The inaugural Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars list launched today, highlighting celebrities from across the Asia Pacific region who have taken the digital world by storm. The full list can be found here and in the December issue of Forbes Asia, Forbes reports.
Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars list features 100 singers, bands, film and TV stars with a strong social media presence. With millions of followers across popular platforms, these celebrities have maintained their relevance and popularity in this challenging period by leveraging on the power of social media. Many have also used their influence to support worthy causes, especially those with a Covid-19 focus.
Among the prominent faces on the list is BTS, the seven-member band from South Korea. One of the world's most successful musical groups ever, with over 33 million Instagram followers, BTS’s song “Dynamite” reportedly made YouTube history as the first video to get over 100 million views within 24 hours of being posted.
With almost 110 million Weibo fans, Chinese actress and singer Yang Mi has multiple endorsement deals that include Crocs, Estée Lauder, Stuart Weitzman and Victoria’s Secret. In 2019, Yang was named Super IP Actress at the China Literature Awards and in January was crowned Weibo Goddess at the annual Weibo Awards.
Bollywood’s highest-paid actor, Akshay Kumar is also one of India’s most-followed stars, with over 131 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. As a philanthropist, Kumar donated $4 million to Covid-19 relief in India and took part in the "I For India" fundraising concert on Facebook Live in May, which raised 520 million rupees ($7 million) for GiveIndia’s Covid-19 fund.
Known as the king of Mandopop, Jay Chou is the most-followed artist from Taiwan on Instagram, with over 6 million followers. This year, Chou launched his own Netflix travel show J-Style Trip and, in June, the release of his single “Mojito” caused music streaming service QQ Music to crash due to high demand. In January, Chou and his wife donated 3 million yuan ($455,000) to support frontline medical workers in Wuhan.
One of Japan’s leading comedians, Naomi Watanabe is the most-followed Japanese celebrity on Instagram with over 9 million followers. Her latest parody music video of Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga’s “Rain On Me” garnered over 19 million views on YouTube in just three months.
With over 19 million followers, actress Angel Locsin is the second-most popular Filipina celebrity on Facebook after fellow Digital Star Marian Rivera-Dantes. Locsin has donated about 15 million pesos ($310,000) over the past decade to various causes, earning her a spot on the 2019 Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list. Recently, Locsin helped raise 11.3 million pesos for the purchase of 246 hospital tents for medical workers fighting the pandemic.
Other notable stars on the list include Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth; action star Donnie Yen; K-Pop girl band Blackpink and actor Lee Min-ho from South Korea; China’s Kris Wu and Dilraba Dilmurat; India’s Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt, and Singaporean singer-songwriter JJ Lin among others.
To determine the finalists, Forbes Asia evaluated the candidates’ combined social media reach and engagement. Their recent work, impact and advocacy, brand endorsements and business endeavors, and their recognition profile on a local, regional and global level were also considered. Only those active in film, music, and TV were eligible. Entries use the name of the person or band most widely known, while real names are provided in most cases for individual celebrities, and names of prominent members are included in some of the band entries.
