K-pop girl group KiiiKiii and Wonhee from ILLIT have claimed the top spots in the September 2025 brand reputation rankings for rookie groups and individual idols, respectively. Check out who else made the list below.
September 2025 K-Pop Rookie Group & Individual Idol Brand Reputation Rankings
The latest brand reputation report is now available, revealing precisely who is capturing the public’s heart.
For rookie groups, the Korean Business Research Institute analyzed 8,513,868 brand data points from August 2 to September 2, 2025. This marked an 18.59% decrease from the 10,458,075 data points in August. Despite the dip, five groups stood strong at the top: KiiiKiii, Hearts2Hearts, ILLIT, TWS, and BABYMONSTER.
Meanwhile, the conversation around individual idols is growing stronger than ever. To measure this, the institute analyzed 4,774,261 brand data points from August 4 to September 4, 2025. This is a significant 17.93% increase from the 4,048,333 data points in August.
So, who were the top five rookie K-pop idols? The spotlight belonged to ILLIT’s Wonhee, Ian from Hearts2Hearts, KiiiKiii’s Leesol, Minju from ILLIT, and Jiwoo of Hearts2Hearts.
Kiiikiii Takes First Place: Here’s Why They Dominated September
Fresh off their first comeback in August, Kiiikiii has soared to the top spot with an impressive brand reputation index of 1,083,312. Their powerful score reflects high marks across the board. Best of all, their score jumped a stunning 18.44% since August, showing their momentum is only growing.
So, what’s the secret behind Kiiikiii’s success? A wave of positive feeling surrounds them. When people talked about the group, the most common words were “innocent,” “lovely,” and “charming.” Their top keywords included their song “Dancing Alone,” the viral “Strawberry Game,” and their trendy “Gen Z appeal.”
This positive energy is undeniable, as their public sentiment analysis revealed an incredible 84.51% positivity score.
TOP 50 Rookie Groups
- KiiiKiii
- Hearts2Hearts
- ILLIT
- TWS
- BABYMONSTER
- IZNA
- AHOF
- MEOVV
- KATSEYE
- Say My Name
- XLOV
- Unis
- Baby DONT Cry
- RESCENE
- ARTMS
- KickFlip
- ifeye
- BE BOYS
- A1
- NEWBEAT
- SPIA
- Close Your Eyes
- tracer
- NOWADAYS
- NouerA
- Lost
- eite
- Geenius
- HORI7ON
- BEWAVE
- MADEIN
- KIIRAS
- Candy Shop
- VVS
- USPEER
- ASC2NT
- Big O!cean
- HITGS
- Luna8
- NEXZ
- LOVEONE
- NOMAD
- BADVILLAIN
- InAMinute
- BURVEY
- UNICODE
- W!TCHX
- PICKUS
- All(H)Ours
- VCHA
ILLIT’s Wonhee Shines as September’s Top Rookie Idol
ILLIT’s Wonhee is September’s shining star. The rookie idol, who made her acting debut in “Spring of Youth,” claimed the top spot with a brand reputation index of 420,394. What’s truly amazing is her growth. Her score skyrocketed by an incredible 66.55% since August, showing a massive surge in her popularity.
So, what’s the secret behind her undeniable charm? When people talk about Wonhee, they use warm words like “innocent,” “cute,” and “lovely.” Her top search terms tell the story: her song “Toki yo Tomare,” the popular phrase “Genre is ILLIT,” and her successful “Japanese single.”
Wonhee’s public sentiment analysis revealed an outstanding 89.51% positivity score.
TOP 50 Rookie Idols
- ILLIT Wonhee
- Hearts2Hearts Ian
- KiiiKiii Leesol
- ILLIT Minju
- Hearts2Hearts Jiwoo
- MEOVV Anna
- KiiiKiii Jiyu
- IZNA Bang Jeemin
- IZNA Choi Jung Eun
- TWS Hanjin
- KiiiKiii Sui
- IZNA Mai
- ILLIT Yunah
- ILLIT Moka
- MEOVV Ella
- IZNA Koko
- KiiiKiii Kya
- Hearts2Hearts Yuha
- Hearts2Hearts A-Na
- TWS Dohoon
- Hearts2Hearts Carmen
- TWS Shinyu
- Hearts2Hearts Stella
- ILLIT Iroha
- Hearts2Hearts Ye-On
- BABYMONSTER Ahyeon
- IZNA Jeong Saebi
- IZNA Ry Sa Rang
- KiiiKiii Haum
- BABYMONSTER Rami
- Hearts2Hearts Juun
- BABYMONSTER Asa
- KATSEYE Yoonchae
- TWS Jihoon
- KATSEYE Lara
- KATSEYE Daniela
- KATSEYE Megan
- KATSEYE Sophia
- KATSEYE Manon
- ifeye Kasia
- TWS Youngjae
- MEOVV Sooin
- TWS Kyungmin
- BABYMONSTER Rora
- MEOVV Gawon
- BABYMONSTER Ruka
- ifeye SASHA
- AHOF Steven
- UNIS Lim Seo Won
- Artms HeeJin
Did your favorite rookies make the list? Please share your thoughts below. You can find all of our brand reputation rankings here.
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