YouTube, like Instagram and Twitter, is a popular social media network where we can watch a variety of material, including videos from our favorite K-pop stars. Many of these celebrities have their own YouTube channels where they vlog about their daily lives or provide behind-the-scenes footage. And, of course, they make some more money as a result. Forbes Korea published a list of celebrities with the highest-earning YouTube channels in 2021 in August 2021. K-pop artists make up 16 of the 20 celebs included, which is maybe predictable. We’ve compiled a list of the top five. (At the time of writing, all YouTube statistics were available.) Can you guess who made the top 5 list and who made the most money this year?
1. Tomorrow X Together
8.07 million subscribers 874 videos
551.4 million views
Tomorrow X Together, Big Hit Entertainment’s second boy band after BTS, was placed No. 10 with an estimated yearly income of 1.1 billion Korean won (about US$989,000). With five members, the boy band debuted in 2019 and continues to attract K-pop fans’ attention. According to Soompi, they are the third K-pop group to exceed 10 million TikTok followers, following only BTS and Blackpink.
2. Seventeen
(US$1.7 million)
7.15 million subscribers, 951 videos, 2.3 billion views. Seventeen is a boy band created by Pledis Entertainment in 2015. They debuted as a monster rookie group in 2015, winning three rookie awards, as well as six bonsangs (major prizes) and one daesang (grand prize). Seventeen is one of the most prevalent K-pop groups.
3.Blackpink
11.6 million
69.3 million subscribers 395 videos 20.9 billion views. The leading female band Blackpink is ranked in the top two, as most K-pop fans had previously surmised. (They’re also among the most-followed Korean celebrities on Instagram.) Blackpink has a long list of accomplishments and honors behind them, and the vast amount of YouTube views demonstrates this.
4. BTS
US$16.5 million
1,628 subscribers: 13.7 billion views Finally, the top spot on the list has been revealed: it belongs to K-pop sensation BTS and its official YouTube account BangtanTV, which is derived from their Korean group name, Bangtan Sonyeondan, mixed with TV. Their YouTube following has surged with lots of affection from global fans thanks to their original material, interviews, and vlogs (they even broadcast Jin’s tennis practice and “Study with BTS”).
Source: Scmp.com
