Generations: The Best Gen 5 Girl Groups
The fifth generation belongs to its girl groups so far, topping charts and setting the trends everyone else follows. We ranked them by their daily KpopScore, with the live numbers behind the order.
If any group is defining the fifth generation, it is the girl groups. The acts that debuted from 2023 onward arrived into a stretch widely called the year of the girl group, topping charts, breaking onto Western radio, and setting the trends everyone else follows. This is our ranking of them, ordered by each group's all-time KpopScore, and because the era is still young the order rewards whoever has the most momentum right now.
The module below is the live part. It races the top of the field on the same daily engine as the rest of the site. Move the timeframe and the order can shift, which matters more for a generation this new than for an established one.
illit
babymonster
hearts2hearts
kiss_of_life
meovv
izna
How we ranked this
The order is by all-time KpopScore, a single 0 to 1000 popularity number built from streaming, video, charts, sales, music-show wins, and recognition. The fifth generation only has a few years on the board, so the score leans heavily on current momentum and the order genuinely shifts month to month. Switch the module above to a shorter window to see who is moving now. For the full method, see How It Works.
The ranking
ILLIT
ILLIT came out of the survival show R U Next? and almost immediately set the tone for the generation. Their breakout "Magnetic" turned a soft, breezy take on pop, often called newtro, into one of the most copied sounds of the era, and it crossed onto the US Billboard Hot 100, a rare feat for a debut single. Their score is built on streaming and video. The five-member group makes effortless-sounding pop that is much harder to pull off than it looks.
BABYMONSTER
BABYMONSTER are YG Entertainment's first new girl group since BLACKPINK, and they carry that weight with a bold, hip-hop-driven sound and a multinational lineup. After introducing themselves through a pre-debut reality series, they grew into a genuine commercial force, with the million-selling album DRIP and a title track co-produced by G-Dragon. Their score leans on streaming, video, and sales. They are YG's bet that lightning can strike twice.
Hearts2Hearts
Hearts2Hearts are SM Entertainment's first new girl group since aespa, and the company's largest since Girls' Generation. The eight-member, multinational lineup pairs SM's polished production with a fresh, contemporary concept, leading with the clean pop of "The Chase." Their score is strongest in streaming and video. They are SM returning to the big-lineup girl group it helped invent, updated for a new era.
KISS OF LIFE
KISS OF LIFE built their reputation on range. Their sound is rooted in R&B, hip-hop, and soul with a retro streak, and the four members each released a solo single before the group even debuted, a statement about how much the lineup could carry on its own. They went on to win Rookie of the Year at the Korean Music Awards, only the third idol group to do so there after aespa and NewJeans. Their score draws on streaming and recognition.
MEOVV
MEOVV are the first girl group from THE BLACK LABEL, the producer Teddy's hitmaking house, and they were built for reach: an English-forward, hard-hitting hip-hop and pop sound paired with a global partnership with Capitol Records. Their score is led by streaming and video. They are one of the clearest examples of a fifth-generation group designed to land abroad as much as at home.
izna
izna were assembled from Mnet's survival show I-LAND2, and they lead with performance. The group built early momentum on sharp, dance-forward title tracks and took home Favorite Rising Artist at the 2025 MAMA Awards. Their score leans on video and music shows. They are the girl-group side of the same survival pipeline that produced so much of this generation's boy-group field.
KiiiKiii
KiiiKiii arrived through a surprise in-house rollout from Starship Entertainment, no survival show required, and wasted no time. The five-member group pairs a youthful, self-assured pop concept with hits like "I DO ME," and swept Rookie of the Year honors across multiple ceremonies in their debut year. Their score is strongest in streaming and music shows. They are one of the fastest-rising names of the newest wave.
QWER
QWER are the band on this list, and that is exactly why they stand out. The four members play their own instruments across drums, bass, guitar, and vocals, and their rock sound carries a strong anime and pop-punk streak, right down to a name taken from the keyboard skill keys in League of Legends. They won Best Band Performance at the 2024 MAMA Awards. Their score leans on streaming. No other group here does what QWER does.
The survival-show pipeline
The reality competition runs through the girl-group side just as deeply. ILLIT came out of R U Next?, izna from I-LAND2, and UNIS from SBS's Universe Ticket. Even the groups built in-house felt the format's gravity: a public-vote debut became one more standard route into the generation, and several of its biggest names took it.
Just outside the top tier
The field below the top is deep and getting deeper. YOUNG POSSE carved out a hip-hop-forward lane that drew in overseas rap fans, UNIS turned their survival-show start into a steady run, and RESCENE are among the brighter of the newer small-label debuts. More arrive every season, and each one has a live score you can pull up and compare.
The verdict
The fifth generation belongs to its girl groups so far, and the race at the top is genuinely open: a HYBE rookie, YG's next flagship, SM's biggest lineup in years, a band, and a string of survival-show winners are all in the mix. The order here is ours, drawn from the data, but a live score is meant to be argued with, and this generation will rewrite it more than once. Change the timeframe on the module above, or head to the compare tool and build your own bracket. And for the other half of the story, read the best Gen 5 boy groups.