Who will win this year's "Rookie of the Year" award?

On Thursday, Dec. 10, the expectation of who will reign and receive the ROTY award rises, following the upcoming opening of votings for Seoul Music Awards (SMA). In particular, SMA, which is one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies for Hallyu stars, announced the nominees for some of the categories that were opened on Wednesday.

The said music awards give recognition to the most loved singers and artists throughout the year annually, and this year's awarding will took place in January 2021. As of now, there are 17 categories which will be giving awards to its eligible winners. Among these categories, the nominees for the title "Rookie of the Year" awards are gaining massive interest from music fans and supporters, given the star-studded contenders for this year's ceremony.

Who are 2020's "Rookie of the Year" Nominees for Seoul Music Awards?

2020 is a tough year for the K-pop industry, but the 'new normal' and 'non-contact' era for the music scene will not stop the birth of outstanding new-gen K-pop groups and idols.

Despite the online promotion and no physical supporters to cheer on them, numerous rookie groups that debuted this year gave an excellent performance that left an imprint on K-pop fans, establishing their stable fandom as well.

One of the latest groups that have been nominated by the Seoul Music Awards is CRAVITY. The group debuted in April, with the first installment of their album, HIDEOUT, "Season 1: HIDEOUT: Remember Who We Are."

Next is Drippin, who exhibits a praiseworthy debut with their Extended play, "Boyager." The group debuted under Woollim Entertainment on October 28.

Other rookie boy groups that were nominated include GHOST9 from Maroo Entertainment, P1Harmony from FNC Entertainment, and Wei from OUI Entertainment.

As for girl groups, the hottest rookie female bands including Secret Number, Weeekly, and STAYC are also selected as nominees for the rookie award, which all showcased unexpected results in domestic and international charts that captured music fans' hearts.

In addition to this, the fans also focused on NATTY's nomination, who is the only solo artist who was nominated for the award.

On top of it, the rookie groups from some of the biggest Korean entertainment companies such as Aespa, TREASURE, and ENHYPEN are also gaining interest from music fans.

Aespa, which debuted in November under SM Entertainment immediately entered the Billboard charts, while YG Entertainment's boy group TREASURE achieved 700,000 sold copies for their three released albums this year, in just three months after their debut.

As for ENHYPEN, the group launched by CJ E&M and Big Hit Entertainment's label Belift Lab rose to No. 2 on the Oricon Chart, the largest music site in Japan.

Who Will Win This Year's SMA "Rookie of the Year Award?

Due to the perfect lineup and nominees for the said music award, fans are anticipating if who will be hailed as 2020's ROTY.

The winner which will be announced next year will be identified through criteria, which will be based on the group's album sales (30%), judges' decisions (40%), and global votings (30%).

Voting will start on Friday, Dec. 11, and will end on January 24, 2021.