The sixth annual awards ceremony of the Fact Music Awards (TMA) was celebrated on October 10th. This year’s event took place in Incheon Namdong Gymnasium, with a seating capacity of 8828 people, where the first ceremony was celebrated in 2019. This award ceremony has become important to numerous K-Pop fans in Korea and around the world, as it celebrates artists from all generations, regardless of their company.
TMA’s ceremony is respected for their fair judgment in the award-winning category, as they consider music scores, album sales, panellists, and fan votes. Due to all of these factors being taken into consideration, it becomes a level playing field for newer and more respected celebrities throughout the industry. Domestic and foreign fans are allowed to vote for their preferred artist in each category, minimizing any small company artists if they are not as popular within Korea.
Ceremony:
The hosts from 2022’s ceremony, Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun and Jun Hyun Moo, returned for 2023. Jun Hyun Moo has been a host, news anchor and radio announcer for numerous years throughout Korea. Accompanied by the actress, singer, and songwriter Seohyun.
The next Leader award was granted to two boy groups this year. Zerobaseone, a recently debuted group after the survival show Boys Planet, and SM Entertainment’s newest debut group Riize. Although both groups are considered rookies in the industry, they have attracted a lot of fans in the brief time since their debut earlier this year.
The Hottest Award was also shared by two recently debuted boy groups. KOZ Entertainment’s Boynextdoor debuted on May 30th with their single album Who!. As well as, KQ Entertainment’s Xikers who debuted on March 30th with their album House of Tricky: Doorbell Ringing.
The Bonsang, also known as Artist of the Year, award was given to ten different artists, one solo and nine groups. Including trot singer Lim Young Woong, Seventeen, Stray Kids, Ateez, Itzy, Treasure, Aespa, IVE, Nmixx, and NewJeans. Bonsangs are one of the highest awards given to Korean groups and solo acts, awarded for their impact on the musical industry.
Fan n Star Choice Award and Fan N Star Most Voted awards were given to trot singer Lim Young Woong and BTS. Despite none of the members of BTS being at the ceremony, their fans keep showing their support for the iconic group. BTS also received the Best Music Award (Summer) with Jimin winning Idol Plus Popularity and V winning Best Fall Music. Lim Young Woong was also awarded the Fan N Star Best Ads Award, Best Music (Winter) a total of five awards in one night.
The Best Solo Performer Award was won by Kwon Eunbi and the Best Band Performer Award was given to Jannabi. IVE was awarded World Best Performer, and NewJeans was awarded Listener’s Choice, both groups having a total of two TMA’s this year.
Best Spring Music was awarded to Lee Chan Won, marking his first award of the evening. Other awards included the FourStar Award given to Stray Kids and the Worldwide Icon Award given to Aespa. Therefore, Stray Kids and Aespa returned from the event with two awards each.
The 2023 Daesang, also known as the Main Award or Grand Award, was given to Seventeen. As the only 3rd generation group to attend the event, Seventeen was awarded the two highest honors of the evening.
Performances:
Another reason for the growing popularity and prestige of the TMA’s is the incredible performances given each year since 2018. The lineup for this year showcased numerous groups and solo artists most showing their most recent or popular tracks. There were a total of sixteen performances in this year’s event.
NewJeans performed their popular song Super Shy in a high production performance with countless backup dancers and some editing done to the track. This was followed by a special performance of their most recent single, TMA, released two weeks ago.
Zerobaseone performed the title track of their debut album, In Bloom. Due to their recent debut on July 10th, this was a great opportunity to gain more exposure to more international fans.
Boynextdoor performed a mixture of two singles from their first EP WHY. Starting the performance was a small introduction followed by One and Only with most of their time performing But Sometimes. As their debut EP came out at the start of September, this was an incredible performance and an opportunity for the group to showcase their talent.
The other recent group that attracted attention was Xikers. As juniors of Ateez, numerous fans expected a high-level performance. They performed the title track of their second mini album, House of Tricky: How To Play, Do or Die. However, for this special occasion, they included a dance break halfway through their song, making this performance different from previous performances of the song by adding something unique.
Ateez also performed at the event with a special introduction and an altered version of Bouncy. Both groups from KQ Entertainment were missing a member, with Xikers’ Junghoon and Ateez’s Jongho on hiatus due to operations.
Junghoon's hiatus was caused by a tearing on his cruciate ligament, which was announced on May 5th, while Jongho’s hiatus was announced in late August due to a meniscus rupture. Regardless of both groups missing a member, the performances of each group were memorable and striking.
YG’s Treasure performed Bona Bona from their recently released Reboot album. Bona Bona was a pre-released single from Treasure’s second album. Their performance also started with a special introduction with only three of the ten members.
All JYP Entertainment groups were able to perform high-quality performances. Including Nmixx performing Love Me Like This from their latest album, Expérgo, and Itzy performing Kill Shot from their album Kill My Doubt. Itzy was missing one member as Lia is currently on a temporary hiatus due to health concerns.
Stray Kids performed their popular tracks Topline and S-class from their most recent album, 5-Star. All eight members of Stray Kids were able to attend despite Hyunjin, Lee Know, and Seungmin having a minor car collision on September 20th.
SM Entertainment’s Aespa and Riize performed at the event. Riize performed an introduction and their single Get A Guitar. Aespa was able to perform an introduction, their popular songs Spicy and Better Things.
Ive performed their singles I Am and Kitsch from their debut album, I’ve Ive. Starting the performance with their lead single, I Am, and quickly following with the pre-released single, Kitsch.
The last group performance to mention is Seventeen. They performed an introduction, F*uck My Life and Super. Member S. Coups was unable to perform as he suffered from a knee injury, resulting in a temporary hiatus. Despite being missed on stage by fans and other members, Seventeen was able to perform both songs flawlessly.
Solo performances included Lee Chan Won’s Wish Lanterns. Kwon Eun Bi’s Underwater. Lim Young Woong’s Grain of Sand and Do or Die. The evening marked another memorable event for all guests and audience. Many k-pop fans will be looking forward to next year's ceremony after 2023's great success.
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