The group Aespa showcased their strength by sweeping three grand prizes at the ‘MMA 2024’. Another grand prize went to (G)I-DLE.
On the afternoon of the 30th at 5 PM, the ‘2024 Melon Music Awards’ (MELON MUSIC AWARDS, hereafter MMA 2024) was held at Incheon Inspire Arena.
On this day, Aespa won the Artist of the Year, Best Song, and Album among the four grand prizes, while the Record of the Year went to (G)I-DLE.
Aespa, who achieved three grand prizes, expressed, “We are so grateful for such an honorable award. We could come this far thanks to our fans and the public who love our music. Thank you to everyone who helped create this music. There are so many people working hard behind the scenes, and we think we are receiving this on their behalf. We will work hard next year as well, so please support Aespa a lot. We will become singers who will work hard for 3, 5, and even 10 years. I will definitely remember the year 2024 in my life,” they said.
Immediately after being named Artist of the Year, Aespa's Karina, Winter, and Ningning took the stage without Giselle, raising curiosity. Karina later explained about Giselle’s late appearance, saying, “She wasn’t feeling well and went down for a bit. We ask for your understanding,” which drew attention.
(G)I-DLE, who won the Record of the Year, announced their surprise recontracting news, receiving a warm cheer.
Jeon So-yeon stated, “There have been many articles saying (G)I-DLE will disband as my contract has ended, but it’s not just me; all five of us have decided to recontract together. We talked about it before coming on stage today. We will be together for the next year, the year after, and for life, so I hope you don’t worry. We will repay you with good music next year,” she expressed with excitement.
The TOP 10 winners included (G)I-DLE, RISE, Aespa, PLAYB, TOURS, IU, SEVENTEEN, Jungkook, DAY6, and NewJeans. Additionally, the Millions TOP 10 included IVE, Aespa, RISE, PLAYB, IU, Lim Young-woong, Jungkook, Taeyeon, DAY6, and NewJeans.
Best Group went to RISE and Aespa, while Best Solo was awarded to Jungkook and IU, and the Rookie of the Year was selected as TOURS and ILYT.
TOURS expressed, “Thank you for the valuable award. We are grateful for the many good awards we received this year, and we will strive to become artists worthy of them,” while ILYT, who did not attend the ceremony, conveyed through a video, “The Rookie Award is something you can only receive once in a lifetime. It was a wish I really wanted to achieve, so it’s meaningful to receive this precious award,” sharing their heartfelt feelings.
Meanwhile, MMA is the largest music awards ceremony and festival in South Korea, widely honoring and recognizing artists' achievements over the year through Melon's objective data, user votes, and expert evaluations. This year, many artists attended, including ATEEZ, BOYNEXTDOOR, PLAYB, RISE, TOURS, (G)I-DLE, IVE, Aespa, tripleS, QWER, BIBI, Lee Young-ji, and pop star Christopher.
<Here is the list of major award winners at ‘MMA 2024’>
▲ Artist of the Year = Aespa
▲ Best Song of the Year = Aespa ‘Supernova’
▲ Record of the Year = (G)I-DLE
▲ Album of the Year = Aespa
▲ TOP 10 = (G)I-DLE, RISE, Aespa, PLAYB, TOURS, IU, SEVENTEEN, Jungkook, DAY6, NewJeans
▲ Millions TOP 10 = IVE, Aespa, RISE, PLAYB, IU, Lim Young-woong, Jungkook, Taeyeon, DAY6, NewJeans
▲ Rookie of the Year = TOURS, ILYT
▲ Stage of the Year = IU
▲ Music Video of the Year = IVE ‘I Want’
▲ Hot Trend of the Year = QWER
▲ Best Group = RISE, Aespa
▲ Best Solo = Jungkook, IU
▲ Best Performance = BOYNEXTDOOR, Aespa
▲ Best Pop Artist = Benson Boone
▲ Best Producer = Starship Vice President Seo Hyun-joo
▲ Best OST = Eclipse ‘Shower’
▲ Best Music Style = Lee Young-ji, BIBI
▲ Songwriter = (G)I-DLE So-yeon
▲ J-Pop Favorite Artist = YOASOBI
▲ Global Artist = ATEEZ, IVE
▲ Global Rising Artist = RISE
▲ 1theK Global Icon = tripleS
▲ Kakao Bank Everyone's Star Award = RISE
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
