BTS win Time magazine reader's poll for Person of the Year 2018
The K-Pop stars managed to hold on to their long lead in the poll, with the help of their fans
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Your support makes all the difference.K Pop stars BTS have won the online reader’s poll for TIME’s Person of the Year, beating other artists, world leaders and politicians.
The seven-member K-Pop band — which includes members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — managed to hold on to their long lead in the poll, with the help of their fans.
Planet Earth narrowly trailed BTS in the poll. With millions of votes cast, BTS outpaced Planet Earth by 0.12 per cent, according to the magazine.
The Thai cave divers finished third. Other top figures were: South Korean president Moon Jae-in; 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 of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi; Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro; Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Each 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 is chosen by editors. The reader's poll provides insight into who they believe had the greatest influence on the events of the past year.
BTS have had an incredible 2018, which has included a sold-out arena tour of the UK, along with several smashed records for their singles and YouTube videos released this year. Their recent album Love Yourself: Tear, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, marking it as the first album by a K-pop band to top the US charts.
In October, the band members were honoured with the Order of Cultural Merit from the South Korean government, making them the youngest recipients ever of the prestigious honour.
TIME’s choice for the 2018 Person of the Year will be revealed on December 11.
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