MUSIC
Lee Mu-jin Tops September's TENASIA ARTIST TOP TEN K-Pop Genre Brand
Through TENASIA's voting service, a global poll was conducted in September, divided into K-Pop Boy Brand, K-Pop Girl Brand, and Hot Genre Brand categories.
As a result of the voting, singer Lee Mu-jin secured the top spot in the K-Pop genre brand category. Lee Mu-jin debuted in May 2018 and gained public recognition by finishing third on JTBC's 'Sing Again – Unknown Singer(싱어게인 - 무명가수전)' in 2020. He currently hosts the music live talk show 'Leemujin Service' and performed at the 'ATA (Asia Top Artist) Festival 2025' on the 27th.
Singer Kim Jung-yeon took second place. He held a solo concert titled 'Performer: The Original' at Yonsei University's Sinchon Campus in Seoul last July, meeting over 1,500 fans. Kim Jung-yeon also appeared on MBC ON's 'Trot Champion' on the 25th, performing alongside artists like Tae Jin-ah, Hong Ji-yun, Kim Ui-young, and Enoch.
Tied for third place were the band DAY6, group ALLDAY PROJECT, and 10CM. DAY6 celebrated their 10th anniversary with the 'DAY6 10th Anniversary Tour 'The DECADE'' in Goyang. Since their debut in 2015, they have expanded their concert venues from YES24 Move Hall to KSPO DOME. Notably, they became the first domestic band to perform at Gocheok Sky Dome, KSPO DOME, and Goyang Sports Complex. After their concert, DAY6 released their new album 'The DECADE' with the title tracks 'Bus of Dreams(꿈의 버스)' and 'INSIDE OUT' on the 5th.
ALLDAY PROJECT, under The Black Label, debuted with their single 'FAMOUS' in June. Their double title tracks 'FAMOUS' and 'WICKED' have remained popular, ranking 5th and 29th on Melon's TOP100 chart as of the 30th, three months after release.
10CM performed on the first day of the 'ATA Festival 2025' at Nanji Hangang Park on the 27th and 28th. He showcased his professionalism by adjusting the sound on stage 20 minutes before the scheduled start. In July, he released his fifth album '5.0', with the title track 'Love is Six Strings(사랑은 여섯줄)' receiving much love. At the ATA stage, he performed new songs from the album, including 'Our Relationship Now(지금 우리 사이는)', 'Nothing's Going On', 'Dance(춤)', and the title track 'Love is Six Strings'.
Following them were WOODZ, Park Seo-jin, Park Sung-on, Hong Ji-yun, and Hwanhee.
The rankings of Lee Mu-jin, Kim Jung-yeon, DAY6, ALLDAY PROJECT 10CM, WOODZ, Park Seo-jin, Park Sung-on, Hong Ji-yun, and Hwanhee were determined by a media index using Melon scores (30%), Google Trends (10%), and global popularity votes through TENASIA's voting service (60%).
The criteria for candidates in the K-Pop Boy Brand and K-Pop Girl Brand categories are male and female idol groups and solo artists within the top 20 on Melon charts for the month. The Hot Genre Brand includes domestic groups and solo artists with a history of entering the Melon chart and Idol Champ monthly chart, also within the top 20 for the month.
Each month, the TENASIA ARTIST TOP TEN offers benefits such as exclusive feature articles and promotion on TENASIA's main page as the Artist Top Ten.
Reporter Min-kyung Lee, TENASIA 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr
