K-Pop

22 idols with the most awards in the history of Kpop: BLACKPINK and aespa at surprising positions?

Not BLACKPINK, the Kpop girl group that won the most awards is someone completely different. 

The number of awards achieved is an indicator of a Kpop group’s popularity and success. In Korea, there are multiple year-end award ceremonies every year, so every cup won will make both the idols and their fandoms proud. 

Recently, a list of total awards won by Kpop idols has drawn attention, and compiled the number of prizes from big award ceremonies like Korean Music Awards (KMAs), Golden Disc Awards (GDAs), Melon Music Awards (MMAs), Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), and Seoul Music Awards (SMAs). While the throne belongs to a familiar name, the rankings of female Kpop artists in this ranking has surprised a great number of people. Below is the full Top 22 rankings: 

No. 22: aespa

Right off the bat is a super unexpected name. Despite having been active for less than 2 years, these 4 girls have won a total of 14 awards, including a prestigious Daesang. With this speed, in the next couple of years, aespa can totally break through and become a top Kpop girl group in terms of prizes. 

aespa

No. 21: Wanna One

Wanna One disbanded after only 1.5 year, but managed to make a remarkable mark in the Kpop industry, with 14 awards from various different ceremonies. If the group has lasted longer, they would totally be among the most famous Kpop boy groups. 

wanna one

No. 20: Taeyeon

The SNSD leader Taeyeon can be said to be one of the most successful Kpop soloists, as she alone has won the same number of awards as Wanna One and aespa. At the moment, the female artist has earned 4 cups in GDAs and SMAs, and 3 cups from each of MMAs and MAMA. 

Taeyeon SNSD

No. 19: BLACKPINK

The position of BLACKPINK comes as a total surprise to Kpop stans. Apparently, while the group made it big across the globe, they barely won awards in their home country. At the moment, they only have 14 awards – similar to aespa, and haven’t won any Daesang. 

Blackpink

No. 18: SG Wannabe 

As one of the biggest Kpop artists during the 2000s, SG Wannabe has achieved 16 awards since their debut in 2004. They won 8 cups at GDAs, 4 cups at SMAs, 3 cups and MAMA, and 1 cup at MMAs.

SG Wannabe 

No. 17: Red Velvet

Like SG Wannabe, Red Velvet scored a total of 16 awards across their career, proving themselves as a top gen 3 Kpop girl group. In fact, if you compare using the number of awards alone, Red Velvet can be considered to have surpassed BLACKPINK. 

red velvet

No. 16: DBSK

Throughout their 18 years in the Kpop industry, DBSK owns a total of 17 awards. This high number really establishes DBSK as trule “Eastern Gods” of Kpop. 

dbsk

No. 15: SHINHWA

Neck-to-neck with DBSK is none other than the Kpop legend SHINHWA, who is among the oldest group in the industry, As of the moment, SHINHWA has earned 6 cups from GDAs, 5 cups from each of SMAs and MAMA, and 1 from MMA. 

shinhwa

No. 14: SEVENTEEN

After debuting in 2015, the boy group SEVENTEEN slowly but surely became one of the top Kpop idols. As of the moment, they have won a total of 17 awards, including a Daesang at â 2021 award ceremony, which speaks volumes of the group’s talent and fame. 

seventeen

No. 13: Epik High

While normal Kpop fans might not have heard of their names, Epik High is undoubtedly one of the most successful Korean artists. Since their debut in 2003, Epik High has achieved 18 awards, surpassing DBSK and SEVENTEEN.

epik high

No. 12: CNBLUE

CNBLUE was once an icon with multiple hits, making a deep impression on fans of the 2nd generation of Kpop. Like Epik High, they own a total of 18 awards, of which 9 was from GDAs. 

CNBLUE

No. 11: 2NE1 

2NE1 started their career in the same year with CNBLUE, but managed to surpass them by 1 award. After their surprise performance at the 2022 Coachella, many fans are hoping for a reunion between the four members. If this actually happens, then it’s likely that the number of awards for 2NE1 will not stop at 19. 

2ne1

No. 10: BEAST

HIGHLIGHT (formerly BEAST) is one of the most popular boy groups of the 2nd generation. The group owns a total of 21 trophies with 8 GDAs wins, 6 wins at MMAs and SMAs, and 1 win at MAMA.

highlight

No. 9: SISTAR

Of course the “summer queens” – SISTAR must be in the top 10! In the heyday of the 2nd generation, SISTAR regularly dominated the digital music charts every time they released a new product, even able to compete with the national girl group SNSD. The group currently owns a total of 22 trophies from the 5 biggest awards ceremonies in Korea.

No. 8: SHINee

In 14 years, SHINee has brought home 25 trophies, especially, 12 of them are at the SMAs awards ceremony. The group has indeed had an incredibly successful and long-lasting career. Up to now, SHINee is still one of the top Kpop idol groups.

shinee

No. 7 BIGBANG

Perhaps it is not necessary to say too much about the kings of Kpop – BIGBANG. Among Gen 2 boy groups, BIGBANG ranked 2nd in terms of the number of awards received. The success of BIGBANG is the dream of every junior.

big bang thumbnail

No. 6: SNSD

With a total of 32 wins from 5 of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in Korea, it can be said that SNSD’s music career is more brilliant than that of boy groups of the same generation. “National girlgroup” has taken home 11 trophies at SMAs and GDAs, 6 trophies at MMAs, 3 MAMA trophies and 1 KMAs trophy.

snsd

No. 5: TWICE

And the girl group with the most awards is TWICE! Although they have only been active for 7 years, the JYP girls have owned 34 prestigious trophies. Not only holding the Daesang Song of the Year right after debut, but in the heyday of the 3rd generation, almost no awards ceremony was without TWICE. It will probably be difficult to have a “second TWICE” in the K-pop market.

twice

No. 4: Super Junior

Super Junior – the once legendary boygroup also owns the same number of wins as TWICE at the top 5 Korean awards ceremonies. Among them, the most prominent ones are 14 trophies at SMAs and 13 trophies at GDAs.

Super Junior

No. 3: IU

IU is the only solo artist to enter the TOP 10. 43 prestigious awards in 14 years have proven the attraction of the “digital music queen”. Up to now, although her colleagues of the same generation have been inactive for a long time, IU still won the Daesang regularly. Surely the number of trophies that female idols receive will continue to increase in the future.

IU

No. 2: EXO

As one of the most popular boy groups of the 3rd generation, it is not surprising that EXO ranked 2nd in this chart. SM boygroup currently owns 55 prestigious trophies, with 19 wins at SMAs, 14 at MMAs, 12 at GDAs, 9 at MAMA and 1 at KMAs.

EXO

No. 1: BTS

Finally, the artist who won the title of “the biggest winning idol in the history of music awards in Korea” is BTS. Indeed a result that is not surprising. With a total of 95 victories, the number of trophies that the global boygroup has gained is currently twice as many as that of the 2nd ranked artist EXO, and at the same time outperforms all seniors and juniors. And certainly, this number of trophies will not stop here, because the group has just confirmed that they will return with a new product called Yet To Come on June 10.

BTS
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