Young And On Top: The Most Popular Girl Group Maknaes
Maknaes are defined as a K-pop group's youngest member. Popular maknaes are BTS' Jungkook, SHINEE's Taemin, TWICE's Tzuyu, BLACKPINK's Lisa, GOT7's Yugyeom, EXO's Sehun, WINNER's Seungyoon, and many more.
Usually, maknaes have no specific roles in K-pop groups. It is just a title since all maknaes have different personalities. Others might be energetic and hyper, and some prefer to be quiet and serious.
But just like in the South Korea Culture, K-pop maknaes are required to be respectful to every member in the group, and the rest of the members are required to look out for them and be good role models and mentors. Usually, the K-pop group's fans are overprotective over maknaes.
But just because these K-pop members are the youngest does not mean they are the least popular in the group. Recently, in the Korean Business Research Institute's list of most popular female idols in terms of brand ranking this February, five out of the thirty female idols are maknaes. Additionally, out of the top 10, three were maknaes.
For the month of February, here are the top maknaes in terms of brand ranking:
#1 MAMAMOO's Hwasa (ranked 4th overall in individual ranking)
Hwasa is MAMAMOO's vocalist, rapper, and maknae. Other members of MAMAMOO are Solae, Moonbyul, and Wheein, and they made their debut in 2018.
Currently, each member of MAMAMOO is having successful solo breakouts, especially Hwasa. The group's contract is expected to expire this year, making them a possible addition to the seven-year curse list in K-pop. But the group is expected to resign later this year.
#2 OH MY GIRL's Arin (ranked 6th overall in individual ranking)
OH MY GIRL's Arin is the girl group's lead dancer, sub vocalist, and maknae. The girl group debuted in 2015, and recently they had a photo shoot and interview with Harper's Bazaar.
The K-pop girl group shared that they are hopeful that 2021 will be a fruitful year. The last music video OH MY GIRL released was that of their song "Nonstop," so fans are anticipating their next release.
#3 BLACKPINK's Lisa (ranked 10th overall in individual ranking)
Lisa, also known as the Thai Goddess, is the main dancer of BLACKPINK and is immensely popular due to her savage dance moves and fire bars in rap. Recently, Lisa became the second most subscribed female K-Pop idol, overtaking IU.
In Addition, BLACKPINK's Lisa is set to be one of the judges for the 2021 ANDAM Awards
#4 IZ*ONE's Wonyoung (ranked 16th overall in individual ranking)
IZ*ONE is a product of Mnet's "Produce 48". Among the twelve members, Wonyoung is one of the six of their maknae line. She is also the lead dancer, sub vocalist, sub rapper, and center of IZ*ONE. Currently, the girl group's two-and-a-half-year contract is set to expire. But negotiations are in line due to IZ*ONE's massive popularity.
#5 (G)I-DLE's Shuhua (ranked 22nd overall in individual ranking)
Cube Entertainment's (G)I-DLE debuted last 2018. Among the six members, Shuhua is the vocalist, main visual, and maknae.
(G)I-DLE's most recent release is their extended play titled "I Burn," which was released last January 11 with their lead single "Hwaa".
If you wanna check out the full list of the top female idols this February, click here.