This year's best-selling artists on Gaon are finally revealed! In the female category, TWICE, ITZY, BLACKPINK and more dominated the rankings, while BTS, NCT and SEVENTEEN reigned in the male category.
Read the article to see the top 15 selected for the respective categories and the overall rankings.
On December 23, Gaon Chart, one of the major Korean music charts, revealed the top 15 Best-Selling Artists in 2021.
Artists' data from January to December were collected (Week 1 to Week 50) and among numerous K-pop artists active and debuted this year, TWICE and BTS were crowned as best-sellers in 2021.
BTS Reigns as Best-Selling Artist in 2021 for Both Male and Overall Categories
According to Gaon Chart, BTS sold the most album copies this year. In 2021, the phenomenal boy group sold 7.02 million. Among their releases, the megahit "Butter" single album, surpassed 3 million, and its special album "BE" released in December last year, gained more than 2.7 million sales.
ALSO READ: NCT's 'Universe' Takes No. 1 on Several Weekly Album Charts including Gaon and Hanteo
Following them, NCT 127 and NCT Dream ranked no. 2 and no. 3, respectively. This year, the multi-member group NCT and its sub-units proved their skyrocketing careers after exceeding million album copies for each of their releases, such as NCT 127's "Sticker" and NCT Dream's "Hot Sauce."
TOP 15 Best-selling Male Artists on Gaon in 2021
1. BTS — 7.20M
2. NCT 127 — 4.04M
3 NCT DREAM — 3.88M
4. SEVENTEEN — 3.79M
5. Stray Kids — 2.66M
6. ENHYPEN — 2.16M
7. TXT — 2M
8. ATEEZ — 1.85M
9. EXO — 1.49M
10. THE BOYZ — 1.44M
11. EXO Baekhyun — 1.04M
12. MONSTA X — 831K
13. NCT — 793K
14. ASTRO — 735K
15. SHINee — 453K
TWICE Hailed the Best-Selling Female Artist, Becomes the Only Girl Group to Enter Top 10 on Gaon's Overall Rankings
For the female artist category, TWICE proved their impressive performance this year as the only girl group to sell out about 1.6 million copies. The nine-member band topped the rankings for female artists. On top of this, TWICE is the only girl group to enter the top 10 on Gaon overall rankings at No. 9.
Meanwhile, ITZY proved their position as "4th gen leaders" at No. 2, while BLACKPINK Lisa ranked No. 3, followed by her co-member Rosé. They both debuted as soloists this year.
TOP 10 Best-selling Female Artists on Gaon in 2021
1. TWICE — 1.59M
2. ITZY — 920K
3. BLACKPINK Lisa — 766K
4. BLACKPINK Rosé — 622K
5. aespa — 572K
6. IU — 458K
7. Red Velvet — 456K
8. BLACKPINK — 432K
9. STAYC — 280K
10. (G)I-DLE — 218K
TOP 15 Overall Best-selling Artist on Gaon in 2021
1. BTS — 7.20M
2. NCT 127 — 4.04M
3. NCT DREAM — 3.88M
4. SEVENTEEN — 3.79M
5. Stray Kids — 2.66M
6. ENHYPEN — 2.16M
7. TXT — 1.85M
8. ATEEZ — 1.85M
9. TWICE — 1.59M
10. EXO — 1.49M
11. THE BOYZ — 1.44M
12. EXO Baekhyun — 1.04M
13. ITZY — 920K
14. MONSTA X — 831K
15. NCT — 793K
READ MORE: TWICE's 'Formula of Love: O+T=<3' Becomes the Best-Selling Girl Group Album on Gaon in 2021
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Written by Eunice Dawson
