BTS has held onto the top spot in the September 2026 boy group brand reputation rankings, while BIGBANG made the biggest jump of the month, climbing to second place after a massive 103.60 percent rise in their brand score. ATEEZ, CORTIS, and SEVENTEEN completed the top five in the latest list released by the Korean Business Research Institute on September 12, 2026.
The rankings were built from big data collected between August 12 and September 12, 2026, covering 54,078,089 data points related to boy group brands. The institute analyzed consumer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community indexes to produce the final scores.
BTS Keeps No. 1 Spot With 6.6 Million Index
BTS earned a brand reputation index of 6,633,651 for September. The group’s keyword analysis showed “ARIRANG,” “ARMY,” and “North American tour” as the most-searched phrases. Related terms that ranked high included “record,” “sold out,” and “long run.” The group’s positivity-negativity analysis showed 93.91 percent positive reactions.
The score marks a 38.75 percent drop from August, when BTS recorded an index of 10,830,235. The August numbers were boosted by the release of their fifth studio album, “ARIRANG,” and the early legs of their world tour.
BTS wrapped up the North American leg of their “ARIRANG” world tour on September 6 with four sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The North American run covered 31 concerts in 12 cities and drew about 1.92 million people. The four LA shows alone brought in about 282,000 fans.
“Returning to SoFi Stadium for the last North American stop was a joy and that the fans we met across the tour left a strong impression.” – RM, speaking to Forbes ahead of the final LA shows.
The group has now performed eight concerts at SoFi Stadium, including four shows from their 2021 series, drawing about 496,000 people combined. The tour’s next leg begins on October 2 in Bogota, with stops in Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Sao Paulo.
BIGBANG Jumps To No. 2 After 20th Anniversary Comeback
BIGBANG moved up to second place with a brand reputation index of 4,162,542, marking a 103.60 percent increase from August. The jump follows the group’s 20th anniversary comeback, which kicked off with the release of the digital single “BiiiG” on August 19, 2026.
The single reached No. 1 on Melon’s Top 100 chart within an hour of release and also topped the daily chart. Streaming for the group’s older hits also saw a major lift. “Haru Haru” saw a 298 percent increase in streams, while overall streams for BIGBANG’s catalogue rose by 333 percent in the weeks after the release.
BIGBANG also launched their “XX: Cosmos” world tour on August 21 at Goyang Stadium in South Korea. The three-night opening run marked the group’s first large-scale tour in about nine years. The tour is set to span 33 performances across 19 cities in North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia.
“Hello. BIGBANG is back.” – G-Dragon, addressing the crowd at the Goyang concert.
The group also received the YouTube Diamond Creator Award after surpassing 10 million subscribers on their official channel.
ATEEZ Holds No. 3 With Steady Chart Success
ATEEZ came in at third place with a brand reputation index of 3,980,128, up 48.59 percent from August. The group’s latest mini album, “GOLDEN HOUR: Part.5,” topped the Billboard 200 chart in July, marking their third No. 1 on the main US albums chart.
The album’s title track, “BAD,” has shown long-running success on domestic charts. The song entered Melon’s Top 100 at No. 81 and climbed to a peak of No. 8. It held a spot in the Top 10 for over a month after its release on June 26, 2026. The group’s first-week sales for the album reached 223,000 copies in the US and over 1.88 million copies in South Korea.
CORTIS Stays Strong At No. 4 After First Tour
CORTIS took fourth place with a brand reputation index of 3,655,034, a 45.45 percent rise from last month. The group’s second mini album, “GREENGREEN,” has spent 17 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200, sitting at No. 155 on the latest chart dated September 12.
The album’s title track, “REDRED,” has held the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs Korea chart for 18 consecutive weeks. It also ranked No. 3 on Melon’s August monthly chart, marking four straight months in the top three. That run is the longest for a K-pop boy group single since BTS’s “Dynamite.”
CORTIS wrapped up their first tour, “PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN,” on September 4-6 at Pia Arena MM in Kanagawa, Japan. The tour covered nine cities, including Seoul, Incheon, Toronto, New York, and Kanagawa.
“We dreamed of a performance where we could enjoy together, and you made it happen. We were so happy that we didn’t want it to end.” – CORTIS, in a statement after the tour’s final show.
The group is set to perform at the Rock in Japan Festival 2026 on September 20 and at the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix on October 9.
SEVENTEEN Completes Top 5 Amid Military Service Shifts
SEVENTEEN rounded out the top five with a brand reputation index of 3,529,483, up 65.74 percent from August. The group has been active on the variety front, releasing new episodes of their YouTube series “GOING SEVENTEEN” through September.
The group is also navigating a period of military service for several members. Mingyu began his alternative military service as a social service worker on September 10, 2026, becoming the seventh member to fulfill his duty. DK enlisted as an active-duty soldier on September 8. Hoshi and Woozi are serving as active-duty soldiers, while Vernon and Wonwoo are serving as social service workers. Seungkwan and Dino are scheduled to enlist in the Army military band on October 26.
Related:
Full Top 30 Boy Group Brand Reputation Rankings For September 2026
- BTS
- BIGBANG
- ATEEZ
- CORTIS
- SEVENTEEN
- Stray Kids
- TVXQ
- NCT
- EXO
- SHINee
- ENHYPEN
- INFINITE
- TWS
- Wanna One
- RIIZE
- Super Junior
- MONSTA X
- TXT
- BOYNEXTDOOR
- BTOB
- ASTRO
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE
- IDID
- ZEROBASEONE
- XLOV
- HIGHLIGHT
- TREASURE
- THE BOYZ
- 2PM
- Shinhwa
The total big data for boy group brands in September was 54,078,089 data points, a 9.11 percent increase from the 49,563,643 data points measured in August.
Also Read: BTS Tour Dog Stoney Blue Will Not Join Latin America Leg, ARMY Express Disappointment
Stay tuned to VvipTimes for more K-pop chart updates and comeback news as the month continues.
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