[1] BTS: If you’re a child or a teen and not know the names and moves of J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V, RM, Jin, and Jungkook — the seven members of the phenomenal dance-oriented wonder group, you must belong to another planet. Or a different generation. Also known as the Bantang Boys (or Beyond the Scene) who first came out in the limelight in 2013, BTS are the best-selling artist in South Korean history and the first K-pop group to grab a Billboard Music Award, but they are also the most popular K-pop group in 2022. BTS is the first South Korean group that crossed 10 million Twitter followers (now >46.7 million today, July 20, 2022). BTS fans are called ARMY.
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[2] EXO: They made first their debut in 2012, building a massive fanbase since then. Better known for their tracks "Slowly", "Call me bat", Love me right", "Monster", and "Lotto", the EXO also form part of the UNICEF. They have growing number of adherents, too. While the three members — Chanyeol, Suho, D.O Xiumin — served in the army, the other members were releasing their singles. No doubt, this is another one of the popular K-pop groups in 2022.
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[3] BLACKPINK: The hugely successful Seoul-born K-pop girl group consists of members like Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. They’re currently the highest-charting female South Korean group on the Billboard Hot 100. More importantly, they’re the first K-pop group who joined YouTube’s ‘billion views club’ in November 2019, with their single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" being played a gazillion times (it’s 1.9 billion as of today). Their 2020 collection “The Album” became the first-ever compilation to sell more than one million copies by a Korean girl group.
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[4] NCT: The phenomenal group stands for Neo Culture Technology, and is composed of 21 members. The group is clustered into many small units. The first group team was put together in April 2016, with only two members — Mark and Jaehyun. As they hopped from one city to another around the world, 7 more members were member. Their second sub-team is NCT 127, while NCT Dream and WayV form other sub-groups. That formula has been widely successful — NCT127 is based in Seoul and the Subunit WayV is based in China. Their first album “NCT 2018 Empathy” was released in 2021; the second came in 2 parts — “NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1” and “Pt. 2”. Together, they sold more than 2.6 million copies in 60 days. They received their first Grand Daesang Award at Asia Artist Awards 2020.
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[5] MONSTA X: This 2022, the six-member Monsta X hold the No. 5 spot among the 20 popular K-pop groups. Formed in 2014, the team has since been known for their dynamic style, a great combo of hip hop, pop and electronic dance music (EDM). They made their debut on May 14, 2015, with “Trespass”, which reflected Monsta X’s different and unique character that seems to that draw people of all ages. Rhymer, the famous South Korean rapper, produced the track.“The Clan”, their first full-length album, grabbed for them a spot on Billboard’s World Albums. They initially started with 7 members, but Wonho left the group in 2019. They have so far released 6 albums — 3 Korean, 2 Japanese, and 1 English.
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[6] RED VELVET: This year’s top K-pop list is incomplete without Red Velvet, a girl group that started with only 4 members. After their debut, another member was added. Managed by SM entertainment, Red Velvet made their debut on August 1, 2014 on KBS’s Music Bank with “Happiness”. The group has so far released two albums. Their team member Wendy collaborated with the American Musician and artist John Legend for the “Written in The Stars” track.
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[7] WANNA ONE: The 11-member highly energetic electro-pop songs and remarkable choreography have made them one of the top K-pop acts, managed by CJ E&M. In 2017, they gained a lot of attention. It’s not clear why the band’s members planned to disband by the end-2018, but its understood they each wanted to pursue solo careers. The members are: Ji Seong, Sung Woon, Min Hyun, Seong Woo, Ji Hoon, Woo Jin, Jae Hwan, King Daniel, Jin Young and Lai Kuan-lin.
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[8] TWICE: Twice is hands down one of most phenomenal K-pop girl groups in 2022. Formed seven years ago, the group initially kicked off with 8 girls when they made their official debut on October 20, 2015, with “Like OOH AHH” — combining catchy lines youthful moves. The music video, featuring zombies and an an iconic breakdance took to a higher pitch. Their 2016 hit “Cheer Up”, followed by "Heart Attack” had their own pulling power.
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[9] GOT7: They're another Korean K-pop sensation, which emerged with their hit single “Girls, Girls, Girls” in January 2014. They combine the unique style in their repertoire by martial arts-inspired moves. Got7, groomed by JYP Entertainment, levelled up their style in the track “Just Right”, with its simple lyrics and catchy chorus — pushing their fame up further. They have so far put together 5 albums, which include the famous tracks like “If you do", “Eclipse”, “Just Right”, “A” and “Lullaby”.
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[10] ASTRO: The group debuted under Fantagio Entertainment in February 2016 with their hit single “Hide & Seek.” Since then the group has continued to rise and rise each year. They've amassed more than 11 million followers across Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and have earned over 30 award show nominations throughout their career. The six-member group all underwent a talent development program before making their group debut. Billboard honoured Astro as the best new K-pop group of this year. Astro members are Jinjin, Moonbin, Sanha, MJ, Rocky, and Eunwoo. According to one report, the ASTRO members' contract will last until February 2023, while Ong Seong Wu's goes until August 2024.
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