Circle Chart Music Awards: BABYMONSTER Wins Their 1st Award, NCT DREAM’s Grand Prize Once Again Causes Controversy 

The 13th Circle Chart Music Awards results that recently took place is making headlines. The 13th Circle Chart Music Awards (formerly Gaon Chart) was held on January 10. Just like every year, the Grand Prize Artist of the Year honors were split into categories: Digital Music by 12 months and Physical Album divided by 4 quarters. This year, Artist of the Year was further broken down into 4 categories: Album, Digital, Global Streaming, and Unique Listeners. Alongside these, some fresh awards made their debut. The Circle Chart Music Awards boasted a lineup featuring NCT DREAM, ZEROBASEONE, RIIZE, TXT, StayC, Kiss Of Life, and more. Hosting the show were Seok Matthew (ZEROBASEONE), Sieun (STAYC), and Leeteuk (Super Junior). Taking home the Rookie of the Year award were ZEROSEBASEONE – Youth In The Shade (Album), BABYMONSTER – Batter Up (Global Streaming), and RIIZE – Get The Guitar (Unique Listeners). Notably, this marked the first win for “BLACKPINK’s little sister” BABYMONSTER. In the Artist of the Year category, Global Streaming was given to (G)I-DLE – Queencard, IVE – I Am, NewJeans – Super Shy, Jisoo – Flower, Jungkook – Seven (feat. Latto). The Unique Listeners category winners were (G)I-DLE – Queencard, aespa – Spicy, IVE – I Am, LE SSERAFIM – Unforgiven (feat. Nile Rodgers), NewJeans – Ditto. The Digital category belonged to (G)I-DLE – Queencard, IVE – I Am, LE SSERAFIM – Unforgiven (feat. Nile Rodgers), NewJeans – Ditto, Jungkook – Seven (feat. Latto). Rounding it off, the Album award was secured by SEVENTEEN – Seventeenth Heaven, Stray Kids – 5-STAR, Jungkook – Golden, NCT Dream – ISTJ, TXT – The Name Chapter: Freefall. On top of it all, NCT Dream took home the grand prize for Digital Album of the Year, a fresh addition this year. Yet, what left fans scratching their heads was NCT Dream’s complete absence from other Digital Music categories, thus wondering why they scored the Digital Album of the Year award, especially when their digital achievements in 2023 couldn’t measure up to some other names. Earlier on, NCT Dream stirred controversy as the Grand Prize winner at the Seoul Music Awards. Their achievements paled in comparison when lined up against standout artists like NewJeans, IVE, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, Jungkook, and Jisoo. Both NCT Dream and SM Ent faced criticism. Beyond the major awards, the Circle Chart Music Awards followed the footsteps of many other award shows, introducing new awards. Among them were some questionable awards like Artist of the Year as voted by the city of Busan, Kit Album of the Year, and New Icon of the Year. The full list of winners of the 13th Circle Chart Music Awards is as follows:

1. Digital Album of the Year: NCT DREAM – ISTJ
2. Artist of the Year – Album:
• Stray Kids – 5-STAR
• SEVENTEEN – SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN
• NCT DREAM – ISTJ
• TXT – The Name Chapter: FREEFALL
• Jungkook – GOLDEN
3. Artist of the Year – Digital:
• IVE – I AM
• NewJeans – Ditto
• LE SSERAFIM – UNFORGIVEN (feat. Nile Rodgers)
• (G)I-DLE – Queencard
• Jungkook – Seven (feat. Latto)
4. Artist of the Year – Unique Listener:
• NewJeans – Ditto
• LE SSERAFIM – UNFORGIVEN (feat. Nile Rodgers)
• IVE – I AM
• aespa – Spicy
• (G)I-DLE – Queencard
5. Artist of the Year – Global Streaming:
• (G)I-DLE – Queencard
• IVE – I AM
• NewJeans – Super Shy
• JISOO – FLOWER
• Jungkook – Seven (feat. Latto)
6. V Coloring of the Year: AKMU
7. New Icon of the Year: Hwasa, STAYC
8. Song Of The Year – Int’l Pop: Charlie Puth – Dangerously
9. Social Hot Star Of The Year: BLACKPINK
10. Retail Album Of The Year: SEVENTEEN – FML
11. KiT Album Of The Year: SEVENTEEN
12. Music Steady Seller Of The Year: NewJeans – Hype Boy VIAJE
13. Global Popularity: Zhang Hao (ZEROBASEONE)
14. World K-POP Star: NCT DREAM
15. Rookie Of The Year: Physical Album – ZEROBASEONE
    
    Unique Listener – RIIZE
    
    Global Streaming – BABYMONSTER
16. Genre Of The Year:
    • J-Pop – imase
    • Trot – Lee Chan Won
    • Ballad – Parc Jae Jung
17. Busan is Good: AKMU, KYOUNGSEO
18. MuBeat Global Choice:
    • Male – Lim Young Woong
    • Female – NiziU
19. New Artist of the Next Generation: KISS OF LIFE, NiziU
20. Composter Of The Year: 250
21. Lyricist Of The Year: Gigi
22. Chorus Performer of the Year: Perrie
23. Musical Instrument Performer of the Year: hareem
24. Performance Director of the Year: Park So Yeon
25. Visual Director of the Year: Kim Hye Soo

Source: k14