BTS, IU take top honors at Golden Disc Awards

Members of the K-pop giant BTS give an acceptance speech via a video call during the Golden Disc Awards, Saturday. Capture from JTBC

By Dong Sun-hwa

K-pop megastars BTS and IU took home the grand prizes at the 36th Golden Disc Awards, Saturday.

BTS bagged the “Album of the Year” award with its 2020 release “BE” ― which sold more than three million copies ― while IU clinched the “Song of the Year” award with her hit, “Celebrity.”

This is the fifth straight year that BTS has received the grand prize in the album category at the Golden Discs, one of the most prestigious music awards in Korea launched in 1986. The seven-piece act also won three more awards including the popularity prize.

“It is a huge honor for us to receive such an undeserved reward,” BTS’s front man RM humbly said in a video message as he accepted the grand prize. BTS members did not attend the event ― which took place at Gocheock Sky Dome in Seoul ― as they have been taking a break since December. “We released BE to cheer our fans up amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but now I feel like we actually got energy from people empathizing with us.”

K-pop vocalist IU at the Golden Disc Awards, Saturday / Courtesy of Golden Disc Awards

IU, who took the highest honor in the digital category at last year’s Golden Disc Awards, also showed appreciation to her followers.

“I am so glad to successfully wrap up this year with this big prize, just like I did last year,” she said. “I am also thankful to my friend, who inspired me to write Celebrity, a song about a weirdo with many talents.”

K-pop girl groups aespa and STAYC were crowned the winners of “Rookie of the Year” awards. The former, in particular, notched three more prizes including Artist of the Year award.

K-pop girl group aespa at the Golden Disc Awards, Saturday / Capture from JTBC

“This is our first time to be featured in the Golden Discs,” leader Karina said. “Thank you for presenting us such a valuable prize… Our member Winter could not join the event today due to her health, but she is quickly recovering.”

STAYC’s Sieun also expressed her gratitude, saying, “I hope we have more chances to meet our fans face-to-face this year.”

The “Best Group Award” and “Best Solo Artist Award” went to Brave Girls and Lim Young-woong, respectively. Brave Girls, which debuted in 2011, belatedly rose to stardom earlier this year after its 2018 release “Rollin'” topped multiple local streaming charts. Lim, the winner of TV Chosun’s smash-hit audition program, “Mr. Trot” (2020), also had a triumphant year with his song, “My Starry Love,” with its music video becoming the most popular music video on YouTube in Korea after garnering more than 43 million views in total.

Other acts winning awards included NCT 127, NCT DREAM, ENHYPEN, Stray Kids and OH MY GIRL.