BTS’s Jimin Holds 1st Place for 207 Consecutive Weeks; V’s Spotify K-Pop Solo Account Reaches 20 Million Followers

The members of BTS are achieving remarkable success in their solo activities. Jimin demonstrated astonishing popularity by remaining at the top of the Star Ranking male idol chart for 207 consecutive weeks, while V set a record by becoming the first K-Pop solo artist on Spotify to surpass 20 million followers. Jimin’s long-term dominance serves as an indicator of the strength of K-Pop fandoms and their consistent support for individual members. In the 207th Star Ranking male idol vote held from the 9th to the 16th, Jimin received 56,180 votes, securing an overwhelming first place. 2PM’s Junho came in second with 28,819 votes, followed by BTS’s Jin in third place with 11,260 votes. V and SUGA also made it into the top five, respectively with 5,457 and 2,264 votes, proving that BTS remains the strongest force among male idols.

Meanwhile, V is establishing an even more dominant position on Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform. As of October 5, he reached 20 million 1,176 followers, becoming the first K-Pop solo artist to do so, and his current count stands at 20 million 3,163 followers. This is the highest record ever achieved by a K-Pop solo artist and ranks fourth even when combining K-Pop groups and solo artists. V’s solo activities have centered around his debut solo album *Layover*. *Layover* debuted at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200, setting the highest ranking for a K-Pop solo artist, and it was the first K-Pop solo artist whose all tracks exceeded 100 million streams. Additionally, V became the first K-Pop solo artist to have all tracks from an album appear on both the Billboard Global 200 and the World Albums chart outside the U.S. In the U.S., he was the first Asian solo artist to have all tracks from an album sell over 100,000 units. The success of *Layover* was recognized at international music awards as well. It won in the “Favorite Debut Album” category, which features albums released worldwide rather than those in the K-Pop section, at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards. NME described the album as “an appealing outcome that survived a rigorous testing process, an album that makes artistic choices over commercial ones.” The British publication *Time Out* included it on its “30 Best Albums of 2023” list.

V’s solo songs have shown consistent musical growth over time. His first solo song, “Stigma,” released in 2016, demonstrated his powerful vocals across both low and high ranges using falsetto techniques. “Singularity,” released in 2018, received widespread praise from major international media outlets such as the UK’s *The Guardian*, U.S. *Time* magazine, *The New York Times*, and *LA Times*, which hailed it as the best song of the year. The OST for the drama *That Year We Were* titled “Christmas Tree” was the first Korean OST to appear on the Billboard Hot 100. “Sweet Night,” the OST for *Itaewon Class*, which V participated in writing, composing, and producing, topped the iTunes Top Songs chart in 119 countries.

A full reunion of BTS is also approaching. BTS, including Jimin, is accelerating work on new music with the goal of making a comeback in the spring of 2026, and they have announced a large-scale world tour alongside the release of new songs. As “21st-century pop icons,” both the cumulative achievements of each member individually and their potential reunion as a group are generating high expectations among fans worldwide.