BTS’s V voted artist with strongest global brand recognition in first half of year

BTS member V has been selected as the artist with the strongest global brand recognition in the first half of the year, according to fan-voting platform Picnic.

In the poll, V topped the ranking with 673,439 votes. Boy band Alpha Drive One’s Sangwon placed second with 374,726 votes, followed by Alpha Drive One’s Anxin with 107,131 votes. The poll ran for two weeks from July 8 to July 22.

According to Picnic, the ranking reflects artists' overall brand presence across areas such as music, fashion, advertising and social media.

The platform highlighted V's influence in fashion and online, noting that he has been mentioned more than 1.3 million times on social media. It also cited the attention he drew at Paris Fashion Week in June while attending as Celine's global ambassador. 

V took the spotlight in local fashion circles and international media alike, with Vogue France analyzing his brand value as a cultural phenomenon — an example of how K-pop artists are securing independent brand power within the fashion industry, the platform noted.

“The core of brand value lies in how consistently fans support and amplify an artist,” a Picnic spokesperson said. “The results show that V had the strongest brand influence in the global market during the first half of the year.”

Picnic hosts weekly polls on a wide range of K-pop topics in collaborations with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Participation in the polls is available through Picnic’s official website and mobile app.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO   [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]