32nd Seoul Music Awards announces nominees and voting criteria

On December 6, the Seoul Music Awards shared the list of nominees for this year's ceremony, and also announced the voting criteria that will help in selecting the winners.

The 32nd Seoul Music Awards are scheduled to take place on January 19, 2023, at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, and will feature a stunning lineup of performances from K-pop idol groups, soloists, and more. While the performing lineup is yet to be announced, the Seoul Music Awards have updated fans with information about the voting criteria.

This year, mobile voting will be conducted in two phases -- Phase 1 will run from December 6 through 11:59 p.m. KST on December 25, while Phase 2 will begin from December 27 at noon KST and run till January 15, 11:59 p.m. KST.

Each phase will determine 50 percent of the total votes received by the nominees.

Mobile voting this year for the Seoul Music Awards will determine the winners for the following categories -- the Main Award (Bonsang), Rookie of the Year, Popularity Award, K-Wave Award, OST Award, Trot Award, Ballad Award, and R&B/Hip Hop Award.

32nd Seoul Music Awards announce nominees for the upcoming award ceremony

Check out the nominees for the different categories at the 32nd Seoul Music Awards:

Main Award (Bonsang) - 32nd Seoul Music Awards

10cm – 5.3
aespa – Girls
ASTRO – Drive to the Starry Road
ATEEZ – THE WORLD EP.1 : MOVEMENT
BIGBANG – Still Life
BLACKPINK – BORN PINK
BOL4 – Seoul
THE BOYZ – BE AWARE
BTOB – Be Together
BTS – Proof
Choi Ye Na – SMiLEY
CRAVITY – NEW WAVE
Crush – Rush Hour
DKZ – CHASE EPISODE 2. MAUM
ENHYPEN – MANIFESTO : DAY 1
fromis_9 – from our Memento Box
(G)I-DLE – I NEVER DIE
Girls’ Generation – FOREVER 1
GOT the beat – Step Back
GOT7 – GOT7
ITZY – CHECKMATE
IVE – LOVE DIVE
Jay Park – GANADARA
J-Hope (BTS) – Jack In The Box
Jin (BTS) – The Astronaut
Kang Daniel – The Story
Kihyun (MONSTA X) – VOYAGER
Kim Ho Joong – PANORAMA
Lim Young Woong – IM HERO
MONSTA X – SHAPE of LOVE
Nayeon (TWICE) – IM NAYEON
NCT 127 – 2 Baddies
NCT DREAM – Glitch Mode
ONEUS – MALUS
P1Harmony – HARMONY : ZERO IN
PSY – PSY 9th
Red Velvet – The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm
Seulgi (Red Velvet) – 28 Reasons
SEVENTEEN – Face The Sun
STAYC – YOUNG-LUV.COM
Stray Kids – MAXIDENT
Suho (EXO) – Grey Suit
Super Junior – The Road : Winter for Spring
Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation) – INVU
TREASURE – THE SECOND STEP : CHAPTER ONE
TWICE – BETWEEN 1&2
TXT – minisode 2: Thursday’s Child
WEi – Love Pt.2 : Passion
WINNER – HOLIDAY
Zico (Block B) – New thing

Rookie of the Year - 32nd Seoul Music Awards

ATBO – The Beginning : 開花
Billlie – the Billage of perception: chapter two
CLASS:y – CLASS IS OVER
CSR – Sequence : 7272
H1-KEY – Athletic Girl
Kep1er – FIRST IMPACT
Lapillus – HIT YA!
LE SSERAFIM – FEARLESS
NewJeans – New Jeans
NINE.i – NEW WORLD
NMIXX – AD MARE
TAN – 1TAN
TEMPEST – It’s ME, It’s WE
TNX – WAY UP
TRENDZ – BLUE SET Chapter 1. TRACKS
VIVIZ – Beam Of Prism
YOUNITE – YOUNI-BIRTH

OST Award

10cm – Spring to Love (Our Blues)
BIBI – Very, Slowly (Twenty Five, Twenty One)
Davichi – Remember me (Our Blues)
Heize – The Last (Our Blues)
Jimin (BTS) and Ha Sung Woon – With you (Our Blues)
Lee Seok Hoon – Dear. My Fool (Discovery of Love)
Lee Seung Yoon – The Giving Tree (Our Beloved Summer)
Lee Sun Hee – I’ll Leave You (The Red Sleeve)
Lim Young Woong – Our Blues (Our Blues)
MeloMance – Love, Maybe (A Business Proposal)
Sam Kim – Summer Rain (Our Beloved Summer)
Sunwoojunga – Beyond My Dreams (Extraordinary Attorney Woo)
Taeil (NCT) – Starlight (Twenty Five, Twenty One)
Tiger JK – WADADADA (One Dollar Lawyer)
Wheein (MAMAMOO) – You, You (Nth Romance)
Wonstein – Your Existence (Twenty Five, Twenty One)

Trot Award - 32nd Seoul Music Awards

Jang Min Ho – Essay ep.1
Jang Yoon Jung – estrena
Jeong Dong Won – Handwritten Letter
Kim Hee Jae – Heejae
Kim Tae Yeon – Cheer up!
Lim Young Woong – IM HERO
Na Hoon-a – Seven-Colored Scent
Song Ga In – THE SONG OF LOVE
Young Tak – MMM

Ballad Award - 32nd Seoul Music Awards

BEN – Spring Days
Davichi – Season Note
Han Dong Geun – It’s love
JuHo – without me
Kang Min Kyung (Davichi) and Jannabi – Because we loved
Kassy – Always love you
KyoungSeo – Dear my X
Lim Jae Hyun – Drunken confession at night
Monday Kiz – It has to be you
Noel – How Can I Forget You
Paul Kim – Like Yesterday
Tei – Monologue
Tophyun – Horang Suwolga
Younha – END THEORY : Final Edition
V.O.S – talks about pain

R&B/Hip Hop - 32nd Seoul Music Awards

BE’O – LOVE me
BIG Naughty – Beyond Love
Coogie – RE:UP
Epik High – Epik High Is Here
Jessi – ZOOM
Joosiq – Baby I Need You
Leellamarz and TOIL – TOYSTORY3
Punch – The Love
Woo (Woo Won Jae) and meenoi – Ghosting

The Seoul Music Awards will honor K-pop artists who have produced excellent music for their fans this year at the 32nd annual ceremony. Fans can now vote for their favorite artists to help them win.

About the author

Muskan Jaiswal is a journalist specializing in pop-culture, lifestyle, and Korean entertainment at Sportskeeda. With a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a Master's Diploma in Journalism, she began writing as a form of creative expression during the pandemic-related lockdown. She has about four years of experience, working at Otakukart, Movieweb, The Times of India, Aeroplay Entertainment, and Lifestyle Asia, among other organizations.

As a Pop-culture writer, she values presenting reports after a robust fact-checking process on celebrities and other trending topics, which interest people. Among her professional achievements is a feature on eco-friendly practices in K-pop album production. This write-up, which took a week of research, covered a range of sub-topics such as the export-import history of K-pop albums, and shifts in music marketing in that industry.

When not working, she enjoys watching films and discovering indie artists across several music platforms. Her favorite bands include Coldplay, BTS, and CAS.

Know More

Edited by Susrita Das