KGMA Winners: Young K, ATEEZ and RIIZE Lead the Daesang List
DAY6's Young K, TREASURE, ATEEZ and RIIZE won the grand prizes at the third Korea Grand Music Awards (KGMA), held over two nights at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on November 7 and 8. On Artist Day, Young K won Grand Artist and TREASURE Grand Song, and RESCENE and AND2BLE shared Grand Honor's Choice. On Music Day, ATEEZ won Grand Record and RIIZE Grand Performer, and ITZY and KiiiKiii shared Grand Honor's Choice. Young K and ITZY each left with five trophies, the most of their night. This page lists every winner from both nights, award by award.
Artist Day Winners, Saturday, November 7
The grand prizes come first, with the night each was given; every other award follows below, night by night.
| Award | Winner | Night |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Artist | Young K | Artist Day, Nov 7 |
| Grand Song | TREASURE | Artist Day, Nov 7 |
| Grand Honor's Choice | RESCENE, AND2BLE | Artist Day, Nov 7 |
| Grand Record | ATEEZ | Music Day, Nov 8 |
| Grand Performer | RIIZE | Music Day, Nov 8 |
| Grand Honor's Choice | ITZY, KiiiKiii | Music Day, Nov 8 |
The third Korea Grand Music Awards opened on Saturday, November 7 with Artist Day, hosted by actress Nam Ji-hyun and RESCENE's Woni. It was the first time the show came to Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, after two editions at INSPIRE Arena near Incheon International Airport. The ceremony started at 5:00 p.m. Korea time and ran for about four and a half hours, with awards handed out between 20 performances from acts including TREASURE, CRAVITY, P1Harmony, tripleS and DAY6's Young K.
The list below gives every award presented on Artist Day. Young K had the biggest night, with five trophies: Grand Artist, Best Artist, Best Solo, Best OST and the Coogoong Most Popular Artist award.
Grand prizes (Daesang)
- Grand Artist: Young K
- Grand Song: TREASURE
- Grand Honor's Choice: RESCENE, AND2BLE
Main award: Best Artist
- Best Artist (15 acts): LUCY, RESCENE, MEOVV, BTS, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, xikers, Young K, ALLDAY PROJECT, CORTIS, CRAVITY, CLOSE YOUR EYES, TREASURE, tripleS, P1Harmony
Category and rookie awards
- Best Memory: RESCENE
- Best Trot Performance: Jang Min-ho
- Best Band: LUCY
- Best Solo: Young K, Dayoung
- Best Dance Performance: IDID
- Best Stage: CRAVITY, FIFTY FIFTY
- Best Producer: Lee Ju-heon (The Muze Entertainment)
- Best Hip Hop: TREASURE
- Best Music Video: CRAVITY, "AWAKE"
- Best OST: Young K, "Season of Us" (My Royal Nemesis OST)
- Best Selling Album: BTS, "ARIRANG"
- IS Rising Star: AND2BLE, TUIDE
- IS Rookie: NouerA
Popularity and special awards
- Asia Cultural Exchange Special Award: Novelbright
- Coogoong Most Popular Artist: Young K
- Berriz Global Fans' Choice: RESCENE
- Style Icon: Dayoung
- Photogenic: MADEIN
- Hallyu Popularity Award: Yushi (NCT WISH)
- Trend of the Year (Group): TREASURE
- Trend of the Year (Rookie): FLARE U
Some rows hold more than one name: Best Artist went to 15 acts, and IS Rising Star to two new groups. Where an award honors a song or an album, the title is given next to the artist. For the full Artist Day performer list and the hosts, see our KGMA lineup and ticket guide.
Music Day Winners and the Daesang, Sunday, November 8
Music Day on Sunday, November 8 closed the weekend, hosted by IVE's Liz and actor Kim Jae-won. It also started at 5:00 p.m. Korea time, with 20 acts including ATEEZ, RIIZE, ITZY, TWS, WayV, NEXZ, Hearts2Hearts and KiiiKiii. The list below gives every award presented on Music Day. ITZY took home the most trophies of the night, five counting the members' individual awards. ATEEZ won three, including Grand Record, which means the group has won a grand prize at every KGMA since the first in 2024.
Grand prizes (Daesang)
- Grand Record: ATEEZ
- Grand Performer: RIIZE
- Grand Honor's Choice: ITZY, KiiiKiii
Main award: Best Music
- Best Music (16 acts): RIIZE, Minho (SHINee), Shownu x Hyungwon (MONSTA X), IVE, AHOF, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, aespa, ATEEZ, NMIXX, WayV, ITZY, YENA, KiiiKiii, KickFlip, TWS, Hearts2Hearts
Category and rookie awards
- Best Group: MONSTA X
- Best Solo: Minho (SHINee), YENA
- Best Solo Performance: Yuna (ITZY)
- Best Dance Performance: Billlie
- Best Stage: ATEEZ, KISS OF LIFE
- Best Trot Stage: Park Ji-hyun
- Best Band: TOUCHED
- Best Fabulous: TWS
- Best Global K-pop Star: NEXZ
- Best Adult Contemporary: Park Ji-hyun
- Best Streaming Song: KiiiKiii
- Best OST: Liz (IVE), Princess Catch! Teenieping OST
- Best Listener's Pick: Doh Kyung-soo, "Guitarist"
- IS Rising Star: ALPHA DRIVE ONE
Popularity and special awards
- Asia Cultural Exchange Special Award: WayV
- K-pop Overseas Artist: AEN
- Best Trend Setter: IVE
- ENA K-pop Artist: TWS
- Hulu Japan Popularity Award: NEXZ
- Popularity Award: Xinlong (ALPHA DRIVE ONE)
- Coogoong Most Popular Artist: Yuna (ITZY)
- Global Hot Star: Hearts2Hearts
- Style Icon: KISS OF LIFE
- Trend of the Year (Female Solo): Ryujin (ITZY)
- Trend of the Year (Male Solo): Shinyu (TWS)
The Daesang, or grand prize, is the headline of any Korean music award show, and KGMA hands out more than one. This year there were five of them, Grand Artist, Grand Song, Grand Record, Grand Performer and Grand Honor's Choice, with Grand Honor's Choice given on both nights. The table at the top of this page lists every grand prize winner.
For context, the 2025 grand prizes went to ATEEZ (Grand Artist), BOYNEXTDOOR (Grand Performer), Stray Kids (Grand Record) and IVE (Grand Song), with Grand Honor's Choice going to THE BOYZ, ALLDAY PROJECT and Stray Kids.
How KGMA Chooses Its Winners
KGMA was founded in 2024 by Ilgan Sports, the Korean entertainment and sports daily, and its results draw on three kinds of input: fan votes, chart and album data, and judging. The data comes from Hanteo Chart, Genie Music, FLO and Bugs, which supply the album and streaming figures behind the results.
Official fan voting ran in the Coogoong app on iOS and Android from August 31. Some prizes were decided by fan votes alone: Best Listener's Pick, Trend of the Year in four divisions (male solo, female solo, group and rookie) and the new Popularity Award, which was open only to users living in Korea. Their voting round ran from September 14 to 26. The other new prize, the Hallyu Popularity Award, worked the other way round: only users living outside Korea could vote for it, which made it the one award where international fans decided the result on their own.
A final voting round for Best Music & Artist, Best Adult Contemporary, Best OST, Best Music Video and the Hallyu Popularity Award opened on September 28, and its totals were combined with the first round. The organizers did not publish how fan votes, data and judging were weighted for the grand prizes, and there was no shortlist of Daesang nominees, so the grand prizes were revealed only on stage.
How the Show Streamed and Where to Rewatch
Both nights streamed live. TikTok Live carried the show worldwide except in Japan and China, Hulu Japan streamed it in Japan, and ENA broadcast it live in Korea. The 5:00 p.m. start in Seoul was 8:00 a.m. in London, 4:00 p.m. in Beijing, Taipei and Manila, 3:00 p.m. in Bangkok and Jakarta, 7:00 p.m. in Sydney and 3:00 a.m. in New York.
If you missed the live stream, the official KGMA channel on YouTube is the place to rewatch. After last year's show it posted individual performance videos for the acts along with backstage interviews, so you can watch a single stage instead of scrolling through four and a half hours. Search the channel for the act's name.
KGMA is one of several big award shows in the year-end season. The Melon Music Awards also come to Gocheok Sky Dome, while the MAMA AWARDS head to Osaka and the Asia Artist Awards to Kaohsiung, each with its own lineup guide on BeautiPin.
Sori's Note
Everyone scrolls straight to the Daesang, and I understand why. But the rows I read first are the small ones: IS Rookie, IS Rising Star, the band and trot awards. They hint at who will still be on this stage in three years. This year AND2BLE won IS Rising Star and a share of Grand Honor's Choice on the same night, which is about as fast as that story ever moves.
KGMA also made you wait. With the grand prizes split across two nights, nobody owned the year after Saturday. By Sunday night the Daesang had gone to eight different acts, and no one took more than one.
