LISA from BLACKPINK, MINNIE from i-dle, NATTY from KISS OF LIFE, TEN from NCT—and going back further, BamBam from GOT7 and NICHKHUN from 2PM. All six of them are Thai artists who’ve enjoyed fantastic careers in the world of K-pop. From some point, a Thai member in a K-pop group stopped being an unusual sight. But it’s not widely known in Korea that their home country, Thailand, has a highly developed music market of its own.
Thai pop music, also known as T-pop, is a force that can’t be ignored. According to a press release GMM Music, Thailand’s largest music company, put out in August 2024, Warner Music Asia’s strategic investment pushed the company’s valuation past 25 billion baht, while GMM Music’s 2023 revenue climbed 27% year-over-year to 3.9 billion baht. CEO Phawit Chitrakorn’s description of T-pop as Southeast Asia’s largest music market is no exaggeration.
T-pop had been growing steadily since the 1990s, but it entered a new phase in 2007, when Thai entertainment company RS Group first systematized the Thai idol model through its teen pop label, and again in 2017, when BNK48, AKB48’s sister group, broke through in a major way. Since the 2020s and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, T-pop has grown at a particularly staggering pace, embracing K-pop’s systematic approach while also producing a steady stream of new groups who lean hard into T-pop’s unique rhythm and feel. After reading about the six artists below, there’s no way you won’t fall for the one-of-a-kind charm T-pop has to offer. You might just be surprised how much culture is packed into the music.
Jeff Satur
Jeff Satur’s had an enormous output as a singer, actor, and producer since debuting in 2013. His big breakthrough came in 2022 with “KinnPorsche,” a Thai boys’ love series where he played Kim, the youngest sibling of the show’s protagonist, Kinn. Jeff’s name might not ring a bell, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard his hit “Dum Dum” or “More Than Friend,” the BamBam song he featured on, while short-form scrolling.
Jeff Satur’s made his mark on everything from music to acting and variety shows. His debut album, “Space Shuttle No.8,” has racked up over 200 million streams on Spotify and won Best Album of the Year at 2024 Spotify Wrapped Live Thailand. He opened the Miss Universe 2025 finals staged in Bangkok, and every stop on his “Red Giant” world tour sold out. This past March, he even became the first Thai artist to ever perform at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles. Jeff grew up listening to everything from Slipknot and X Japan to Mariah Carey, and now he’s the one setting trends, putting out songs with a strong ’80s R&B influence and a rocking rhythm.
It’s clear why Jeff deserves the attention—he knows exactly what he’s good at and what suits him best. And whether he’s acting in a queer film about the legalization of same-sex marriage, running wild on a variety show, or headlining a definitive T-pop event, he’s always at the top of his game. It’s made Jeff Satur one of a kind in the world of T-pop.
PiXXiE
PiXXiE is a three-member girl group who debuted in 2021 and is made up of Pimma, Mabelz, and Ingkho. The group made a big impression right out of the gate, landing a nomination for New Artist of the Year at the TOTY Music Awards, and they remain one of Thailand’s most popular girl groups today. They put on a sweet-as-sugar face with their debut single, “DED,” but they’ve since tried out a range of different looks and sounds, including “rain,” with its retro, mid-tempo melody. The cute, touching lyrics to “rain” struck a chord with listeners and the song went on to win Hottest Song Of The Year at the KAZZ Awards 2024.
PiXXiE has a particular talent for coming up with the perfect outfits and dance moves for every song. They started zeroing in on dance-centric performances, centering the choreography for “FEAT” around the decorative fabric tied at their waists. More recently, their performance of “Shake!” at Monster Music Festival 2026 went viral, with Mabelz’s long skirt working perfectly with the choreography and the algorithm doing the rest. PiXXiE’s popularity keeps growing in Korea, too, where they performed at Sawasdee Seoul Thai Festival 2026 in June.
If you want to get a better feel for the group, check out their new songs “DUSTY,” as well as “TOXIQUE” and “DEJAYOU.” It's also worth checking out their documentary, which covers their journey to the stage of “Summer Sonic 2026” last August.
BADMIXY
BADMIXY first made a name for herself as Mixy on the HIWWHEE YouTube channel. HIWWHEE, made up of YouTubers who identify as kathoey (a Thai term encompassing trans women and effeminate-presenting individuals) brought Thailand’s trans community into the public eye. As HIWWHEE’s influence grew, Mixy changed her stage name to BADMIXY to further establish herself as a musical artist.
The turning point was the 2023 song “B Blood Type.” Written by BADMIXY and sung by fellow HIWWHEE member CHRRISSA, the massive hit climbed to No. 7 on the Spotify Top 50 in Thailand just eight days after release and hit No. 1 on the Thai iTunes chart. Newly confident in her own musical talent, BADMIXY released the album “BAD STORY” that same year, launching her singing career in earnest. One track off the album, “DILF,” saw its music video surpass three million YouTube views in just six days, and the song topped both the Thai Apple Music and Thai iTunes charts.
Since 2024, BADMIXY has put a concerted effort into discovering LGBTQ+ artists, founding the label WANLOVE, a nod to her real name, Wanchaloem. More than 10,000 people signed up for the first round of trainee recruitment that April, and one year later, This City, the first artist to sign on with the label, made their debut. BADMIXY was open about her identity right from the start on YouTube. Now, she’s building the foundation for the next wave of artists like her. What bright new future will she help usher in for T-pop?
BUS
BUS got their start on the audition reality show “789SURVIVAL” and they’ve since risen to become one of Thailand’s leading boy groups. COPPER—the older brother of BABYMONSTER’s CHIQUITA—and Korean member JINWOOK are both part of the lineup, so there’s a number of fans in Korea, too. The 12 boys, who debuted in December 2023 and have been busy ever since, recently held their “LIGHT AS ONE CONCERT,” their second to date, from July 24 to 26. All three shows sold out the very first day tickets went on sale, and BUS held onto No. 1 on the list of trending hashtags on X in Thailand throughout the run.
BUS’ sound is a fusion of K-pop’s proven style and the unique qualities of Thailand’s T-pop. With that, plus the dance skills they’ve spent years sharpening, BUS has steadily built up a massive following that stretches beyond Thailand and across the globe. This past February, BUS became the first T-pop group to take the stage on “M Countdown.” That’s largely thanks to a video that went viral in Korea. On the very last day of 2025, BUS performed the CORTIS song “GO!” with a distinctly T-pop twist at Amazing Thailand Countdown 2026, and the response online was huge. It’s a good measure of just how influential BUS has become. Funnily enough, the members of CORTIS were actually present as special hosts, so viewers got to watch BUS perform “GO!” right in front of them.
In May, BUS held a fan concert in Seoul as part of their first Asia tour, “THE FIRST LIGHT.” They’re already amazing, and they’re just getting started.
4EVE
4EVE is a seven-member girl group formed a bit over five years ago—before BUS, even—back in December 2020, through the audition reality show “Girl Group Star.” When 4EVE debuted, Thailand’s pop music scene was experiencing a wave of J-pop-influenced girl groups following BNK48’s breakthrough in 2017. 4EVE faced a number of setbacks, including the fact that they debuted during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning they couldn’t perform live.
But through it all, 4EVE pursued a girl crush, girl power image, which won them a dedicated female fan base. “We debuted at a time when women couldn’t find the courage to speak up,” member Hannah explained in an interview, “so that’s exactly where we dug in.” These days, the group’s branching out across genres and has widened their musical range. That effort’s paid off, and 4EVE has now held two concerts at the 12,000-seat IMPACT Arena. Last November, they took things even further, playing MUSIC EXPO LIVE 2025 in Japan and becoming the first T-pop girl group to ever perform at the Tokyo Dome.
If you’re looking to get into 4EVE, start with the “TEST ME” special video—the one that put them where they are today, with a staggering 150 million views as of September. From there, you could move on to their debut single, “Oohlala!,” a song that signaled a new era for T-pop. If you check out “Hot 2 Hot” and its now-famous dance routine with fans in hand, and their new song “TEA” with 88rising, you’ll understand exactly why 4EVE is called the queen of T-pop.
pami
I stumbled across a singer-songwriter named pami purely by luck of the YouTube algorithm. I still remember how surprised I was the first time I heard her. But the more I looked into her, the more surprises kept turning up. Born to a Thai father and a Chinese mother, pami previously sang under the name PAM. As PAM, she debuted as a singer and actress in Thailand in 2017, and her 2018 single “I Don’t Like” became a massive hit, racking up 22 million views on YouTube. From there, she broke into the Chinese market in 2019, making the finals of the reality show “The Coming One,” and the following year, she debuted as one of three members of Chinese girl group SIS. PAM kept her acting career going alongside, landing the female lead in the film “The Mad Game,” but when SIS disbanded in 2022, she moved back to Thailand. With her career on pause, PAM headed to the UK to double down on her music studies. Then, in 2024, she made a comeback under the name pami with the single “covent garden.” That same year, she released her debut EP, “out of nowhere,” and by earlier this March she’d already been declared Best Hidden Gem of the Year at the TOTY Music Awards, proving she’s found solid footing in the Thai indie scene.
Tracing pami’s transformation step by step made her even more compelling to me than she already was. In her music, she sings about learning how to love wholeheartedly. “I realized that making music isn’t really about chasing success anymore,” she’s quoted as saying. “It’s about creating something you truly love.” If you start with “cry jar,” the song I first discovered her with, then move onto her most-streamed tracks, “pity dirty” and “kiss me blue,” you’ll get a real sense of who pami is as an artist. Personally, though, I’d recommend just listening to her album “puffette” all the way through.