SEVENTEEN Is the Only K-Pop Group in Billboard's "21 Under 21" List

Oct 31, 2015

Billboard has released its annual list “21 Under 21: Music’s Hottest Young Stars,” and it includes one Korean act: rookie idol group SEVENTEEN.

The “21 Under 21” lists popular, up-and-coming artists under the age of 21 across a variety of music genres, including country, rap, and all genres of pop, now including K-pop. The list includes proven chart-toppers like Lorde and YouTube-grown artists like Troye Sivan, taking into account their popularity, creativity, and impact on social media.

SEVENTEEN may come as a surprise as they have debuted only last May. But the rookie group has already gained a large following of international fans, who followed their debut through the reality show “Seventeen Project.” Composed of 13 members, who come from China, Korea, and the United States, SEVENTEEN posts regularly on their Instagram and Twitter.

All the members are younger than 21 (the average age is 17), and the Pledis Entertainment-produced group is made up of three sub-units: vocals, hip-hop, and performance. Their debut album “17 CARAT” reached No.9 on Billboard’s World Albums chart shortly after its release and spent 11 weeks on the chart, outlasting some more well-established groups. Their second mini-album “Boys Be” charted at No.1 on Billboard in September.

Members Woozi, S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon participated in the writing and production of the album’s title track “Mansae,” a high-energy mixture of funk, hip-hop, and pop. All artists on Billboard’s “21 Under 21” take part in the composition of their music.

Congratulations to SEVENTEEN for making the cut! You can watch the music video for “Mansae” here.