Seoul, South Korea - Rookie K-pop girl group NewJeans emerged as the biggest winner at the 2023 Melon Music Awards (MMA 2023), clinching five awards, including Artist of the Year and Best Song of the Year. The ceremony, hosted by South Korea's largest music streaming platform Melon, was held at the newly opened Inspire Arena on Incheon's Yeongjong Island.
According to Yonhap News Agency, The K-pop quintet, debuting just one year and four months ago, marked a significant achievement by winning two of the four major awards at the MMA 2023. Their hit single "Ditto" garnered the Best Song of the Year award. In their acceptance speech, NewJeans expressed gratitude to their fans, known as 'Bunnies', and vowed to continue growing and improving in the future.
Alongside the two grand prizes, NewJeans also received the Best Group (Female) award and was among the winners of the Top 10 Artists and Millions Top 10 Albums. The group, which debuted in July 2022 under ADOR, a label under Hybe, has rapidly risen to fame with hits like "Attention," "Ditto," "OMG," "Hype Boy," and "ETA." Their success was further cemented by winning Artist of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2023 MAMA Awards earlier this week.
The other two grand prizes at MMA 2023 were awarded to K-pop groups Ive and NCT Dream. Ive won Album of the Year for its first full-length album, "I've Ive," while NCT Dream received the Record of the Year, recognizing the year's most notable musical achievement. NCT Dream also secured the Best Group (Male) award, along with a spot in the Top 10 Artists and Millions Top 10 Albums.
Notable individual awards included Best Solo Artist, won by rapper Lee Young-ji and BTS vocalist Jungkook in their respective categories. American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth was named Best Pop Artist, and New Artist of the Year was shared by Zerobaseone and Riize. Other acts selected for the Top 10 Artists included Le Sserafim, BTS, Seventeen, (G)I-dle, aespa, Lim Young-woong, and Jungkook.