Baek Ye-rin wins 3 Korean Music Awards with latest album

Singer Baek Ye-rin Courtesy of Korean Music Awards

By Park Ji-won

Singer Baek Ye-rin won three Korean Music Awards (KMAs), Thursday.

She won Album of the Year with “Our Love is Great” released last year, and Best Pop Album and Best Pop Song with “Maybe it's Not Our Fault.”

Five artists won two awards. Kim Oki, an indie musician and a jazz saxophonist, won Musician of the Year and Best Jazz and Crossover Album.

Indie band Jannabi's “For Lovers who Hesitate” won Song of the Year and Best Modern Rock Song.

Jambinai, a crossover rock band, won Best Rock Album and Best Modern Rock Song. Singer-songwriter Lim Kim won Best Dance and Electronic Album and Best Dance and Electronic Song. Singer-songwriter Chun Young-sung took out Best Folk Album and Best Folk Song.

Meanwhile, singer-songwriter Sogumm was named Rookie of the Year.

KMA committee member Kwon Suk-jung said of Baek's award-winning album: “A great power about music is to heal. Baek Ye-rin, who has been considered one of the best vocalists of her generation, has become a mature artist who can heal the soul of people with the album Our Love is Great.

“This album, created by the most shining voice of Baek and the most creative producer Cloud, is filled with breathtaking beautifulness, opening up the era of Baek Ye-rin.”

Last year, BTS won awards in four categories: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, with “Fake Love,” Artist of the Year and Best Pop Song, also with “Fake Love.”

The yearly awards were originally planned to be held in an arts center in Seoul, but this was canceled due to the fast spread of COVID-19 here.

The KMAs, which are sponsored by the culture ministry, are among the country's key music awards. They were launched in 2004 and contribute to cultivating undervalued artists and evaluating artists' music.