MelOn is one of the most used streaming platforms among Koreans, which is also exclusively available in the country. Thus, in K-pop, there is a chart wherein fans can check the number of unique listeners (ULs), or those who tuned in for a certain song or group. Here, the competition is truly intense. But among idol groups, these 10 K-pop groups dominated the list for having the highest cumulative ULs.
On October 19, the Top 10 K-pop groups with the most unique listeners in MelOn in history were revealed. Top-tier groups BTS, EXO, BIGBANG, SHINee, MAMAMOO, Girls' Generation, and more made the cut, earning praises from K-pop fans.
What is MelOn and Why are Unique Listeners Important?
MelOn is the biggest music streaming service in Korea with approximately 30 million listeners or users.
In K-pop, charting on this platform is a huge achievement as this doesn't only determine how popular a song or a group is, but also reflects on the tally of scores for one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies, the MelOn Music Awards (MMA), at the end of the year.
To secure a trophy from the awards ceremony, the number of ULs is one of the criteria, along with judges' scores, fan voting, and streams.
On top of this, ULs are also an indicator of the increase of popularity of a group as unique listeners determine the number of "unique" individual who listens to a song/group at a certain time rather than streams wherein fans can listen to a song multiple times and still be counted.
ALSO READ: 2020's Top 50 Songs on MelOn With The Highest Cumulative Listeners
Here are the Top 10 K-pop Groups with the Most Unique Listeners in MelOn in History
Based on the latest cumulative ranking, BTS tops the list with 259.6 million ULs. Indeed, the global group consistently reigns in the streaming platform not only in terms of ULs but as well as streaming.
As of July 2021, the most streamed song in MelOn is "Spring Day" with about 780 million streams at that time.
Following BTS is EXO, with 160.8 million ULs.
BIGBANG completed the Top 3 with 155.3M ULs.
Second-generation groups such as "K-pop's Princes" SHINee and "K-pop's Beast" Highlight also entered the rankings at No. 9 and No. 10 with 74.1M and 73.4M ULs, respectively.
Moving on to girl groups, MAMAMOO members proved that they are "Vocal Queens" as the only girl group in the list with 100 million unique listeners in history.
They entered No. 3 overall, and No. 1 in the female category. This is not to mention that they are also the only group from a small company to gain such a number, a proof that their talent and skills were widely acknowledged even by non-K-pop fans.
Trailing behind MAMAMOO are the two generations of "Nation's Girl Group" Girls' Generation and TWICE.
Despite hiatus, SNSD ranked No. 5 in the Top 10, while TWICE entered at No. 6, being the youngest group in the list.
Red Velvet and 2NE1 completed the list at No. 7 and 8 with more than 80 million ULs.
Here's the Full List:
- BTS — 259.6M
- EXO — 160.8M
- BIGBANG — 155.3M
- MAMAMOO — 101.6M
- Girls' Generation — 90.8M
- TWICE — 90.2M
- Red Velvet — 85.5M
- 2NE1 — 83.2M
- SHINee — 74.1M
- HIGHLIGHT — 73.4M
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Idol Groups & Soloists with Longest Perfect All-Kills & Unique Listeners on Melon in K-pop History
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Written by Eunice Dawson
