I-DLE took home the grand prize (Daesang) at the 34th Seoul Music Awards, held on June 21, 2025, at Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea. Organized by the Seoul Music Awards Committee and hosted by Sports Seoul, the event honored the top K-pop artists of the year.
This marked I-DLE’s first-ever Daesang at the Seoul Music Awards. The group also received one of the Main Awards (Bonsang), making them double winners. Their win is especially historic, as they are the first girl group in 15 years to take home the grand prize — the last being Girls’ Generation in 2010.
The group, formerly known as (G)I-DLE, rebranded to I-DLE earlier this year. Their second full-length album, ‘2’, achieved major commercial success, selling over 1.53 million copies in its first week. Its lead track, ‘I hate being sick’, topped major global charts. Their most recent release, ‘We Are’, also surpassed 1 million in sales, marking I-DLE’s fourth consecutive million-seller.
The Best Album Award was jointly awarded to TOMORROW X TOGETHER and ZEROBASEONE.
ZEROBASEONE’s fifth mini-album, ‘Blue Paradise’, continued their streak with a fifth consecutive million-seller and debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard 200, the highest for any fifth-generation K-pop group to date.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER also won the Best Digital Song Award, becoming the first group since BTS in 2020 to win both top honors in the same year. Their sixth and seventh mini-albums sold 1.54 million and 1.57 million copies, respectively, reaching No. 3 and No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
The Rookie of the Year award was shared by three new groups: KiiiKiii, KickFlip, and Hearts2Hearts.
KiiiKiii, under Starship Entertainment, received attention with their debut track ‘I Do Me’, emerging as successors to IVE.
KickFlip, from JYP Entertainment, made a powerful debut with ‘Mama Said (So What?)’, positioning themselves as the label’s next-generation leaders.
Hearts2Hearts, from SM Entertainment, garnered global attention with ‘The Chase’, drawing comparisons to Girls’ Generation.
Other major winners included DOYOUNG (Best Solo Artist), ILLIT and NCT WISH (Best Group), and YOUNGTAK, who took home three awards including Trot, OST, and K-pop World Choice – Solo.
Full list of winners – 34th Seoul Music Awards
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Grand Prize (Daesang): I-DLE
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Best Album: TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ZEROBASEONE
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Best Digital Song: TOMORROW X TOGETHER
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Main Award (Bonsang): ILLIT, NCT WISH, QWER, P1Harmony, IVE, aespa, ENHYPEN, PLAVE, DOYOUNG, I-DLE, YOUNGTAK, ZEROBASEONE, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ROSÉ, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, NCT DREAM, G-DRAGON
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Best Group: ILLIT, NCT WISH
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Best Solo Artist: DOYOUNG
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K-pop Special Award: BTOB
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K-pop World Choice – Group: BABYMONSTER
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K-pop World Choice – Solo: YOUNGTAK
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World Best Artist: ROSÉ, aespa
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R&B/Hip-Hop Award: RM
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Band Award: wave to earth
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Trot Award: YOUNGTAK
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OST Award: YOUNGTAK – ‘Unpredictable Life’
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Ballad Award: HWANG GARAM
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Rookie of the Year: KiiiKiii, KickFlip, Hearts2Hearts
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Popularity Award: LEE CHAN WON
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Hallyu Star Award: JIMIN
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Rising Star Award: VVUP
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Discovery of the Year: SAY MY NAME
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Best Performance: CRAVITY, FIFTY FIFTY
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