[THE FACT | Reporter Choi Soo-jung] PLAVE has continued its long-running dominance by ranking No. 1 on FANNSTAR’s Global Hot Star Ranking for 95 consecutive weeks.

PLAVE claimed the top spot with 980,700 votes in FANNSTAR’s third-week-of-July Global Hot Star Ranking vote, which ran from July 13 to 20. Stray Kids ranked second, followed by AHOF in third place. Amid fierce competition among artists with global fandoms, PLAVE maintained a steady flow of votes and defended its lead.

Notably, PLAVE is now only five weeks away from the symbolic milestone of 100 consecutive weeks at No. 1. If the group reaches 100 consecutive weeks at the top, a large-scale global advertising project is scheduled to be carried out through the 9TO9 CUBE installed at COEX Mall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The Global Hot Star Ranking is linked to the Global Hot Star Award at the 2026 THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS (TMA), which will be held on September 19. The preliminary voting results through July 20 will account for 20% of the final result, while final voting will run from July 20 to 12 p.m. on August 10.

As final voting officially begins, competition for the Global Hot Star Award is expected to become even more intense. Attention is focused on whether PLAVE, which has shown long-standing strength in the preliminary vote, will continue its lead in the final vote and move closer to the final trophy.

PLAVE has also been nominated in the FANNSTAR Best Music Summer vote and the Choice Award Group category, both of which are presented at the 2026 THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS. These votes will continue until 12 p.m. on August 3.

The 2026 THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS is scheduled to be held on September 19 at Busan Asiad Main Stadium.