It’s the end of the year and for K-pop fans, that means it’s award season! With the recent MAMA Awards as well as the new Korean Grand Music Awards (KGMA), it’s always showstopping to see the spectacular performances put up by the different groups during these award shows – and Melon Music Awards 2024 is no different! Seeing the large-scale acts by different groups is undeniably my favourite part of the award show season. After all, it’s where unimaginable stages and iconic collaborations between different groups were born!
And of course, it’s always nice to see different groups recognised for the efforts they’ve put in. However, as with all award shows, there will always be online disputes about whether the groups really deserved their awards. But how do the awards even work? What are the judging criteria? Well, let’s treat this article as a breakdown of the key awards presented at this year’s Melon Music Award as well as a look into some of the insane performances that were lined up!
Held on 30 November 2024 at Inspire Arena Incheon, Melon Music Awards 2024 saw a star-studded line-up of acts consisting of both fourth-gen and fifth-gen groups. Among them were powerhouse performers ATEEZ and (G)I-DLE, rising artists BOYNEXTDOOR, RIIZE, and TWS as well as iconic groups like IVE and aespa. Alongside these K-pop acts, there were also performances by J-pop duo YOASOBI as well as pop singer Christopher.
Now, let’s talk awards. All songs and albums that are eligible to be nominated in this ceremony must be released between 2 November 2023 and 30 October 2024. So, any comebacks that happened during November are not factored in. While I do have my personal feelings on the winners, whether my faves won has never been an extremely important point; regardless of the outcome, I’m still gonna stan them!
With that said, there are four grand prizes—known as Daesangs—and they are the most prestigious to win in any award show. A couple of other awards that netizens will keep an eye on are the Best Male and Female Group, Best Performance Male and Female as well as Rookie Of The Year.
Out of the four Daesangs, the judging criteria of three – Album of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year – can be broken down to 60% digital sales (from Melon’s download and streaming), 20% online voting and 20% judges’ evaluation. Something a friend pointed out was that you needed a strong fan base in Korea since digital sales played such an important role in these three awards. However, Record of the Year is entirely reliant on judges’ evaluation, raising the stakes.
With the other awards, only Best Performance Male and Female are completely based on judges’ evaluation, with Best Male Group, Best Female Group and Rookie Of The Year following the same breakdown of the three Daesangs – 60% digital sales, 20% online voting and 20% judges’ evaluation.
Aespa
This year sees aespa nearly doing a clean sweep, earning three of the four Daesangs. They took Artist of the Year, Album of the Year with their first album ‘Armageddon’, as well as Song of the Year with Supernova. But the quartet didn’t stop there. Grabbing the Best Female Group, Best Performance – Female as well as a couple of others, their Melon trophies totalled 7 wins! This sets a new record for a girl group with the most wins in a single ceremony.
Rounding off the ceremony, the girls performed Whiplash, their latest comeback title track as well as Supernova and Armageddon. In a series of three songs, I must say that the transitions between each song were extremely smooth. Love them or hate them, it is undeniable that these title tracks, along with the others in aespa’s discography, are all earworms.
Despite having only 4 members, their stage presence emanated throughout the arena. Of the three songs, my favourite was definitely Armageddon. As the actual final song of the night, it ends the award ceremony off with a bang.
(G)I-DLE
Now, for the winner of the last Daesang, Record of the Year.
Taking into account not only the idols themselves and their release, this awards considers the quality of everything involved in an album’s creation, from the planning, producing, and performance directing to music videos, and performances. (G)I-DLE, known for their versatility in music and the empowering themes in their songs, is awarded the Daesang after a series of evaluations by expert judges hired by the award show.
Known for their “self-producing” nature — in fact, the group’s leader and producer SOYEON won Best Songwriter this year and in 2022 — many of the members have taken part in the process of creating numerous tracks in their discography. Not only catchy, their songs also challenge stereotypes and societal expectations as seen in tracks like Nxde and Tomboy.
While their songs are great, their performances are fire as well. At Melon Music Awards 2024, (G)I-DLE had the most unique performance in my opinion. Starting off, let’s look at their concept for the performance. Clad in gold outfits, they were reminiscent of the Greek gods and goddesses. This theory is further solidified when SOYEON appears with a bow and arrow before firing it.
Each member emerges individually, performing the title tracks that they were known for, before coming together and performing Fate, a b-side from their latest album. This medley and remix of their songs take their discography to a whole new level while also dispelling rumours of the members needing each other to look better on stage.
TWS
Next up, let’s talk about the newest groups in the K-pop scene. TWS claimed Rookie Of The Year (given to the most popular groups that recently debuted), as well as Top 10. Having debuted at the start of 2024, this sextet are the juniors of world-renowned SEVENTEEN, and they’re doing great living up to the expectations. Having garnered a lot of support, TWS’ music is both nostalgic and relatable and honestly, the members are just adorable.
While I have not been keeping up with the group, I know how strong they are in the performance aspect. As expected, the group came out styled in a pure and boyish concept, fitting into the feel and mood of their debut album. With bright synths and bubbly choreography, TWS performs their debut title track plot twist – everyone gets to see firsthand why so many see this group as the epitome of innocent boyhood.
With a total of three songs, TWS’ MMA performance mimics different facets of boyhood. plot twist embodies the refreshing yet nervous nature of meeting someone new while Double Take sounds a bit more rebellious and carefree, which is also reflected in the energetic rope-skipping dance break before Double Take. Then, the vibe changes again in Last Festival into something more chill and retrospective. Despite the complete difference between the three songs, the development of their songs was smooth and easy to follow, making their stage one of my favourites.
RIIZE
Having just visited Singapore in July, RIIZE claims the Best Male Group alongside 3 other awards in the Melon Music Awards 2024. While there has been some controversy concerning the group in recent months, it is undeniable that they are extremely popular both in South Korea and internationally. Despite not being part of their fandom, their debut track Get A Guitar resided on my Tiktok FYP for weeks, filled with challenges that they did with idols from other groups.
Opening their stage was SOHEE, embodying his main vocal position in a solo intro with no backtrack and music. As Combo started playing, I knew this was the kind of stage that would resonate down to your bones with how much emotion it carried. Despite this song not having any choreography for most of its run time, the boys displayed so much stage presence through just their vocals, captivating audiences. My only gripe about this performance? They should’ve given the group handmics – their aura would have been so much stronger.
After a VCR transitioning the mood of the performance, the stage continues with ANTON’s bass solo… oof, your ears are definitely in for a treat. In one of the best build-ups to a hype song, EUNSEOK and SUNGCHAN do a pair dance to ANTON’s bass before transitioning to another dance break by WONBIN, SOHEE and SHOTARO. And all of this anticipation for what?
None other than Boom Boom Bass, arguably one of the most hype songs in their discography. A rock version of the original song, Boom Boom Bass is honestly a stage that you have to see for yourself. With beat changes and groovy choreography, you’ll be hooked until the end!
BOYNEXTDOOR
We’ve talked so much about different stages but who won Best Performance – Male at Melon Music Awards 2024? Well, BOYNEXTDOOR, of course! Always dancing with so much passion and energy, it’s crystal clear that BOYNEXTDOOR loves performing on stage – after all, they’re just having fun. The epitome of that ‘boy next door’ vibe, the sextet tells relatable stories of growing up through their albums and performances.
Opening their stage is JAEHYUN with an original intro rap as well as RIWOO’s solo dance number. As the camera transitions, we see a spotlight focused on TAESAN – I knew the next part was gonna be good. With solely his voice, TAESAN begins Dangerous, a pre-release track from their latest comeback. Hearing this opener with noise-cancelling earphones sent chills down my spine — literally it was like he was whispering in my ear.
Then, as the song properly plays, the group appear clad in black leather bomber jackets, reminiscent of the classic rebellious style a lot of groups adopt a few years after their debut. Designed to get the crowd hyped, this song leans into a more hip-hop-focused sound compared to their other releases. As the song ends, a ringtone sounds to the tune of a previous title track, teasing the next song. The beat drops and Earth, Wind & Fire plays. Another powerful song, this version also includes more rock elements than the original release, fitting into their stage’s concept.
As expected from BOYNEXTDOOR, I was unsurprised to see the outpouring of intensity and energy from the boys as they danced. However, it was pretty obvious that they were fighting against how loud the backing track was – there were times when I could barely distinguish their live vocals at all. With a softer backing track, their vocals would be allowed to shine through even better.
ATEEZ
And if you’re talking about performance, you absolutely cannot leave out ATEEZ. Globally recognised for having breathtaking stages and catchy songs, they received the Global Artist award at this year’s Melon Music Awards. Despite not winning Best Performance – Male this year, ATEEZ is well-known for their choreography. And this year’s stage proved no different.
The spotlight turns on and HONGJOONG is revealed on the elevated stage tilted at an angle – and he stays stable throughout his solo. Adopting a marching band concept, HONGJOONG is dressed as a field commander, baton in hand. This intro performance is grand and dramatic – and so very ATEEZ – complete with their backup dancers playing drums and other instruments as the members appear on stage.
In this marching band version of Work, the members turn the relatively chill and vibey song into a spectacle. With choreography filled with swagger, the members make use of the entire stage, creating a very dynamic experience for viewers at home and live at the venue. Before their next song starts playing, viewers are treated to a bridge performance that most certainly has lore implications. SEONGHWA, WOOYOUNG and YEOSANG take the stage through a three-part solo, wowing fans and audience members alike with their acting and dance.
As Ice On My Teeth starts playing, no one can accuse ATEEZ of lip-syncing. Their live vocals are clear as day, deviating from the soundtrack in the background. A point that makes me such a huge fan of ATEEZ is how they have fun and play around with their backing track. Whether it’s harmonising with the pre-recorded voices or staying silent to create a different effect, their stages are all unique even when they are performing the same songs.
Melon Music Awards 2024
Whew, what a wild ride! Have any stages convinced you to be a fan? While I didn’t cover all of the groups that performed that night, you have to check out all the other performances as well! As much as I love the performances born from award season, it has to be exhausting.
With so many award shows lined up in such a small window of time, having to wow audiences each time must be immensely pressurising. So, instead of dissing other groups to make your faves look better, perhaps we should all just appreciate all the performances put on!
With the Golden Disk Awards and the Billboard Music Awards coming up, there’s no shortage of stages for you to binge. Can’t wait until then? Perhaps, you should rewatch this year’s stages from the Melon Music Awards and MAMA Awards. Happy bingeing!
Visuals courtesy of Melon