Top 10 Asia-Pacific Digital Stars
December 7, 2021
Top 10 Digital Stars list highlights the singers, bands, and film and TV stars from across the Asia-Pacific region who have taken the digital world by storm. With their powerful social media presence, these trailblazers have garnered millions of loyal followers across popular platforms, making them as famous online as they are on stage and screen. We’ve given special focus to celebrities who, despite cancelled physical events and activities, managed to remain active and relevant, largely by using social media to interact with their fans, raise awareness and inspire optimism. Many also used their influence to help worthy causes, especially those with a Covid-19 focus.
Blackpink
Actress, Thailand
Blackpink’s members—Lisa , Jennie , Rosé, and Jisoo — a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album Square One, which featured “Whistle” and “Boombayah”, their first number-one entries on South Korea’s Gaon Digital Chart and the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, respectively.
Jackson Yee
Actor and singer, China
Davika HoorneActress, Thailand
Actress, Thailand
Davika Hoorne (Thai: ดาวิกา โฮร์เน่), also known as Mai Davika (Thai: ใหม่ ดาวิกา), is a Thai actress and model, who made an acting debut on 2010 in television series Ngao Kammathep as the lead role. She earned a Best Actress nomination at Thailand’s Nataraja Awards for her role in the TV series My Ambulance. She is Thailand’s second-most popular Instagram celebrity, with 12 million followers, after fellow Digital Star Aum Patchrapa. Her endorsement deals include Gucci and L’Oreal.
Amitabh BachchanActor, India
A veteran of over 200 movies, Bachchan in May used his star power and 105 million social media followers to help raise $7 million for Covid-19 relief. Over his long career he has held elected office and been the subject of at least 11 biographies.
Chi PuActress, model, producer, singer and TV host, Vietnam
With over 19 million social media followers, Chi, whose real name is Nguyen Thuy Chi, is one of Vietnam’s most popular female celebrities. A model-turned-actress and singer, her music video “Anh oi o lai” has over 92 million views on YouTube. She donated $50,000 this year to local Covid-19 relief efforts.
Mario MaurerActor, Thailand
Maurer won Best Actor at Thailand’s TV Gold Awards in February for his role in the Thai TV series The Pharmacist Of Chaloang. The German-Thai star has 11 million Facebook followers, which he uses to support charities and sponsors including King Power.
MayDayBand, Taiwan
Wu Yue Tian (Chinese: 五月天) Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members, Monster (leader, lead guitar), Ashin (vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums). The five-piece band is one of the most popular musical groups in the region. Lead vocalist Ashin has Taiwan’s most-liked Facebook page, with nearly 4 million followers. In May, the four-time winner of Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards held a virtual concert that received 42 million views on YouTube.
Rebel WilsonActress, Australia
Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Toula in the SBS comedy series Pizza (2003–2007, 2019), and later appeared in the sketch comedy series The Wedge (2006–2007). Wilson declared 2020 her “Year of Health” and kept her 9 million Instagram followers updated on her fitness and weight-loss journey. An October post captioned “Just call me: Fit Amy” attracted 545,000 likes. Last year was busy: Wilson starred in four films, including Isn’t It Romantic, which she also produced.
Jay ChouActor and singer, Taiwan
Jay Chou is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and director. He was born in Taipei to schoolteachers, Yeh Hui-Mei, who taught fine arts, and Chou Yao-Chung, a biomedical researcher. In 2000, Chou released his first album, titled Jay (2000), under the record company Alfa Music.
Kento YamazakiActor, Japan
Kento Yamazaki (山﨑賢人, Yamazaki Kento, born September 7, 1994) is a Japanese actor and model. He is best known for his role as L in the live-action television series Death Note (2015) and as the lead Minato Shindo in the Japanese medical drama remake Good Doctor (2018), and for starring in the films L DK (2014), Heroine Shikkaku (2015) and Orange (2015), as well as in the Netflix series Alice in Borderland. He is under the Japanese talent agency Stardust Promotion.
