The big K-pop winners of 2015 were definitely Big Bang and EXO, according to Korea's Gaon Chart.
On Tuesday, the respected Korean music chart revealed the best selling albums in South Korea, and the two male idol groups topped the charts. EXO placed first regarding Gaon's physical albums chart, while Big Bang topped digital music charts.
EXO took the top three spots regarding physical sales, with the group's "EXODUS" album, its repackage "Love Me Right" and the Chinese version of "EXODUS" selling the most physical albums over the year.
The popularity of EXO helped the group become the first million album sellers in twelve years.
SHINee's "Odd" placed fourth.
Big Bang's eight singles released over the year as part of the group's "MADE" project album helped the group dominate digital charts in Korea, with "Bang Bang Bang" and "Loser" coming in at the top two spots.
10 Big Bang songs appeared in Gaon's top 100 most downloaded songs of 2015.
No female musical act placed in the top ten of neither the digital nor the physical album sales charts, according to Gaon.
miss A and SISTAR ranked 11th and 12th in digital sales respectively, while Girls' Generation's "Lion Heart" was the 11th best selling physical album in Korea in 2015.
---
Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey, and Paste Magazine.
