ENTERTAINMENT
Virtual Group Issegae Idol Tops April's TENASIA Artist Top Ten K-Pop Girl Brand
In April, TENASIA conducted a global vote through its voting service, dividing categories into K-Pop Boy Brand, K-Pop Girl Brand, and Hot Genre Brand. The voting took place from April 10 to 23.
'Artist Top Ten,' organized by TENASIA, is a monthly competition that selects the most buzzworthy domestic artists. Male idols, female idols, and genre artists (indie, mixed groups, ballads, etc.) representing K-pop compete for the top spot in each category.
The virtual group Issegae Idol claimed the top spot in the K-Pop Girl Brand category. Formed through an audition planned by internet broadcaster Woowakgood, they debuted on December 17, 2021, as a six-member virtual idol group. Last month, they made headlines by becoming the first virtual idol to win the Post Generation Award at the Hanteo Music Awards.
Singer and actress IU secured the second position. She is currently starring as Seong Hee-joo in the MBC drama '21st Century Grand Duchess' alongside actor Byeon Woo-seok. In the drama, set in a constitutional monarchy in 21st-century Korea, IU plays a wealthy chaebol who is a commoner by status, and she shares a romance with Grand Prince Ian (played by Byeon Woo-seok), who is the king's son but cannot have anything. Additionally, on the 29th, she appeared with Byeon Woo-seok on the YouTube channel 'Yoo In Radio,' hosted by her close friend, actress Yoo In-na.
Kim Sejeong, a singer and actress, ranked third. She officially debuted as a member of I.O.I in 2016 through Mnet's 'Produce 101.' Recently, I.O.I announced their reunion after nine years and revealed the tracklist for their third mini-album 'I.O.I: Loop' on the 27th via their official social media. Celebrating their 10th anniversary, the group will promote as a nine-member unit, excluding Kang Mina and Zhou Jieqiong due to prior commitments, with members Lim Na-young, Chungha, Kim Sejeong, Jung Chae-yeon, Kim So-hye, Yoo Yeon-jung, Choi Yoo-jung, Kim Do-yeon, and Jeon So-mi.
Following them were Hatz to Hearts, BLACKPINK, IVE, ITZY, SECRET NUMBER, TWICE, and fromis_9.
The rankings of Issegae Idol, IU, Kim Sejeong, Hatz to Hearts, BLACKPINK, IVE, ITZY, SECRET NUMBER, TWICE, and fromis_9 are determined 100% by voting scores conducted on the TENASIA application. After the monthly voting concludes, the artists with the highest combined fan voting scores are selected as the Artist TOP 10. An event is also held on the voting page, where one heart is gifted daily for attendance check.
Candidates for the K-Pop Boy Brand and K-Pop Girl Brand categories are selected from the top 20 teams on the Melon Chart and Idol Champ Monthly Chart for the month. Candidates for the Hot Genre Brand category are determined from the top 20 teams on the Melon Chart and Celeb Champ Monthly Chart for the month.
Artists who make it to the 'Artist Top Ten' TOP 10 receive benefits such as special articles linked to their final ranking, promotion on the TENASIA website, and inclusion in the following month's Artist Top Ten candidates (limited to the first-place artist).
By Min-Kyung Lee, TENASIA Reporter 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr
