Describing the sound system at the 2024 Seoul Music Awards (SMA) held in Thailand on January 2nd as “the WORST sound system in my life,” BamBam took to his personal X/Twitter account to vent.
Youngjae, who also attended the event, left a reply under BamBam’s tweet: “I agree, BamBam.”
BamBam added that it felt like the organizers of the 2024 SMA were just out to make money from the artists and firmly declared, “I’ll never go to award shows again.”
Revelations from both artists and fans have highlighted various issues with this year’s SMA: from delayed soundcheck and program disruptions to stage lights catching fire and a malfunctioning sound system during performances.
Jeff Benjamin, a well-known K-pop Billboard journalist, expressed sympathy for the artists involved. He critiqued the SMA, saying, “it sounds like they were trying to sell a concert rather than a professional awards show.”
Benjamin pointed out that while audio glitches occasionally happen at concerts, the level of confusion caused by the 2024 SMA’s soundcheck and the numerous stage and sound issues resembled an unprepared concert rather than a prestigious awards ceremony.
