The Hanteo Music Awards was an event that will be remembered for its winners, surprises, and controversies that unfolded through the night. From fainting fans to questionable allegations and even bodily mishaps, the ceremony presented a unique combination of chaos and controversy.
The winners of the Hanteo Music Awards 2024 were announced through a live broadcast held at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. Various artists who performed well in different categories, such as physical album division, digital music, global authentication, social platforms, media, fandom, and portals, were eligible to win awards in different categories. Notable K-pop artists and bands who won prizes on the first day of the event included Lee Chan Won for the Post Generation Award, Tempest and Viviz for the Emerging Artists Award, and Lim Young Woong for the WhosFandom Award. Xdinary Heroes and Young Tak also received special recognition awards.
The nominees for the annual awards show included TXT and STAYC as the main lineup, but it also featured artists like Billlie, 8TURN, KISS OF LIFE, ZEROBASEONE, Kep1er, and many other artists and groups. A quick rundown of the event is that the organizers would select the Grand Prize winners- Best Artist, Best Album, Best Song, and Best Performance awards as well as Main Prize winners and Artist of the Year award. They would be selected based on the 40 percent Hanteo Global score, 30 percent global voting score, and 30 percent judging score. The other awards featuring The Rookie of the Year Award, Special Awards, Emerging Artist Award, and Post Generation Award winners would be determined based on a 40 percent Hanteo Global score, 30 percent global voting score, and 30 percent judging score.
Once the show started, it began with a concerning incident where a fan fainted from a light stick thrown into the audience, and the security personnel became too overwhelmed to handle crowd control, raising questions about the event management. Further controversy arose when a clip showing Kim Ju-woong of ZEROBASEONE uttering an inappropriate word during a fan call surfaced. However, an analysis discredited the claim, emphasizing the importance of fact-checking before judgment. To make things more interesting, an X user claimed to have had an accident during the event, but they later apologized for the discomforting event that nearly stopped the show.
At the end of the show, the official winners of the Hanteo Music Awards were announced, with NCT Dream winning Best Artist, Seventeen winning Best Album, Ive winning Best Song, and Stray Kids winning Best Performance. The list of Artist(s) of the Year, as well as Rookie(s) of the Year, was too extensive to include, but many fans were satisfied with the winners and believed they deserved to win. Although the awards had a rough start, fans enjoyed the ceremony overall and were pleased with the results. The organizers and the music industry will likely take significant steps to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future, ensuring that the focus remains on the celebration of musical talent and achievements.
