iKON was selected as one of the K-pop groups to watch this year by the U.S. ranking chart Billboard.

The music magazine picked the hip-hop-focused septet along with G-Friend, G.Soul, Joo Young and Mamamoo as the rising rookie stars.

Fan anticipation, chart performance in the past, YouTube views and opinion of industry watchers were taken into account when listing the groups, Billboard said.

The magazine expressed its high anticipation for iKON members Bobby and BI, given that they have been under the spotlight even before their debut for collaborative works with established K-pop stars.

Bobby was featured as a rapper in Hi Suhyun’s “I’m Different” while BI performed with Epik High for the hip-hop group’s “Born Hater” performance at a year-end music awards.

iKON is the latest group to be unveiled by YG Entertainment, one of the largest labels in Korea.

The label recruited iKON members through winner-takes-all TV audition program last year.

iKON is currently putting final touches on its debut album, said YG Entertainment chairman Yang Hyun-suk.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)