The five-member K-pop band Big Bang will be included in Forbes’ 2016 Celebrity 100 issue, which analyzes and ranks the world’s top 100 highest-earning entertainers and celebrities.
This will be the first time a K-pop group is featured on the annual list and Big Bang’s ranking position will be revealed when the list is announced on Tuesday.
The band made $44 million (S$60 million) in pretax earnings from June 2015 to June 2016, according to a recent Forbes article. This is over $10 million (S$13 million) more than the annual income of the highest-grossing American pop band, Maroon 5.
In response to the comparison, Big Bang member Kwon Ji-yong — better known by his stage name G-Dragon — said in an interview with Forbes, “We made more than Maroon 5? Did not know that. My mom is in charge of my earnings.”
This is not the first time the group has been featured on global ranking lists.
In March, TIME magazine polled readers on 100 of the world’s most influential people and Big Bang emerged as one of the front-runners, gaining more votes than American pop stars Beyonce and Taylor Swift combined. K-pop figure Lee Chae-rin, or CL, from the girl group 2NE1, also proved to be popular based on TIME’s poll of readers.
Big Bang is celebrating its 10th debut anniversary this year. So far there has been a documentary, concert and an exhibition to commemorate the occasion.
