Blackpink, (G)I-DLE, BTS and Stray Kids selected as hottest groups for 2021

Singer and songwriter Paul Kim [NEURON MUSIC]

You're likely to see girl groups Blackpink and (G)I-DLE, and boy bands BTS and Stray Kids modeling various products and services next year as they have been selected as the hottest K-pop girl groups and boy bands for 2021.

Established in 2003 by the Customers Council, the awards are given annually to “the most exciting brands for the upcoming year” by conducting surveys and consulting with experts.

The awards not only select brands but also has a “People/Culture” section, that selects about 40 top celebrities and K-pop groups in different categories. The section has been acting as a standard for top-selling models of top-selling brands.

As for the hottest female and male actor, Suzy and Lee Dong-wook took the top prizes. The awards are so specific that they even select the hottest male and female vocalists, which went to Paul Kim and Lee Su-hyun of AKMU.

According to the Customers Council, more than 240,000 people participated in the survey, which was held from Nov. 9 to 20.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]