The awards season has come to an end! Here we will focus on music achievements and list only the main winners across each relevant category from a possible total of nine award shows. They include:
- TMA – The Fact Music Awards
- AAA – Asia Artist Awards
- MAMA – Mnet Asian Music Awards
- MMA – MelOn Music Awards
- HMA – Hanteo Music Awards
- GDA – Golden Disc Awards
- GCMA – Gaon Chart Music Awards
- SMA – Seoul Music Awards
- KMA – Korean Music Awards
Daesang
Let’s begin by naming the winners of the Daesang, also known as the Grand Prize. In this section, we use the following abbreviations:
- SOTY – Song of the Year
- AOTY – Album of the Year
- ArOTY – Artist of the Year
The winners of the Daesang at major award ceremonies are below.
| Daesang winners at major music award ceremonies (2021) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOTY | AOTY | ArOTY | ||
| MAMA | Butter BTS |
BE BTS |
BTS | |
| MMA | Butter BTS |
Lilac IU |
IU | |
| GDA | Celebrity IU |
BE BTS |
aespa** | |
| SMA* | — | — | NCT 127 | |
|
Notes: * Only one Daesang was awarded in this ceremony |
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Other Daesangs awarded at these ceremonies include:
- MAMA | Worldwide Icon of the Year – BTS
- MMA | Record of the Year – aespa (prod. Lee Soo-man)
At other ceremonies, the winners of the award are mentioned.
| Daesang winners at other music award ceremonies (2021) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOTY | AOTY | ArOTY | ||
| TMA* | BTS | |||
| AAA | Butter BTS |
Sticker NCT 127 |
Seventeen | |
| GCMA | — | — | — | |
| KMA | Next Level aespa |
There is a Wolf Lang Lee |
BTS | |
|
Notes: * Only one Daesang was awarded in this ceremony |
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Other Daesangs awarded at these ceremonies include:
- AAA | Performance of the Year – Stray Kids
- AAA | Stage of the Year – aespa
Bonsang
Next, we name the winners of the Bonsang, also known as the Main Prize.
| Bonsang (Main Prize) winners at major music award ceremonies (2021) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital | Album | |||
| MAMA | — | |||
| MMA | aespa AKMU ASH ISLAND BTS Heize IU Lee Mujin IllBOI Lim Young-woong NCT Dream |
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| GDA | BTS IU aespa AKMU Heize Lee Mujin Oh My Girl STAYC |
BTS IU Enhypen NCT 127 NCT Dream Seventeen Stray Kids TXT |
||
| SMA | aespa ATEEZ Brave Girls BTS Enhypen Heize IU Kang Daniel Lim Young-woong NCT 127 Oh My Girl Seventeen THE BOYZ |
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At other ceremonies, Artist of the Year can be awarded to one or multiple artists. In most instances, they are awarded as a Bonsang, though they can also sometimes be awarded as a Daesang.
| ‘Artist of the Year’ winners at other music award ceremonies (2021) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TMA | Astro Ateez Brave Girls BTS Enhypen Itzy Kang Daniel Seventeen Stray Kids Super Junior Oh My Girl The Boyz TXT |
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| AAA | — | |||
| GCMA* | Digital | Album | ||
| (2020/12) What Do I Call You Taeyeon |
(2020/12 – 2021/02) One-reeler / Act IV IZ*ONE |
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| (2021/01) Celebrity IU |
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| (2021/02) Don’t Call Me SHINee |
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| (2021/03) Lilac IU |
(2021/03 – 2021/05) Hot Sauce NCT Dream |
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| (2021/04) Antidote Kang Daniel |
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| (2021/05) Butter BTS |
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| (2021/06) Chi Mat Ba Ram Brave Girls |
(2021/06 – 2021/08) Butter BTS |
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| (2021/07) Permission to Dance BTS |
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| (2021/08) Queendom Red Velvet |
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| (2021/09) My Universe BTS x Coldplay |
(2021/09 – 2021/11) Sticker NCT 127 |
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| (2021/10) Strawberry Moon IU |
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| (2021/11) Scientist TWICE |
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| KMA** | BTS | |||
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Notes: * This award is technically not a Bonsang, though it is treated as such. |
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Individual categories
The best-performing acts — both groups and soloists — were mentioned at major award ceremonies.
| Group/Soloist winners at major music award ceremonies (2021) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Soloist | ||
| MAMA | BTS | TWICE | Baekhyun IU |
|
| MMA | BTS | aespa | Lim Young-woong IU |
|
| GDA* | — | Brave Girls | Lim Young-woong | |
| SMA | — | — | — | |
|
Notes: * Only one artist was awarded for “Best Group” |
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HMA was held for the first time this year. So, in this category, the winners are:
| Group/Soloist winners at other music award ceremonies (2021) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Group | Soloist | |
| Male | Male | |
| HMA | BTS Stray Kids NCT Dream |
Baekhyun D.O. Wonho |
| Female | Female | |
| TWICE Itzy aespa |
Lisa Rosé IU |
|
Rookie of the Year
The eligibility criteria for the award of Rookie of the Year may vary across ceremonies. Usually, they will only include acts who have debuted within a specific time period.
| Rookie of the Year winners at major music award ceremonies (2021) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | |||
| MAMA | Enhypen | aespa | ||
| MMA | Lee Mujin | aespa | ||
| GDA | — | aespa STAYC |
||
| SMA | Epex Lee Mujin Omega X |
— | ||
The winners of the same award are mentioned at other ceremonies.
| Rookie of the Year winners at other music award ceremonies (2021) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | |||
| TMA | — | — | ||
| AAA | Enhypen | aespa | ||
| HMA | EPEX | IVE | ||
| GCMA | Lee Chan Won ..Gift (album) Lee Mujin Scent of the Day (digital) |
— | ||
| KMA* | — | aespa | ||
|
Notes: * Only one artist was awarded in this ceremony |
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And with that, we come to the end of our summary!
Were you surprised by any of these results? Let us know about your thoughts about the winners.
