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Every Korean artist wants to have as many Daesangs as they can receive. Daesang is the Korean word for Grand Prize. Dae means big or grand, and Sang means award or prize.
Daesangs are the most coveted awards at year-end award shows. Other awards do matter; however, Daesangs showcase if the artist’s effort has been acknowledged or not.
Usually, every award show has grand prizes, but not all award show grand prizes are considered prestigious in the K-pop world. A select few shows' awards are considered fairer and more worthwhile.
The main Daesangs for almost every show are Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. Some award shows also have Record of the Year and Worldwide Icon of the Year as their grand prizes.
5 K-pop groups who have earned the most Daesangs in history
5) Girl's Generation - 11
Girls’ Generation was considered the Nation’s girl group when they debuted under SM Entertainment in 2007. The nine-member group was the pinnacle of what girl idol groups could have achieved back then. They currently have only eight members.
They currently have 11 Daesangs and are the fifth group and second girl group with the most Daesangs under their belt. They won their first Daesang in 2009 for Song of the Year for their song Gee at the Golden Disc Awards.
Gee has been considered the song of the decade and, to date, is one of the most famous idol songs that even kids in 2022 know. The group has been on hiatus for a long time; however, there has recently been some movement on their social media accounts, and the group has announced a comeback for its 15th Anniversary.
4) BIGBANG - 13
In fourth place is BIGBANG as the artist with the most Daesangs. The group currently has 13 Daesangs to their name. They received their first Daesang at the Mnet KM Music Festival in 2007 for Song of the Year for their song Lies.
The Mnet KM Music Festival, later in 2009, rebranded as the Mnet Asian Music Awards. BIGBANG was YG Entertainment's top group right from their debut in 2006. The group managed to achieve success early on in their career.
In 2021, BIGBANG won the Legend Grand Prize at the Seoul Music Awards, which was voted for by fans and hence is not a Daesang. The group started with many supporters; however, due to members repeatedly getting into scandals and controversies, they’ve lost out on many fans.
3) TWICE - 18
TWICE is JYP’s best-selling girl group and currently has 18 Daesangs. They’re the girl group with the most Daesangs. They won their first Daesang in 2016 at the Melon Music Awards for Song of the Year for their evergreen song Cheer-Up.
Cheer-Up took South Korea by storm and became a household favorite overnight. They managed to achieve all this just one year after their debut. Their most recent Daesang was from 2020 at the Asian Artist Awards, where they received Artist of the Year.
2) EXO - 23
SM Entertainment’s boy group, EXO, has 23 Daesangs. They were once the artists with the most Daesangs; however, they are now the second-most Daesangs winning artists. They won their first Daesang at the Melon Music Awards in 2013 for Song of the Year for their iconic song Growl.
This was just one year after their debut. Growl was a song that had South Korea in a chokehold at that time, and EXO had received the name Nation’s pick because of its popularity of this song. The last Daesang they ever received was in 2017 at the Melon Music Awards for Artist of the Year.
1) BTS - 65
BTS has the most Daesangs out of anyone in the South Korean music industry. The group won their first Daesang for Album of the Year in 2016 at the Melon Music Awards for their album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever.
They were the first non-Big three artists to win a Daesang, breaking the Big 3 monopoly. They currently have 65 Daesangs, and the number only increases with every new release. They have won almost all the Daesangs in every award show for music in South Korea. They are also lovingly known by the South Korean public as the National Living Treasures of South Korea.
They’re the only artists to sweep all the Daesangs thrice at the Mnet Asian Music Awards and twice in a row at the Melon Music Awards. They’re also artists with the most Daesangs in the Korean Music Awards, which are considered the Grammys of South Korea.
They’re usually one of the most awarded artists of the night for every award show. BTS has also won the equivalent of a Daesang at the American Music Awards, where they received the award for Artist of the Year.
BTS is currently gearing up to release their anthology album, Proof, containing 48 tracks, including five new songs. It is slated to be released on June 10.
The more Daesangs someone has, the more their prestige is, not only as accomplished musicians but also as dignified artists, acknowledged by the industry and the general public.
