Several K-pop artists made Forbes’ “30 Under 30 Asia” list for 2026!

Every year, Forbes magazine selects 30 young Asian leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to celebrate within 10 different categories, one of which is Entertainment & Sports.

This year, i-dle, CORTIS, NMIXX, and choreographer Leejung Lee were among the entertainers spotlighted by the magazine.

Forbes introduced i-dle by writing, “i-dle is a K-pop girl group created by Cube Entertainment in 2018 under the name (G)I-DLE. Members Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, Shuhua and Soojin debuted with the track ‘LATATA,’ went on to release multiple chart-topping albums, and have about seven million monthly listeners on Spotify. Soojin left the group in 2021. In 2025, the group renamed itself i-dle and released its eighth EP, ‘We are,’ which sold over one million copies in its first week. That year, it also won the Grand Prize at the 34th Seoul Music Awards.”

Meanwhile, Forbes wrote about CORTIS, “CORTIS, derived from the phrase ‘color outside the lines,’ is a five-member K-pop boy group created in 2025 by BIGHIT MUSIC, a label under HYBE. It was the first boy group launched by the HYBE subsidiary in six years, after BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. Branded a ‘young creator crew’ rather than a traditional idol act, members Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon and Keonho were all credited with choreography or production roles on their debut EP, ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES,’ which debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and ranked first in first-week sales among 2025 rookie groups. CORTIS has won multiple rookie awards, including recognition at the 2025 Mnet Asian Music Awards and the 40th Golden Disc Awards.”

As for NMIXX, Forbes wrote, “NMIXX is a South Korean girl group created by JYP Entertainment in 2022 with the release of the single album ‘AD MARE.’ Its six members—Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo and Kyujin—have gained recognition for a fusion sound called ‘Mixx Pop’ that combines a range of genres, including pop, rock, hip-hop and electronic music. Last October, the group’s first studio album, ‘Blue Valentine,’ nearly topped Korea’s Circle Album Chart and won ten music awards. NMIXX has six million followers on Instagram and roughly 3.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify.”

Finally, Forbes described Leejung Lee’s influence by writing, “Leejung Lee is a choreographer and dancer who created the dance for ‘Soda Pop’ in Netflix’s 2025 animated hit ‘KPop Demon Hunters.’ She got her start as the first female member of the dance group Just Jerk Crew and has helped choreograph performances for K-pop groups including BLACKPINK and TWICE. Lee regularly posts dance videos on Instagram to her audience of 2.6 million followers.”

Congratulations to i-dle, CORTIS, NMIXX, and Leejung Lee!

Source (1)