BTS and BLACKPINK take over brand reputation rankings for boy and girl groups

We have some good news for ARMYs and BLINKS! BTS and BLACKPINK have been crowned the top boy and top girl groups for the month of July. It was a commendable achievement as BTS topped the list for the 50th consecutive month with a brand reputation index of 5,786,587. On the other hand, BLACKPINK topped the list for the second consecutive month, scoring a brand reputation index of 3,133,666 for July.

The rankings were revealed by The Korean Business Research Institute and were determined through a detailed and well-researched analysis of consumer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community indexes of various K-pop boy and girl groups. This was done using considerable data collected from June 9 to July 8.

---

BTS and BLACKPINK's Jung Kook and Lisa dominate high-ranking phrases in keyword analysis for July

Bangtan and BLACKPINK’s maknae (youngest) members Jung Kook and Lisa have once again proven their star status by dominating the high-ranking phrases in the keyword analysis for July.

High-ranking phrases in BTS’ keyword analysis included “Proof,” “J-Hope,” and “Jungkook." Their highest-ranking related terms included “promote,” “release,” and “respond.” These phrases and terms correlate with their recent anniversary album release and new solo releases by members j-hope and Jung kook.

j-hope dropped the pre-release track MORE from his upcoming solo album Jack in the Box, and Jungkook released the track Left and Right in collaboration with American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth.

On the other hand, high-ranking phrases in BLACKPINK’s keyword analysis included “Lisa,” “Instagram,” and “fashion show.” Their highest-ranking related terms included “model,” “make a comeback,” and “surpass.” These words and phrases are related to Lisa’s recent appearance at CELINE’s fashion show, where she was invited as a special guest — along with BTS’ V and Park Bo-gum — and also referenced the girl group’s recent comeback announcement, which broke the internet.

Bangtan’s positivity-negativity analysis also revealed a high score of 60.89 percent positive reactions, while BLACKPINK’s positivity-negativity analysis revealed a score of 77.81 percent positive reactions.

BTS’ labelmate SEVENTEEN held onto the second spot with a brand reputation index of 3,911,076, marking a 32.84 percent decrease in their score since last month. NCT rose to third place for July with a brand reputation index of 2,326,899, despite witnessing a 12.63 percent decrease in their score since June.

For K-pop girl groups, IVE rose to second place for the month with a brand reputation index of 3,120,003. Finally, fromis_9 took third place for July after seeing a whopping 180.45 percent increase, bringing their total score to 2,882,432 for the month.

---

BTS landed a total of four albums on the World Albums chart this week

BTS saw a total of four albums on the World Albums chart this week. Bangtan’s anniversary anthology album Proof stayed strong at number 2 in its third week on the chart, in addition to ranking high on Billboard 200.

Proof also received an official double-platinum certificate for having over 500,000 units shipped to Japan in the first month of its release.

The global septet’s Love Yourself: Her also came in at number 7 on the World Albums chart, Love Yourself: Tear at number 9, and Map of the Soul: 7 at number 11.

---

BLACKPINK’s Playing With Fire dance practice video surpasses 200 million views on YouTube

BLACKPINK has hit yet another milestone on YouTube! As of July 9, BLACKPINK's dance practice video for Playing With Fire has racked up over 200 million views on YouTube.

It was originally released on November 4, 2016, and has reached this amazing milestone five years and eight months after its release.

Playing With Fire was originally released on November 1, 2016, as the lead song from their second single album titled Square Up.

---

BTS members will hold a global concert in October in Busan, their first big group performance ever since they announced a break from group activities at the Festa dinner in June.

BLACKPINK has announced that they will be making their grand comeback in August with an extensive world tour by the end of the year.