The November brand reputation rankings for Korean boy groups are out! EXO ranked first for the second consecutive month while BTS came in rank 2. The results are based on the findings of the Korean Business Research Institute from 28,994,426 data points on Oct. 11 to Nov. 12. They are evaluated on factors including the reputation index, social participation index and traffic condition index. Here are the groups that made it to the top five:
1. EXO
EXO under SM Entertainment had a score of 5,077,116 points thanks to their EXO-CBX sub-unit debut. EXO-CBX, composed of Chen, Baek Hyun and Xiumin, released "Hey Mama!" on Oct. 31 which ranked first in the American Billboard world album chart.
"Their album, which is available worldwide through iTunes, has not only taken first place on overall album charts in 7 regions, including Peru, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Brunei, it has placed within the TOP10 in Indonesia, Taiwan, Turkey, Vietnam, and more, leading the global Hallyu wave," a source from the institute said, according to Soompi.
2. BTS
BTS made a very successful comeback with their second full-length album, "WINGS," on Oct. 10 which is comprised of 15 tracks including each member's solo tracks. Pre-orders for the album reached more than 500,000 copies in the first week and aside from its all-kill in local Korean music charts, the album made history in international charts including the U.K. Official Charts and Billboard 200. The music video for the title track, "Blood Sweat & Tears" also made records. As of this writing, it has a total of more than 50 million views. BTS came in second place with 4,605,388 points.
3. Seventeen
Self-producinng idol group Seventeen had been busy with their "1st Asia Tour 2016 Shining Diamonds," in Japan, Singapore, Australia and China and "Like Seventeen - Shining Diamond" in South Korea earlier this year. The group's Hip-hop unit released "Check-In," their first mixtape on Nov. 1. Seventeen had a score of 2,368,707.
4. VIXX
VIXX released their third mini album "Kratos" on Oct. 31 as part of VIXX 2016 CONCEPTION trilogy which is conceptualized from Greek Gods. The album's title track, "The Closer," peaked at number eight on the Gaon Digital Chart and number 14 on the Billboard World Digital Songs. Meanwhile, "Kratos" ranked second in the Gaon album chart and fifth at the FIVE-MUSIC Korea-Japan Album Chart and Billboard's world albums chart. The album has sold 57,456 copies in October. VIXX had a score of 2,147,343.
5, BTOB
BTOB's last group release was "I Want to Vacation," a special single for summer with rap parts co-written by members Ilhoon, Minhyuk and Peniel. The track also became the theme song of "Battle Trip," a KBS2 variety show. However, BTOB reportedly announced their comeback with a dance track after more than two years in mini album "New Men" this November. The group scored 1,965,271.
Other groups in top 24 of November boy group brand reputation rankings include INFINITE, SHINee, BEAST, BIGBANG, Sechs Kies, BLOCK B, Shinhwa, WINNER, MONSTA X, B1A4, B.A.P, Super Junior, 2PM, TXVQ, FTISLAND, JYJ, 2AM, TEENTOP and ZE:A.
