bts got7
Members of South Korean K-pop band BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, pose on the red carpet during Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) in Hong Kong, Dec. 2, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

After an immensely successful 2016, K-pop group BTS, or Bangtan Boys, is off to a great start in 2017 by topping the overall brand reputations for singers for the month of January this year. The boy band beat fellow big names — TWICE and EXO — to achieve the feat.

The Korean Business Research Institute revealed the rankings on the basis of a combined analysis of positive and negative comments, media attention, consumer interest, as well as traffic.

A source from the organization told Soompi: “BTS came in at first place this month as the members branch out into variety shows. 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.”

BTS saw a 25.52 percent increase from last month’s 12,699,613 points to hit a total of 15,940,973 points. TWICE registered a total of 13,818,852 points, while EXO came in at the third place with 13,605,851 points.

The full list can be seen below:

  1. BTS
  2. TWICE
  3. EXO
  4. SEVENTEEN
  5. I.O.I
  6. BLACKPINK
  7. Red Velvet
  8. BIGBANG
  9. MAMAMOO
  10. Lim Chang Jung
  11. VIXX
  12. Taeyeon
  13. Zico
  14. INFINITE
  15. IU
  16. BTOB
  17. SECHSKIES
  18. Bolbbalgan Sachoongi
  19. BeWhy
  20. Heize
  21. GFRIEND
  22. Lovelyz
  23. Han Dong Geun
  24. Sung Si Kyung
  25. Park Hyo Shin

BTS is scheduled to embark upon a world tour in February, making pit stops at cities in South America and the United States. The seven-member boy band will also perform at the upcoming KCON festival in Mexico, Billboard reported. While the region has a big K-pop following, this is the first time the K-pop music festival and convention is being held in a Latin American country.

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