BTS, aespa, Lang Lee win big at Korean Music Awards
K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Music
By Dong Sun-hwa
K-pop acts BTS and aespa and folk singer-songwriter Lang Lee took the top honors at the 19th Korean Music Awards (KMA), Tuesday.
The KMA is one of the most prestigious music awards in Korea, known for prioritizing musicality and artistic integrity over commercial success. Its judges include music critics and radio producers, among others.
At the awards ceremony, which was livestreamed on YouTube, K-pop titan BTS clinched the Artist of the Year award for conquering Billboard's Hot 100 main singles chart for 10 consecutive weeks last year with its summer banger “Butter.”
“Thank you for giving us such a meaningful award,” the group said in its acceptance speech. “We will put more effort into promoting Korean music globally.”
K-pop girl group aespa / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
This year is the third year in a row that the band has won the Artist of the Year award at the KMA. In 2021, it was honored for the 2020 hit “Dynamite,” the track that made BTS the first Korean act to reign atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Rookie girl group aespa bagged the most trophies this time, winning for Song of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Best K-Pop Song awards thanks to the success of its 2021 release, “Next Level.” The song is a remake of Australian singer A$ton Wyld's 2019 song of the same name, which was featured on the soundtrack of the 2019 action movie, “Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.” The addictive hip-hop dance tune ruled major music streaming charts like Melon shortly after its release, propelling aespa to massive stardom.
“We think we received these awards thanks to the support for 'Next Level,'” aespa said. “We will strive to come up with more quality music and be more enthusiastic in 2022.”
Folk singer-songwriter Lang Lee / Capture from Facebook
The Album of the Year award went to folk singer-songwriter Lang Lee's critically acclaimed “There is a Wolf,” which came out last August. Lee also won the Best Folk Album award for the same album. Fronted by its title track, “There is a Wolf” centers on the theme of poverty, a rare topic in the mainstream Korean music.
“I did not produce this album because I was braver than others,” she said. “I am just good at speaking up … I hope everyone eats well and lives well.”
During the awards ceremony, many other singers, including AKMU, IU and Chungha were recognized for their musical feats. AKMU and IU were given the Best Pop Song and the Best Pop Album awards, respectively, with Chungha nabbing the Best K-Pop Album award ― a newly added prize.