BTS nabbed the top spot in the overall brand reputation ranking among Korean singers for the month of January. The seven-member boy group earned a total of 15,940,973 points, recording a 25.52 percent increase from their previous figures.
According to Soompi, the overall brand reputation ranking was based on the accumulated results of feedbacks, media attention, consumer interest as well as online traffic.
BTS was followed by TWICE with 13,818,852 points, while EXO secured the 3rd spot with 13,605,851 points. Other singers who made it on the list include SEVENTEEN and I.O.I at numbers 4 and 5, respectively.
Rising girl group BLACKPINK earned the 6th spot, followed by Red Velvet, BIGBANG and MAMAMOO.
A source affiliated with Korean Business Research said the move of BTS to appear on variety shows played a big factor in bringing the boy group at the top of the overall brand reputation ranking for singers.
"BTS gained global popularity last year with their "WINGS" album entering the US Billboard 200 Charts (26th place) and the UK Charts (62nd place). They will be releasing a new album on February 13," it said.
The source revealed some of the keywords linked with BTS include "big," "cute," "donated" and "appeared," adding that most of the links related with the boy group were about "Laws of the Jungle," "Golden Disc" and "fan sign events."
"The ratio of positive to negative comments showed that 87.08 percent of comments were positive," the source concluded.
BTS members previously revealed that 2016 was a meaningful year for them because of the success of "WINGS." Hence, the members are hopeful that they will continue to receive the same amount of love from their fans this year, especially now that they are scheduled to make a comeback soon.
In fact, Allkpop cited BTS have allegedly started the filming for their comeback music video last week. Despite claims, the boy group is keeping the details of their return under wraps.
Watch out for the upcoming release of BTS, titled "WINGS Sequel: You Never Walk Alone" on Feb. 13.
