K-pop, aka Korean popular music, has taken the world by storm. You're probably familiar with some of the most popular K-pop bands. The genre is infused with traditional Korean sounds while celebrating western musical influences like hip-hop, electronic dance, and R&B. Since its debut in the mid-1990s, K-pop has created a wave of successful groups during its rise to pop-culture dominance.
Over the years, K-pop bands have captivated audiences and developed massive fan bases with inspiring and uplifting songs. K-pop band members, also known as idols, work tirelessly and go through extensive vocal, media, and choreography training before they hit the stage for the first time in groups ranging from four to 21.
While the groups stay busy releasing music as a collective or celebrating solo projects every few months — K-pop stars often venture off into acting, fashion, and other creative industries. If you're looking to get into K-pop music and don't know where to begin, here's a rundown of the 15 best K-pop groups.
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The four-member K-pop girl group released their first single "Happiness" in 2014. After a new member was added to the group in 2015, Red Velvet's Ice Cream Cake became the best-selling album on South Korea's Hanteo chart. Their album The Red Flavor debuted at No.1 on the Billboard World Albums chart in 2017, marking the group's third chart-topping album. They made history as the first K-pop girl group to have three No. 1 albums debut on the World Albums Chart. The group's members are proud ambassadors for Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo Global, and Tod's. They've also landed endorsements with Converse Korea.
A subunit of the South Korean boy band NCT, NCT 127 debuted in July 2016 with their single "Firetruck." After releasing their EP NCT #127, they won Best New Group at several South Korean music award shows. In 2020, they released Neo Zone, which became their first top-five entry on the US Billboard 200 chart. The group's 2021 release Sticker debuted at No.3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, making it the highest-ranking K-pop album in 2021.
TVXQ! is renowned as one of the most celebrated and accomplished K-pop duos of all time. The group, which was originally founded as a quintet, got its start in 2003. After releasing two of their best-selling albums O-Jung.Ban.Hap in 2006 and Mirotic in 2008, the group won the Golden Disk Award for album of the year. Internal conflict led to members leaving the group in 2010. After a year-long hiatus, TVXQ! remaining members Yunho and Changmin released the follow-up albums Tone and Time in 2011 and 2013. In 2018, they became the first international artist in Japan to bring one million people to a single tour in the country. They also celebrated having the most-attended and highest-grossing K-pop concert in Japan with their 2013 show Time tour.
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