[Yoo Dae-gil = dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
BTS (Bangtan Boys) has topped the brand value list of South Korean singers as the group's record-breaking new album Wings" generated an explosive response in China and other countries, standing at No. 26 on Billboard's 200 chart.
BTS was at the top of the data collected from September 20 to October 21, followed by I.O.I. and EXO, according to the Korea Institute of Corporate Reputation.
The institute attributed the group's phenomenal popularity to active interaction with global fans through YouTube and other social networking services. BTS became the first K-pop act to log three entries on the Billboard 200.
The music video for the group's title track "Blood, Sweat & Tears" has collected more than 30 million views on YouTube, becoming the first K-pop group to set a milestone in the shortest time.
"Without any English singles, they've managed to become the highest-ranked Korean act on the Billboard 200 and even topped the Social 50 chart," Billboard commented in a lengthy article on its website.
BTS still is not "exactly a household name to many American music listeners", Billboard said, but the boys have gone out of their way to interact with their global fanbase with each member often updating Twitter accounts and interacting with fans through regular live streams.
Unlike other K-pop groups, Billboard said BTS has co-written the majority of songs to create a distinct hip-hop-infused dance style in the midst of a rap renaissance in South Korea.
K-pop has been typified as a manufactured pop genre created by companies with performers who have little say in their music, but over the past few years, that's been changing as more Korean artists show off their production skills, it said.
Aju News Park Sae-jin and Lim Chang-won
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
