In the history of the prestigious Seoul Music Awards (SMA), which K-pop group bagged the most daesangs (grand prize wins) through the years? Here are only six teams who won more than once in the annual event.
On January 2, the 33rd Seoul Music Awards was held at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Hosted by the Korean newspaper Sports Seoul, various artists were awarded at the end of the year to honor their excellence in music.
Among the categories, the daesang (Grand Prize) was awarded only to one artist with the best performance of that year, based on the criteria of music sales, popular votes and expert judges' opinions.
EXO, BTS Are #1 Group With Most Daesangs in History of Seoul Music Awards
Among the 24 artists who were the only ones to receive the daesang in 33 years, six of them were able to win the trophy, not only once but twice, thrice and some four times!
Among the six K-pop groups, two artists who tied for first place were none other than "Nation's Pick" EXO and "Princes of Pop" BTS who got four daesangs each!
From 2013 to 2016, EXO has proved their influence by winning consecutively. At the time they were reigning in the music scene with various albums and hits including, "Growl," "Love Me Right," "Call Me Baby," "Monster" and more.
Meanwhile, BTS established their popularity in 2016, with "Blood Sweat & Tears," then won the daesang in the same year. The septet continued to expand its reach and continued to win the grand prize until 2020.
As of the moment, BTS is also the most-awarded artist in the awards ceremony with 26 trophies.
Most Daesang-Awarded K-pop Groups: Seo Taiji & Boys, SNSD, NCT Dream
Following EXO and BTS, Seo Taiji & Boys are amongst the groups who were awarded daesang more than once, in 1992 and 1993. They are the first ever K-pop group to receive a grand prize award in SMA, and also the first act to win it in consecutive years.
The next recorded consecutive win for a daesang was when H.O.T. won in 1997 and 1998.
Among second-gen female acts, Girls' Generation is the only girl group to win daesang awards for two consecutive years, in 2009 and 2010. They are also the last female group to win a daesang in the history of SMA. This is not to mention that Taeyeon was also the first soloist to win a daesang for the digital category in 2019.
Last but not least, NCT Dream became the third boy group among 3rd-gen following EXO and BTS to win daesangs for two consecutive years, in 2022 and 2023, putting them on par with their seniors who pioneered K-pop.
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
