BTS holds the crown in May's boy group rankings — even while on a break!

The Korean Business Research Institute revealed its monthly brand reputation rankings for male idol groups for May. A multitude of data collected between April 10 and May 10 to track shifts in public sentiment and popularity form the basis of this research. Remarkably, BTS has maintained a firm grip on the charts even after taking a hiatus since 2022.

Numerous important indicators, such as customer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community indexes, were thoroughly examined in order to determine the rankings. The Top 5 and the subsequent groups are examined in more detail below.

BTS

The 7-member boy group topped the list once again with a brand reputation index of 7,811,108, marking a 2.54% increase from April. Their positivity-negativity analysis revealed a remarkable 92.02% positive response rate. The members — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook — will make a comeback as a group in June 2025 after being on hiatus due to mandatory military service.

SEVENTEEN

The 13 members of SEVENTEEN — S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino — maintained their strong hold on second place with a brand reputation index of 5,729,258, reflecting their continued popularity. The group is set to make their highly anticipated comeback with the HAPPY BURSTDAY album on May 26, 2025, celebrating their 10th anniversary.

BIGBANG

The three members of BIGBANG — G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung — climbed to third place this month with a score of 3,381,072, marking a strong return to the top ranks. This month, they also earned an official platinum certification for their iconic hit FANTASTIC BABY after it surpassed 100 million streams in Japan.

TWS

The 6 members— Shinyu, Dohoon, Youngjae, Hanjin, Jihoon, and Kyungmin — helped TWS rise to fourth place with an 85.77% increase in their brand reputation index, reaching 3,135,194. They will launch their first local tour and debut in Japan this July with the 24/7:With:Us in Japan tour, set to run for about a month.

THE BOYZ

THE BOYZ, composed of members Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Ju Haknyeon, Sunwoo, and Eric, secured fifth place with a brand reputation index of 2,819,185, maintaining a solid presence among the top boy groups. However, this marks a 7.53% decrease compared to April's index of 3,048,818.

Check out the Top 30

6. EXO?

7. SHINee?

8. Super Junior?

9. ENHYPEN?

10. NCT?

11. Stray Kids?

12. BTOB?

13. ZEROBASEONE?

14. ATEEZ?

15. ASTRO?

16. INFINITE?

17. HIGHLIGHT?

18. BOYNEXTDOOR?

19. MONSTA X?

20. Wanna One?

21. 2PM?

22. TVXQ?

23. RIIZE?

24. TREASURE?

25. B1A4?

26. TXT?

27. ONF?

28. FTISLAND?

29. VIXX?

30. PENTAGON?