--- title: TIME 100 Reader Poll 2018: See Who Won description: Popular K-pop boy band BTS have overwhelmingly won the annual TIME 100 reader poll for 2018, bringing in over 16% of the online vote. canonical: https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-17T04:00:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T20:32:38.000Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: K-Pop Group BTS Wins TIME 100 Reader Poll og:description: The popular boy band dominated the online reader poll og:url: https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a3d3ee39fea1905/69892dbcfb4eac4ce889659a/bts-k-pop-group-amas.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2017 American Music Awards - Press Room og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: K-Pop Group BTS Wins TIME 100 Reader Poll twitter:description: The popular boy band dominated the online reader poll twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a3d3ee39fea1905/69892dbcfb4eac4ce889659a/bts-k-pop-group-amas.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # K-Pop Group BTS Wins TIME 100 Reader Poll ## Video: K-Pop's Next Act [Watch (HLS stream): K-Pop's Next Act](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2ukAz9Fl.m3u8) (6:04)  _Published 2016-10-31. Riding off the success of Korean pop, artists CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes set on the U.S. music industry_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Updated: Dec 12, 2023 8:32 PM UTCPublished: Apr 17, 2018 4:00 AM UTC  BTS poses in the press room at the 2017 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. BTS poses in the press room at the 2017 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Updated: Dec 12, 2023 8:32 PM UTCPublished: Apr 17, 2018 4:00 AM UTC K-pop group [BTS](http://time.com/4833807/rap-monster-bts-interview/) can add another accolade to their list of successes: winner of the [2018 TIME 100 reader poll](http://time.com/5215831/time-100-2018-reader-poll-results/). The seven-person group of multitalented South Korean artists has been tapping a vein of [global popularity](http://time.com/5124176/best-k-pop-artists/) since 2013\. The group has topped _Billboard_‘s Social charts for almost all of 2017 and 2018 ([so far)](https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8342053/bts-new-album-love-yourself-tear-details), won the Top Social Artist title at last year’s _Billboard_ Music Awards, earned a spot on TIME’s list of the [Most Influential People on the Internet](http://time.com/4815217/most-influential-people-internet/) in 2017 and regularly spark social media trends, thanks to their 14-million-strong “Army” of fans. BTS, which consists of singers RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, is just one of a number of K-pop groups with massive fanbases. But in particular they have proven themselves capable of transcending the Asian market with their hip-hop-meets-pop songs, sharp choreography and high-concept music videos. Their next full-length album, _Love Yourself: Tear,_ is [due out](https://twitter.com/Jeff%5F%5FBenjamin/status/985942449393668096) on May 18. “We came together with a common dream to write, dance and produce music that reflects our musical backgrounds as well as our life values of acceptance, vulnerability and being successful,” RM told TIME in 2017, noting that their powerful online presence is a “team effort.” “Music transcends language,” he added. While TIME editors are responsible for selecting the TIME 100, the online reader poll opens up voting to the general public. BTS — which stands for “Bangtan Sonyeondan” or “Beyond the Scene” — easily dominated this year’s poll, garnering over 15% of the vote. Runners-up included South Korean President [Moon Jae-in](http://time.com/4780140/moon-jae-in-south-korea-envoys/) with five percent and [Barack Obama](http://time.com/5227068/barack-obama-john-lewis-martin-luther-king/) with three percent. Other popular musical acts, including Rihanna, [Beyoncé](http://time.com/5241839/beyonce-donates-historically-black-colleges/), [Shawn Mendes](http://time.com/5210899/5-songs-you-need-to-listen-to-this-week-46/item/in-my-blood-shawn-mendes/) and Bruno Mars, brought in two percent each. In 2017, Philippine president [Rodrigo Duterte](http://time.com/4740116/time-100-poll-2017-winner-rodrigo-duterte/) was the winner of the reader poll, racking up 5% of the online vote. The official TIME 100 will be announced April 19 on TIME.com. **_Correction:_** _The original version of this story misstated the English version of “BTS.” It’s “Beyond the Scene,” not “Behind the Scene.”_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/"},"headline":"K-Pop Group BTS Wins TIME 100 Reader Poll","datePublished":"2018-04-17T04:00:23.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T20:32:38.000Z","description":"The K-pop group has a new album coming out in May","url":"https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/","keywords":["TIME 100","Newsfeed","Music","2018 Time 100"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a3d3ee39fea1905/69892dbcfb4eac4ce889659a/bts-k-pop-group-amas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a3d3ee39fea1905/69892dbcfb4eac4ce889659a/bts-k-pop-group-amas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2017 American Music Awards - Press Room","caption":"2017 American Music Awards - Press Room","creditText":"Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100/","name":"TIME 100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/","name":"K-Pop Group BTS Wins TIME 100 Reader Poll"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"K-Pop's Next Act","description":"Riding off the success of Korean pop, artists CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes set on the U.S. music industry","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2ukAz9Fl/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-10-31T13:20:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2ukAz9Fl.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/","duration":"PT6M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5241905/time-100-reader-poll-2018-winner/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```