"People love real vocalists" — Fans react as BTS' Jungkook & IU emerge as the world's most beloved K-pop artists

BTS’ Jungkook and solo artist IU emerged as the most loved K-pop artists across the globe, as per a recent survey conducted by Arirang TV. On July 8, 2025, CEO Kim Tae-jung unveiled the result of the survey, which was held between June 23, 2025, and July 7, 2025, and had participation from 601 respondents spanning 94 countries. Notably, these consumers of K-content were all viewers of the South Korean channel Arirang TV.

Jungkook, the youngest member of BTS, dominated the most loved K-pop male singer rankings, with 12.7% of the respondents voting for him. Meanwhile, singer and actor IU reigned as the most loved female K-pop singer, with around 17% of voters choosing her.

Notably, the top voting countries were revealed to be the United States with 17.6% of the total votes, followed by the Philippines and Japan tied with 6.9% each, Korea with 5.1%, and India and the United Kingdom tied with 4.7% each.

As the news made its way to the internet, fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their excitement as their favorite artists emerged as the most beloved singers in K-pop.

Fans continued to share their thoughts on the BTS vocalist and the Love wins all singer topping the Arirang TV survey.

Top 5 most beloved K-pop artists: BTS' Jungkook, IU, Jimin, Rosé, and more

On July 8, 2025, Arirang TV's CEO unveiled the results of the most beloved K-pop singers survey questions. This survey is reportedly considered significant for numerically determining the global interest in Korean content, including K-pop and K-drama.

Furthermore, the gender of over 64.1% voters was revealed to be female, 34.5% were male respondents, while 1.4% preferred not to reveal their gender.

In other news, Jungkook was spotted alongside Jimin and Suga at the Incheon International Airport for their trip to the United States. He, alongside his BTS members, is set to work on their upcoming album together in the States. Meanwhile, IU dropped her latest EP titled A Flower Bookmark, Pt. 3 on May 27, 2025.

About the author

Inaas is a pop culture writer covering K-drama and K-pop at Sportskeeda. She graduated from the University of Mumbai with a degree in Mass Media, specializing in Journalism. Her love for the Korean entertainment industry started in college and shaped her assignments, eventually leading her to pursue a career as a Korean pop culture writer.

She previously worked as a Community Manager and oversaw more than 50 K-Content creators for an audio app. She has also had the pleasure of interviewing members of famous K-pop groups including BLACKSWAN, UNIS, and actors like Lee Se-young, Um Tae-goo, as part of her ongoing work at Sportskeeda.

Inaas believes in setting aside her biases and verifying news from credible sources when reporting on any topic. She also ensures she takes all the sides of a story into account and crafts holistic articles.

She loves BTS & SEVENTEEN and admires their passion, which continues to inspire her as an individual and a professional. If given a chance to go back in time, she would like to be a part of the famous Korean drama "Reply 1988," since it feels incredibly personal to her due to its portrayal of friendship dynamics.

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