Netizens are wondering why NCT DREAM was announced last to make the ending speech at MMA 2023
NCT DREAM was honored with Record Of The Year (Daesang) at the Melon Music Awards 2023 (MMA 2023) held at Inspire Arena, Incheon on December 2nd.
That day, NCT DREAM won a total of 4 awards, including Record Of The Year (Daesang), TOP 10, Millions TOP 10 and Best Male Group. They also took over the final stage at MMA 2023 and drew admiration by presenting a performance on an extraordinarily spectacular scale.
NCT DREAM already drew attention when they were announced among the performer lineup because this year marks their first time attending MMA. The group, which has grown steadily every year since their debut in 2016, did various things to mark their 7th anniversary this year. After receiving huge popularity with the remake song “Candy” released at the end of last year, NCT DREAM has been on a roll as they heated up the summer with their 3rd full album “ISTJ”.
NCT DREAM was awarded “honorary graduation” trophy with “Candy” for four consecutive weeks from the fourth week of December last year to the second week of January this year. In addition, ISTJ also joined Melon’s “Albums With Millions of Streams” by recording 6,941,900 streams within the day of its release.
With such amazing records, NCT DREAM continued to enjoy their career high and Record Of The Year (Daesang) was awarded to them to honor both the artists and their producers for making the most remarkable musical achievements throughout the year.
The members also expressed their overwhelming feelings and shared the joy with NCTzens (NCT’s fandom). Leader Mark said, “We really didn’t expect this. We released only one album this year, but we are already preparing for next year’s album with the mindset that we should always maintain the value of music”, raising fans’ expectations. Jisung promised, “We won’t disappoint you so please continue to look forward to us”.
However, apart from cheers and congratulations on the Daesang, which honored NCT DREAM’s past activities and growth history, some people questioned the order of how the Daesangs were announced.
Since Record Of The Year was newly added to the category in 2018, it was the winner of Artist Of The Year who often wrapped the awards ceremony with their ending speech, for example, BTS (from 2018 to 2020), IU (2021), and Lim Young-woong (2022). In particular, MMA did not even award Record Of The Year to anyone in 2020.
Of course, the announcement order of the 4 Daesangs was not always the same. Despite slight differences every year, the last ending speech was always presented by Artist Of The Year winner. Therefore, NCT DREAM’s Daesang speech this year was doubtful. In addition, some people also wondered why NewJeans did not receive the greatest spotlight despite winning two Daesangs, including Artist Of The Year and Song Of The Year.
Even among NCT DREAM’s fandom, some fans expressed regrets over the announcement order. Some pointed out that the group might have celebrated their Daesang in a better atmosphere if they were not named last to give the ending speech. MMA 2023, which should have been remembered as a festival for artists who had brightened up this year with their music and brought healing and joy to K-pop fans, eventually ended with a little controversy over the Daesang announcement order.
Source: Nate
