The 2018 Asia Artist Awards was held on Nov. 28 at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon, South Korea. The 2018 Asia Artist Awards recognized some of the biggest stars in Korea’s entertainment industry with top KPOP groups like BTS, Wanna One, GOT7 and many more in attendance. The awards ceremony honors achievements and international contributions of Asian artists in various categories, including TV, movies and music. This was the third annual AAA, and there were plenty of awards given out to honor some of the biggest Asian stars.
The Daesangs (grand prizes) of the night went to BTS and Lee Byung Hun. BTS won five awards in total, while Lee Byung Hun and IU both took home four trophies.
In the pre-ceremony voting, which closed on Nov. 20, BTS trumped EXO by a slim margin of 1.1 percent or 246,371 votes. The former earned 23.9 percent or 5,400,798 votes and the latter 22.8 percent, or 5,154,427 votes. The voting and social media big data analysis made up the two award criteria.
The group expressed their heartfelt gratitude to fans, known collectively as Army, for the honor. EXO holds the record for most Asia Artist Award wins ever, with seven in total. However, BTS is right behind them with six to their name. Following those guys, Im Yoona and Wanna One both have five each. What a great show!
This year marked BTS’ third time at the awards show, as the group has attended every one of its ceremonies since its inception in 2016. Launched by the business-focused media outlet Money Today, the Asia Artist Awards is South Korea’s first awards ceremony to cover the music, television and film industries.
Check out the full list of winners below! (Both Music and Acting categories)
Popularity Award: BTS, EXO’s Sehun, IU
Korean Culture Award: BTS
Performance Director: Son Sung Deuk
Best Producer: Pddogg
AAA Fabulous Award: BTS, TWICE
Asia Hot-Artist Award: Wanna One, IU
Artist of the Year: BTS, TWICE, MONTA X, iKON, MAMAMOO, Seventeen, Sunmi, NU’EST, GOT7, Wanna One, Zico
Focus Award: W24, D-CRUNCH
Rising Award: fromis_9, SF9, ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo
New Wave: WJSN, KARD, AOA’s Seolhyun, gugudan
Favorite Award: Chungha
History of Song Award: SE7EN
Choice Award: Snuper, BIA4’s Jinyoung
Rookie Award: IZ*ONE, Stray Kids, THE BOYZ, (G)I-DLE
Rookie Actor Award: Kim Da Min, Jang Ki Yong
Best Icon: MOMOLAND, MONSTA X, INFINITE L, Choi Tae Joon
Brilliant Award: AOA, Lee Dae Hee, SHINee’s Minho
Asia Trend Award: Jung Hae In, Yoona
Celebrity Award: Suzy
Best Music Award: Sunmi, MAMAMOO, NU’EST
Emotive Award: 2PM Junho, Lee Sung Kyung, Jung Hae In