Song Hye-kyo was nominated for the Daesang (grand prize) at the 2021 SBS Drama Awards although her drama saw poor performance.
Actress Song Hye-kyo received a Daesang nomination for the first time after 5 years. In 2015, she won the grand prize as everyone expected thanks to the huge success of KBS2’s drama “Descendants of the Sun”. However, the name Song Hye-kyo is not highly praised this time. This is because SBS’s drama “Now, We Are Breaking Up”, in which she plays the main character, is the only drama that has been suffering from poor ratings among other prominent works of the same broadcasting time.
The lineup of this year’s SBS Drama Awards is quite powerful. From the “Penthouse” series, to “Taxi Driver”, “Lovers of the Red Sky” and “One the Woman”, all the dramas that received nominations gained hot popularity with their ratings surpassing 10%. As a result, SBS topped the list of all broadcasting channels in terms of viewership with an average drama rating of 11.6% in 2021.
Therefore, drama fans are raising high interest in who will win the grand prize at the 2021 SBS Drama Awards. A total of 4 nominees for this year’s Daesang were unveiled on December 27th. Accordingly, “Penthouse” Kim So-yeon, “Taxi Driver” Lee Je-hoon, “One the Woman” Honey Lee, and “Now, We Are Breaking Up” Song Hye-kyo were named in the list.
The ratings of “Penthouse 2”, which aired last year, peaked at 29.2%. and “Penthouse 3” recorded the highest viewership figure of 19.5%, proving its unrivaled popularity. Despite several controversies over the drama’s illogical developments, Kim So-yeon’s irreplaceable acting skills drew favorable reviews from all viewers. She made Cheon Seo-jin the most impressive character in her acting career by showing explosive performance as a villain in this series.
“Taxi Driver” with its bold action and story of punishing the wicked surely relieves the anger of viewers who are tired of Corona. Ratings also maxed out at 15.3%. Lee Je-hoon, who plays the shadow hero Kim Do-ki, delicately portrays characters who know how to show the human side with social weakness.
It is no exaggeration to say that ‘One the Woman’ is a one-man show by Honey Lee. She gave a detailed passionate performance by taking on two roles, one person is Kang Mi-na, daughter-in-law of a chaebol family, and Jo Yeon-joo, a bad female prosecutor. Here, Honey Lee’s unique comic acting also shined once again. The ratings started at 8% and rose to 17.8% in the last episode.
On the other hand, ‘Now, We Are Breaking Up’ has witnessed a steady decline in viewership ratings despite being previously titled the most anticipated drama in the second half of the year. ‘Now, We Are Breaking Up’ started off with a steamy bed scene of Song Hye-kyo and Jang Ki-yong and recorded a nationwide rating of 6.4% in the first episode, followed by a rise to 8% in the second episode, raising expectations for an upward trend. However, a melodrama with an unrealistic story set against the backdrop of the fashion industry could not arouse sympathy from the audience. Specifically, Song Hye-kyo causes disappointment with her monotonous acting that is not much different from her previous dramas ‘Encounter’ and ‘Descendants of the Sun’.
Airing in the same time slot, MBC’s ‘The Red Sleeve‘ earned impressive ratings and good response from the viewers thanks to its beautiful visuals, detailed directing, and sizzling chemistry between Lee Junho and Lee Seyoung.
As a result, despite marking Song Hye-kyo’s return to the small screen after two years, ‘Now, We Are Breaking’ fails to live up to its hype and gets lower rating every episode. The ratings of episodes 12-13, which were broadcast last week, sank to new all-time low of 5.7% and 4.9%.
Although Song Hye-kyo makes the viewers tired watching her playing the same kind of character, her stable performance is undeniable. Aside from her convincing acting in romantic scenes, she also delicately portrays an independent female character through her expressive eyes and tone of voice. In episode 13, in the scene where Ha Young-eun (Song Hye-kyo) hugs her best friend Jeon Mi-sook (Park Hyo-joo) and breaks down in tears, Song Hye-kyo’s acting explains why she is dubbed the ‘Queen of Tears’ of Korean TV.
Nominations for the Daesang are not determined solely by ratings. The evaluation prioritizes acting and how charming actors are able to make their characters. However, it is true that viewership also has a great influence on the selection of the Daesang winner. Therefore, the public’s attention is drawn to what kind of trophy Song Hye-kyo will win at the ‘SBS Drama Awards’ to be held on December 31, and whether it will be an award acknowledged by everyone.
