Who Is More Popular – Justin Bieber Vs. K-pop Band BTS

Who Is More Popular - Justin Bieber Vs. K-pop Band BTS
Photo: Instagram
Who Is More Popular - Justin Bieber Vs. K-pop Band BTS
Photo: Instagram

Canadian pop star, Justin Bieber and the K-pop boy band, BTS is among the most popular world-famous music celebrities.

Justin Drew Bieber had a remarkably early start in his music career at fifteen years when his debut single album One Time, arrived on the Pop, R&B scene in 2009. Over the years, the teen pop artist rose to become one of the most popular celebrities in global scenes, with over ten years of experience and plot breaking records.

Much later in 2013, the K-pop music industry unveiled the seven-boy band BTS, to the world with their debut single “No More Dream”. In 2010, Big Hit Entertainment discovered the teenage seven-boy band composed of RM, Suga, Jin, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Seven years into their music career, These guys have continually proven that “Teamwork does make the dream work”.

Both music brands have had outstanding success rates and are global sensations therefore it is not so easy to tell which is more popular.

Now, let us solve this puzzling question by making a comparison of Justin Bieber and the BTS group according to existing metrics. Have a smooth ride.

Records Sales

Justin Bieber and K-pop BTS group did not become top-ranking stars in global pop music by just sharing cool videos and photos with their fans.

Given the fact that they both have a strong background in numerous music and record sales, we can safely measure their popularity level through this metric.

Justin Bieber’s first groundbreaking music sale came with his first Studio Album, My World 2.0 in 2010, which earned him Number 1 on the Billboard 200 making him the youngest male solo artist to lead the Billboard Chart. Also, Justin Bieber’s albums have sold over 70 million copies worldwide. His new album, Justice made 154,000 sales in the US and has earned him his eighth Number 1. album on the Billboard charts.

Today, Justin Bieber stands tall as one of the best-selling music artists with over 150 million music sales records worldwide.

When the BTS boys released their first single in June 2013, it was only the first of non-stop singles and albums in their careers. Seven years later, the group already has a history of being one of the best-selling artists, worldwide. BTS had its first big sale with its second album, Wings in 2016, after selling one million copies in South Korea alone. The band has also sold over 9.7 million copies of their albums as of 2024, and currently has the four largest sales in South Korea.

Social Media

With almost 200 million followers on Instagram, Justin Bieber ranks among the top 10 most popular Instagram Accounts while BTS has approx 50 million followers on Instagram. There’s a whole lot of difference in the numbers.  This could be because Justin Bieber is a solo artist while the BTS band represents seven artists who also have personal Instagram accounts and are individually followed by their fans.

On Twitter, Justin Bieber’s account ranks among the most followed Twitter accounts with over 114 million followers. BTS, on the other hand, has around 33 million followers and has made history as the most followed band on Twitter.

Both brands have been showing up a great deal on their YouTube Channels as their brand awareness on YouTube is impressive. Justin Bieber is No. 1 most subscribed artist on YouTube music with around 65 million subscribers while BTS ranks No.3, having 57 million subscribers!

There’s an interesting change in the narrative on YouTube. While Bieber has 65 million subscribers, BTS’ over 57 million followers are a close call and are not so far behind. Both brands deserve accolades for the astounding feat of being among the top 3 most subscribed YouTube music artists. Cheers!

Awards and Nominations

Who’s ready to see how many awards Justin Bieber and the BTS K-pop have got in their bags. Let’s dive in, shall we?

JUSTIN BIEBER

 

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A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)

The two-time Grammy Awards Winner, Justin Bieber has a total of 301 awards won. For the American Music Awards, Bieber has won 18 times after 22 nominations. He is also a recipient of the Billboard Music Awards with 20 wins amidst being nominated 60 times! Justin Bieber has a really impressive record of Awards.

BTS

The famous BTS band leads with 375 awards including 6 American Music Awards with 6 nominations. The band has also won the Billboard Awards 9 times with 10 nominations.

However, BTS does not have a Grammy in the bag, yet. The group has received a nomination once for the Grammy Awards in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category but lost to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s “Rain on Me”, in the Chromatica Album. 

FINAL WORDS

There you have it! We have made a comparison of Justin Bieber and K-pop band, BTS according to their Record sales, Social Media followership, and the number of awards each have won.

Both brands have very impressive success and popularity backgrounds and it’s still quite difficult to say which is more popular or better than the other.

Justin Bieber had an early start with a span of four years before the BTS band arrived at the scene. Although this does not explain the wide gap between followers on their Instagram and Twitter accounts, it is important to understand that they have different cultural backgrounds. While Justin Bieber can operate on a socially free level, the BTS members are more conservative.

Notwithstanding, it is quite clear that both music brands are doing very well in their respective positions, as a personal brand and as a group of talented young artists