There's no denying the popularity of K-pop, not just in Asia, but also in Europe and America! Korean idols continue to get more and more attention worldwide.
Let's take a look at how much K-pop album sales increased in 2021 and which artists had the best-selling albums.
K-pop Album Sales In 2021
The popularity of K-pop has continued to rise from 2015 to 2021, with 54,594,222 albums sold in 2021 (sum of sales from 1st-50th week of the year). Compared to 41,707,301 albums sold in 2021, K-pop album sales have increased by as much as 31% in 2021.
It's proof that interest in K-pop is not decreasing, but continuing to increase. 83.5% of album sales are from male artists and 16.1% from female artists.
Now, let's see which male and female artists had the best-selling albums!
Bestselling Albums - Male Artists
1. BTS
Source: Vogue
In 2021, BTS sold 7,208,920 albums, accounting for 15.8% of the total, and placed first in album sales among male artists.
2. NCT127
Source: Envi Media
NCT127 came in second place with 4,045,684 album sales, accounting for 8.9% of the total.
3. NCT Dream
Source: nct dream official
Following right behind was NCT Dream with 3,887,751 total album sales, making up 8.5% of the total.
4. SEVENTEEN
Source: Pigeon week
The SEVENTEEN boys ranked fourth in 2021 with album sales of 3,792,080, accounting for 8.3% of the total album sales.
5. Stray Kids
Source: pinkvilla
Next up is Stray Kids in fifth place with sales of 2,665,405, counting for 5.8 of the total%.
6. ENHYPEN
Source: The Korea Herald
Although it hasn't been long since their debut, ENHYPEN's album sales were ranked 6th, with a total 2,163,075 albums sold, accounting for 4.7%.
7. Tomorrow x Together
Source: Dazed Digital
Seventh place was Tomorrow x Together, with 2,009,557 albums sold, which was 4.4% of the total album sales.
8. ATEEZ
Source: MyMusicTaste
ATEEZ came in 8th place with album sales of 1,859,364, which is 4.1% of the total.
9. EXO
Source: SM Entertainment
EXO's album sales totaled 1,491,396 albums, bringing them into the ninth place among male artists with the highest album sales, and they made up 3.3% of the total.
10. THE BOYZ
Source: Joongang Daily
Finally, in 10th place was THE BOYZ with 1,440,845 albums sold, which was counted as 3.2% of the total.
Bestselling Albums - Female Artists
1. TWICE
Source: TWICE Official
The female artist with the most album sales was TWICE, who made a total of 1,599,635 sales, accounting for 18.2% of the total.
2. ITZY
Source: The Korea Times
Following their seniors, the ITZY girls came in second with 920,891 albums sold, accounting for 10.5% of the total.
3. LISA
Source: YG Entertainment
With her debut solo album, BLACKPINK's Lisa achieved 766,486 album sales, making up 8.7% of the total.
4. ROSÉ
Source: Korea Herald
Fellow BLACKPINK member Rosé also achieved success with her solo album, which sold 622,624 copies, making up 7.1% of the total.
5. aespa
Source: Rolling Stone
SM Entertainment's newest group, aespa, was able to sell 572,615 albums, accounting for 6.5% of total sales.
6. IU
Source: Joongang Daily
In sixth came IU, who sold 458,729 albums, accounting for 5.2% of the total.
7. Red Velvet
Source: SM Entertainment
The Red Velvet girls were able to achieve a total album sales of 456,405 in 2021, which was 5.2% of the total.
8. BLACKPINK ![blackpink]()
Source: lesyeuxdemandu
BLACKPINK sold a total of 432,337 albums in 2021, making up 4.9% of the total.
9. STAYC
Source: kepoper
In 9th place is STAYC, who sold a total of 280,282 albums, accounting for 3.2% of the total.
10. Dreamcatcher
Source: phoenixred
Finally, Dreamcatcher achieved album sales of 264,764 in 2021, accounting for 3% of the total.
Source: gaonchart
What do you think of the male and female K-pop artists with the highest album sales in 2021? Let us know your favorites and which albums you bought in the comments!
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