--- description: The seven-member K-Pop band won the poll with 9% of all votes title: BTS Wins Reader's Poll for TIME Person of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6feb7e3b057bd52/69893f08fb4eacfb9c898352/gettyimages-874869104.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Person of the Year topic](/tag/person-of-the-year-2/) ## Person of the Year topic Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # K-Pop Sensation BTS Wins Reader's Poll for TIME Person of the Year by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 7, 2018 5:01 AM CUT  K-pop sensation BTS are seen at Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles, California on November 15, 2017. K-pop sensation BTS are seen at Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles, California on November 15, 2017.Bauer-Griffin—GC Images/Getty by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 7, 2018 5:01 AM CUT Korean boy band [BTS](http://time.com/collection-post/5414052/bts-next-generation-leaders/ "undefined") has won the [online reader’s poll](http://time.com/5454449/person-of-the-year-2018-poll-results/ "undefined") for TIME’s Person of the Year, beating out other artists, world leaders and politicians among those who voted. The seven-member K-Pop band — which includes members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — held on to their [long lead in the poll.](http://time.com/5465743/time-person-of-the-year-2018-poll-news/ "undefined") Planet Earth narrowly trailed BTS in the poll. With millions of votes cast, BTS outpaced Planet Earth by 0.12%. The [Thai cave divers](http://time.com/5339421/thailand-cave-rescue-samarn-kunan/ "undefined") finished third. Other top finishers: [ South Korean president Moon Jae-in;](http://time.com/5424359/north-korea-economy-moon-jae-in/ "undefined") undocumented children; former First Lady Michelle Obama; Mohammed Bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia embroiled in controversy over past few months for his [alleged involvement in the brutal murder](http://time.com/5457942/us-intelligence-khashoggi-saudi-arabia-prince/ "undefined") of Washington _Post_ reporter Jamal Khashoggi; Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro; Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh accuser [Christine Blasey Ford](http://time.com/5415027/christine-blasey-ford-testimony/ "undefined"), and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Every year, TIME selects the most influential person of the year, noting, for better or for worse, the person or group of people who have had the greatest impact on the news and the world over the past 12 months. TIME’s final Person of the Year will ultimately be chosen by editors, the poll provides insight into who readers believe believe had the greatest influence on the events of the past year. TIME’s choice for the 2018 Person of the Year will be revealed on December 11. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5472018/person-of-the-year-poll-winner/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5472018/person-of-the-year-poll-winner/"},"headline":"K-Pop Sensation BTS Wins Reader's Poll for TIME Person of the Year","datePublished":"2018-12-07T05:01:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:12:35.052Z","description":"The seven-member K-Pop band — which includes members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — won the poll with 9% of all “yes” votes.","url":"https://time.com/5472018/person-of-the-year-poll-winner/","keywords":["Person of the Year topic","onetime","Person of the Year 2018"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6feb7e3b057bd52/69893f08fb4eacfb9c898352/gettyimages-874869104.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6feb7e3b057bd52/69893f08fb4eacfb9c898352/gettyimages-874869104.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles - November 15, 2017","caption":"Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles - November 15, 2017","creditText":"Bauer-Griffin—GC Images/Getty","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/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/person-of-the-year-2/","name":"Person of the Year topic"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5472018/person-of-the-year-poll-winner/","name":"K-Pop Sensation BTS Wins Reader's Poll for TIME Person of the Year"}}]}] ```