Throughout 2022, Lisa (Lalisa Manobal) of BLACKPINK held the title of the most followed K-pop idol on Instagram.
Having already established herself as the leading figure on the platform in 2019, she continued to widen the gap between her and other idols, finishing the year 2022 with approximately 90 million followers.
The Leading Individual Rankings (End of 2022)
The top of the charts in 2022 was almost entirely occupied by the members of BLACKPINK and BTS, who had launched their personal accounts just a year prior in December 2021.
Rank Idol Group Approx. Followers (Dec 2022)
- Lisa BLACKPINK 90 Million
- Jennie BLACKPINK 72 Million
- Jisoo BLACKPINK 66 Million
- Rosé BLACKPINK 65 Million
- V BTS 54 Million
- Jimin BTS 46 Million
- J-Hope BTS 42 Million
- Jin BTS 42 Million
- Jungkook BTS 40 Million
- Suga BTS 40 Million
Key Milestones and Growth in 2022
The year 2022 was a period of explosive growth for K-pop on social media, marked by a few specific events:
The “BTS Effect”
Although Lisa remained #1, the BTS members saw the fastest growth in the industry during 2022.
Because their accounts were still relatively new (created late 2021), they gained tens of millions of followers in a single year.
V (Kim Taehyung) notably broke Guinness World Records for the fastest time to reach 1 million and 10 million followers, consistently ranking as the most followed male idol.
Fashion Week Influence
Lisa’s dominance was heavily supported by her status as a global ambassador for Celine and Bvlgari.
Her appearances at Paris Fashion Week in 2022 generated massive engagement, with individual posts often garnering 10 million likes or more.
This fashion-heavy strategy helped her transcend the “K-pop” bubble to become a global mainstream celebrity.
Individual Branding
By 2022, Instagram became the primary tool for idols to showcase their solo identities.
While BLACKPINK members used the platform for high-fashion editorial content, BTS members like RM used theirs as an “artistic portfolio,” sharing museum visits and book recommendations, proving that different content styles could still attract a massive, loyal following.
“Social media has allowed us to show a more personal side of ourselves that fans don’t always see in our music videos. It’s a way to say ‘hello’ every day.”- Lisa on her social media presence.
As of 2026, Lisa remains at the top of the leaderboard, having recently surpassed the 106 million follower mark, making her the first K-pop idol in history to cross the 100-million threshold.
