K-POP Dominates Global Stage...SEVENTEEN Ranks No. 1 on Billboard, ROSÉ’s “APT.” Nominated for Grammy Award

Korean pop music has achieved remarkable success on the global stage this year. In Billboard’s 2025 K-POP Artist 100 list, SEVENTEEN topped the rankings. The group was honored for its consistent performance over 13 years, based on a comprehensive evaluation of their scores on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200, and Global 200 charts, along with tour data, streaming figures, and album sales. This year, SEVENTEEN made its debut on the Billboard 200 in November with “Spill the Feels,” reaching position 5, and further solidified its global presence in June by climbing to No. 2 with “HAPPY BURSTDAY.” Meanwhile, the group’s three sub-units—BSS, HOSHI X WOOZI, and CxM (S.COUPS X MINGYU)—also released albums, demonstrating the group’s extensive global influence. ROSÉ (BLACKPINK) wrote history with her collaboration track “APT.” with Bruno Mars. This song debuted at No. 8 on the Hot 100 in October 2024, marking the highest chart position ever achieved by a K-POP female solo artist. “APT.” rose to No. 3 in February 2025, highlighting the strong global impact of Korean female artists when including her results as a BLACKPINK member. STRAY KIDS also broke records. They secured consecutive No. 1 spots on the Billboard 200 with “HOP” in December 2024 and “KARMA” in August 2025, becoming the first group from any country to achieve No. 1 in all seven of their first chart entries since the chart began publishing official weekly rankings in 1956. ATEEZ recorded their second album to reach No. 1 with “Golden Hour: Part 2” in November 2024, and further entered the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 in 2025 with “Golden Hour: Part 3” and “Lemon Drop,” respectively. TWICE’s fourth studio album “THIS IS FOR,” released in July 2025, stayed on the Billboard 200 for 14 consecutive weeks. Among its tracks, “Strategy” and “TAKEDOWN” (by Jungyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung) reached No. 51 and No. 50 on the Hot 100, respectively. The global influence of K-POP idols is evident even in South Korea. According to Google Trends data, JENNY (BLACKPINK) led in searches for Korean female idols on YouTube in 2025. Following her were KARINA (aespa), WONYUNG (IVE), WINTER (aespa), and ROSÉ (BLACKPINK). In the male idol category, G-DRAGON (BIGBANG) ranked first, followed by JUNGKOOK (BTS), LEE CHANGSEOP (BTOB), CHA EUNWOO (ASTRO), and D.O. (EXO). International media outlets also paid close attention to K-POP this year. The UK’s NME listed ENMIXX’s “SPINNIN’ ON IT” as the top track among the best 25 K-POP songs of 2025, while Billboard’s staff selected ENMIXX’s “Blue Valentine” as the best song of 2025. JENNY’s “Like Jennie” ranked high on both Billboard (No. 5) and NME (No. 4), and BLACKPINK’s Title Track “뛰어” also made it onto major international media rankings, proving the group’s and its members’ success in both group and solo activities.