The mid-2026 girl group brand race, in three moves
IVE hold the top, BLACKPINK surge on the Deadline era, and LE SSERAFIM turn a Macarena sample into a tour setup.
Brand reputation indexes are a blunt instrument, but they move on real events. IVE's hold on first place tracks a comeback cycle that never quite cooled; BLACKPINK's climb follows the Deadline records; LE SSERAFIM's rise maps almost exactly onto the week 'BOOMPALA' landed.
What the index cannot see is the touring map underneath it. All three acts spend the second half of 2026 on the road, which means the next six months of this race will be decided in arenas, not on release calendars.