Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean pop star Lee Chae-rin are tied for first place in the TIME 100 reader’s poll.
Lee Chae-rin—better known as CL—is a member of the South Korean pop group 2NE1. The group has gained popularity worldwide and is considered one of the most successful K-pop groups. CL currently has a higher percentage of votes in the poll than Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
Putin has been one of the world’s most controversial leaders of the past year for, among other things, Russia’s backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine. He’s ranked above other leaders like Pope Francis and President Obama. (Both Putin and Obama appeared on the 2014 list.)
The duo were within .2% of one another as of Wednesday evening, with Putin just ahead of CL, at 6%. (Click here to see who is currently winning.)
Voting in the reader’s poll closes April 10 at 11:59 p.m. ET—cast your ballot below—and the poll’s winner will be announced April 13. This year’s official TIME 100 list will be announced April 16.
- How to Help Victims of the Texas School Shooting
- TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2022
- What the Buffalo Tragedy Has to Do With the Effort to Overturn Roe
- Column: The U.S. Failed Miserably on COVID-19. Canada Shows It Didn't Have to Be That Way
- N.Y. Will Soon Require Businesses to Post Salaries in Job Listings. Here's What Happened When Colorado Did It
- The 46 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2022
- ‘We Are in a Moment of Reckoning.’ Amanda Nguyen on Taking the Fight for Sexual Violence Survivors to the U.N.
