ENHYPEN, EPEX, and LIGHTSUM Selected as 'Super Rookies' by Global Fans
On Aug. 5, Hanteo Chart released another case study as part of their "Global K-pop Report," which focuses on the performance of K-pop artists in the first half of 2021.
In the newly released case study, Hanteo shared an analysis of the three K-pop groups: ENHYPEN, EPEX, and LIGHTSUM, discussing their remarkable achievements since their debut.
ENHYPEN Chosen as One of the "Super Rookies" in K-pop
Hanteo Chart first talked about ENHYPEN, a new idol group under Belift Lab, a subsidiary of HYBE, home to BTS and TXT.
Based on the report, ENHYPEN is seeing better results on music charts and social media. Hanteo cited that the expansion of the group's global fandom is the possible reason for this. In particular, the size and activity of fandoms in Malaysia, France, and the United States are rapidly increasing, predicting a possible success in the global market.
Moreover, the age group of ENHYPEN's fandom has grown and most fans are in their teens and 20s. Those who are in their 20s are revealed to be the ones with the highest contribution to the group's sales.
When it comes to social media, ENHYPEN has ranked 23rd overall on the list of K-pop artists with the most followers. Among the rookies that debuted in 2020, they come second only to aespa.
ENHYPEN, who captured fans' attention even before their debut, immediately obtained milestones shortly after they entered the K-pop scene.
Their debut album, "BORDER: DAY ONE," recorded a first-week sales record of 280,873 copies. Despite being released one month before 2020 ended, ENHYPEN's "BORDER: DAY ONE" sold 312,723 total copies in that year.
The rookie group then saw a growth of 1.36 times in their sales this year. ENHYPEN's second mini-album, "BORDER: CARNIVAL," released this past April, sold 384,699 copies in the first week, showing an increase of more than 100,000 copies compared to their debut album sales.
EPEX Selected as One of the "Super Rookies" in K-pop
Among the new K-pop groups that debuted this 2021, EPEX is the most noteworthy artist, particularly in the first half of the year.
EPEX, which is managed by C9 Entertainment, stood out in album sales among the rookie groups. Their first EP, "Bipolar Pt. 1: Prelude of Anxiety," recorded 33,538 copies in the first week, the highest sales figure among the 2021 rookies.
In terms of views of the music video for EPEX's "Lock Down," it accumulated 27,381,789 views in the first half of 2021 since it was released on June 8, meaning it only took less than a month to achieve this number of views.
Among the domestic and foreign fans of EPEX, the fans that showed the highest level of activity come from Thailand and followed by fans in Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The rookie group has also established fandoms in North America, Central, and South America.
LIGHTSUM Chosen as One of the "Super Rookies" in K-pop
Finally, LIGHTSUM, the new K-pop girl group under CUBE Entertainment, is another rookie group that had impressive achievements in the first half of 2021.
LIGHTSUM's debut single "Vanilla" sold 19,108 copies in the first week, this is the highest among the female rookies that debuted this year.
With regard to the number of views of the music video for LIGHTSUM's "Vanilla," it immediately surpassed 10 million views, which is hard to attain as a rookie.
Within 20 days since their debut, LIGHTSUM's "Vanilla" MV reached more than 12.47 million views.
In a survey conducted by Whosfan, a global K-pop fandom platform, LIGHTSUM ranked third as the best new female idol for the first half of 2021, with 98.27% of the votes come from overseas fans.
Source: kpopstarz