BTS, IU, NCT, & More, Industry Professionals Name 2021’s Top Artists!
On the 4th of November Joy News 24 held a survey for 200 Korean entertainment industry insiders that are all either producers, reporters, or employees from either labels or networks.
The employees were asked to vote on who they believed the top artists of 2021 are.
Notably, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, MONSTA X, AKMU, and Baek Yerin were named as top artists in the survey but below are 7 artists chosen as the top artists of 2021.
#6. Lee Mujin and Jeon Somi - 4 votes each
"Traffic Light, "The Assignment Song," "Scent of the Day," and "Fall in Fall" were Lee Mujin's hits on the Korean charts. Furthermore, he is nominated for awards at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
"DUMB DUMB" and "XOXO" were Jeon Somi's musical releases this year and they successfully hit Korean charts. "XOXO," her first album, sold more than 30,700 copies on Hanteo within a day of its release. Jeon Somi is also nominated for awards at both the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards and 2021 Asia Artist Awards.
#5. NCT - 7 votes
"Hot Sauce," "Hello Future," "Sticker," and "Favorite" were the musical releases of NCT's sub-units. NCT 127's "Favorite" notably was able to sell 1,174,000 copies on Hanteo. NCT is now nominated at both the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards and the 2021 Asia Artist Awards.
#4. Lim Young Woong - 9 votes
Fans fell in love with Lim Young Woong's "My Starry Love" which dropped this year. Korean charts also loved the musical release and Young Woong is also nominated for accolades in the 2021 Asia Artist Awards.
#3. aespa - 12 votes
SM Entertainment's aespa has been dominating charts with both "Next Level" and "Savage." "Savage," has gone on to sell more than 147,000 copies on Hanteo in its first day. aespa is also nominated for awards at both the 2021 Asia Artist Awards and 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
#2. IU - 14 votes
IU has been killing it this year with "Celebrity," "Lilac," and "Strawberry Moon." IU's album "Lilac," has gone on to sell more than 216,000 copies on Hanteo in its first day and she is also currently nominated for awards at both the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards and 2021 Asia Artist Awards.
#1. BTS - 152 votes
With an overwhelming amount of votes, BTS took the first spot. BTS has dropped "Butter," "Permission to Dance," and Coldplay collaboration "My Universe" this year, and ARMYs simply loved them. "Butter" was able to sell more than 1,711,870 copies on Hanteo on its first day.
Furthermore, BTS is nominated for awards at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 2021 Asia Artist Awards, and 2021 American Music Awards.
Congratulations to the top artists for 2021!
