BTS tops Twitter's '2020 Most Tweeted About Musicians in the US' list

Boy band BTS [BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT]

Boy band BTS was the most frequently mentioned artist on Twitter in 2020 based on the social networking service's analysis, according to the band’s agency Big Hit Entertainment on Monday.

BTS topped Twitter’s “2020 Most Tweeted About Musicians in the US” list, followed by pop stars Kanye West, Beyonce, and Drake.

BTS was also the 6th most-tweeted-about “person” in general, right behind former U.S. President Barack Obama. The only other musician on the top 10 list for most-tweeted-about person was American rapper Kanye West.

The seven-member boy band is known to have a considerable amount of influence on social media, as it has a dedicated fan base known as ARMY around the world including in North America, where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart three times in 2020.

“K-pop icons seem to go viral in the U.S. not only when they announce something special or drop new music, but... pretty much whenever fans decide to make them a trending topic,” said music journalist Hugh McIntyre to business magazine Forbes.

Meanwhile, other K-pop boy bands Ateez, NCT and Exo respectively ranked at 5th, 6th, and 7th place on the “2020 Most Tweeted About Musicians in the US” list.

BTS debuted in 2013 with the song “No More Dream” and released hits such as “Fire” (2016), “Blood, Sweat & Tears” (2016), “DNA” (2017) and “IDOL” (2018). Its 2020 English song “Dynamite” made the band the first K-pop act to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart and be nominated for a Grammy Award. Later, its 2020 song “Life Goes On” became the first Korean-language song to top the Billboard Hot 100.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]