K-pop boy band NCT Dream (SM Entertainment)
Boy band NCT Dream left this year's Genie Music Awards in a celebratory mood after taking home two main prizes at the annual music awards.
The seven-member group won two grand prizes at the 2022 GMA ceremony on Tuesday night -- top artist and top album -- winning the latter for the act's second full-length album "Glitch Mode."
"Although we're thankful to receive the top album award, NCT Dream is only just beginning," member Haechan said while accepting the award.
Mark added, "Earlier this year, we talked a lot about 'showing that we've improved from last year.' And being awarded such a big prize, we're just so grateful."
The Genie Music Awards are organized annually by Genie Music, the local music streaming platform owned by Korea telecom giant KT. The event was first held in 2018.
This year marked the ceremony's return to an in-person celebration after two years of coronavirus restrictions. The event was called off last year and moved online in 2020 due to pandemic concerns.
This year's GMAs took place at the Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon on Tuesday evening. Originally set to be a live celebration, the red carpet and live broadcast were canceled following the Itaewon tragedy on Oct. 29.
Another big winner at GMA 2022 was trot singer Lim Young-woong, who nabbed three prizes in total, including the top music award for his mega-hit "Our Blues, Our Life." Lim was also named best male solo and took home the fan-voted Genie Music Popularity Award.
2022 Genie Music Awards poster (Genie Music)
Several girl groups took home some big awards, with Ive, (G)I-dle and Red Velvet each bagging two trophies. Reigning the charts ever since its debut last year, the super rookie Ive was named best new female artist and best style. (G)I-dle nabbed the best record prize and best female group, while Red Velvet was named best performing female artists and nabbed the best music video award.
Other winners included BTS, who was named best male group and were honored with the Global Popularity Award. Rookie group Tempest was named best new male artist, while group The Boyz won best male performance. Girls' Generation's Taeyeon was honored with the best female solo award prize, rapper Be'o, the best hip-hop artist, rock band Jaurim, the best rock artist, and the Norwegian singer-songwriter Peder Elias, was awarded best pop artist.
K-pop boy band DKZ and Japanese boy band Psychic Fever each won the Next Generation Award and the Next Generation Global Award, respectively, while K-pop acts TNX and Lightsum together nabbed the New Wave Icon Award.
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