularity but still managed to compete for 1st place on Korean YouTube’s chart. Meanwhile, IZ*ONE appeared and pushed Red Velvet to the bottom of the list.
5th place: Red Velvet
4th place: BLACKPINK
3rd place: IZ*ONE
2nd place: IU
1st place: TWICE
2020
Thanks to the super hit “How You Like That”, BLACKPINK “defeated” TWICE and became the hottest girl group in Korea in 2020. However, the group still could not surpass IU to win the first place. “eight” (featuring BTS’s Suga), the song given the title “the hymn of youth”, became one of IU‘s most popular Korean hits.
5th place: OH MY GIRL
4th place: IZ*ONE
3rd place: TWICE
2nd place: BLACKPINK
1st place: IU
2021
The great success of the mega hit “Next Level” has put rookie aespa on the same level with all of the seniors IU, BLACKPINK, and TWICE. The top 3 in 2021 is no different from 2020, IU is still the name on the top. Thus, up to this point, BLACKPINK has never won 1st place despite their popularity across Asia and the West.
5th place: OH MY GIRL
4th place: aespa
3rd place: TWICE
2nd place: BLACKPINK
1st place: IU
IU is a rare case of Kpop. No one can know what the limit of IU is when she constantly outpaces herself in the old year. For the length of 12 years, IU has never left the Top 5 female artists chart most favored by Korean audiences, and even won first place for 2 years in a row when she entered the 12th and 13th years of her career.
