TXT, aespa bag highest honors at 32nd Hanteo Music Awards

By Lee Gyu-lee

K-pop boy group TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) and girl group aespa were the biggest winners at the 32nd Hanteo Music Awards on Saturday.

Girl group aespa clinched the Grand Prize for Best Artist and TXT won the Grand Prize for Best Performance at the ceremony held in Seoul.

“Thanks to all the love you gave us last year, we received this great award. From 'Supernova' to 'Whiplash,’ our members have worked hard together. We will work even harder in the future,” aespa said as it accepted the award.

TXT took home a total of five awards, including member Yeonjun’s Global Artist Award in North America for his solo work. Including the Grand Prize, the group won the Artist of the Year Main Prize, Global Artist Award in Oceania and Top Touring Artist Award.

"Last year was truly meaningful as we were able to perform on many stages that we only dreamed of. In 2025, the five of us will stay united and continue achieving our dreams, so please stay with us,” the group said.

“We'll use these awards as motivation to show even better activities this year. We'll work hard to become wonderful artists worthy of these awards."

At the awards ceremony, the five-piece act — Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Huening Kai — performed "Deja Vu," the title track of its eponymous sixth mini-album and "Over the Moon," the title track of their recently released seventh mini-album, captivating the audience with smooth vocals and a powerful performance.

Yeonjun, who received an award for his solo debut song “GGUM,” released in September, put on a solo performance of the song.

The group’s sixth mini-album “Minisode 3: Tomorrow” and the seventh mini-album “The Star Chapter: Sanctuary” registered a million sales during the first week of their respective releases, selling 1.54 million and 1.57 million copies each. Yeonjun's “GGUM” limited edition album topped Hanteo’s Daily Album Chart a month after its release.

K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE claimed two awards at the ceremony: Artist of the Year Main Prize and Global Generation Icon. Its member Minnie also won The Most Prime Solo award for her recent solo debut with the mini-album “HER,” which came out on Jan. 21.

“This year, I made my solo debut after seven years. I'm grateful to Neverland (the official name of her fans) who waited for me, and I sincerely thank the company staff who helped prepare the album together,” Minnie said in her acceptance speech. “I'm happy to have received so much love, and I will continue to show growth both as a solo artist and as a member of (G)I-DLE.”

The new artist award, known as the Blooming Star Award, was given to the girl group Say My Name and the boy group Nowadays.

Say My Name debuted in October with the EP “SAY MY NAME,” and Nowadays debuted in April 2024 with the single album “NOWADAYS.”