Hyeri Surpasses IU in Baeksang Popularity Race: Same-Sex Kiss Sends Shockwaves
In a dramatic twist to this year’s Baeksang Arts Awards, actress Hyeri has surged past IU in the Prism Popularity Award vote, thanks in large part to a buzzworthy performance and a same-sex kiss scene that set social media ablaze.
Voting began on April 23, and within a day, Hyeri took the lead among female nominees, earning approximately 738,000 votes, putting her ahead of IU (533,000 votes) and Kim Hye-yoon (496,000 votes). On the male side, Byun Woo-seok leads with 226,000 votes, followed by Park Bo-gum with 84,000.
Hyeri’s surge is tied to her recent role in Friendly Rivalry, a gritty high school thriller set at the elite Chaehwa Girls’ High. In the series, she plays Yoo Je-i, the seemingly perfect queen bee of the school who hides layers of complexity and emotional depth.
But it was the electrifying kiss scene with co-star Jung Soo-bin that truly grabbed the public’s attention. What could have been a typical power move in a school drama turned into a defining moment—fueling fan debates, deepening emotional investment, and rapidly expanding Hyeri’s already solid fanbase.
The drama has also made waves internationally. It topped the charts on U+mobileTV and U+tv Originals upon release and quickly climbed to third place in KinoLights’ “Today’s Integrated Content Ranking.” Overseas, it claimed the number one spot on Taiwan’s friday OTT and second on global platform iQIYI, with an IMDb rating over 9.0.
The Baeksang Popularity Award voting continues until May 2, with winners set to be announced during the awards ceremony on May 5 at Seoul’s COEX D Hall. With public sentiment clearly leaning in Hyeri’s favor, fans and viewers alike are eager to see if she will clinch the trophy.
