K-Pop star sets two Guinness World Records in one day

A Korean singer known as V – a member of the popular K-pop group BTS – has broken two Guinness World Records for the fastest-growing Instagram account.

K-pop has proven to be a phenomenon of global proportions, and after BTS members announced the launch of their personal Instagram accounts last week, one in particular proved to be the most popular. On December 13, K-pop idol V broke not one but two records. Just 43 minutes after its creation, the account had already amassed more than a million followers, beating the previous record of one hour and 45 minutes set by another K-pop idol, Taeil from NCT. However, after four hours and 52 minutes, V’s follower figures had jumped to a whopping 10 million, setting yet another record.

With many celebrities launching personal Instagram accounts, the record to beat one million followers has been broken quite a few times. Previous record holders have included the likes of naturalist Sir David Attenborough, and actors Rupert Grint and Angelina Jolie.

But this isn’t the first world record BTS have got under their belt. The group’s jaw-dropping popularity landed them several world records in 2021 alone. Their video for the track ‘Butter’ broke no fewer than five Guinness World Records on YouTube: the most viewers for a premiere of a video, as well as for a premiere of a music video, and the most views in 24 hours for a video, a music video, and a music video by a K-pop group. 

The same song also broke the record on Spotify, getting more than 11 million global streams in just one day, beating both Justin Bieber’s and Ed Sheeran’s previous records. BTS also beat Coldplay to become the most-streamed act on Spotify.