"Uaena, sarangheyo!": IU thanks fans after bagging two Daesangs at MMA 2021

IU took her first appearance at the Melon Music Awards (MMA) in four years by storm, taking home a total of five awards, including the much coveted Daesang for Album of the Year and Artist of the Year.

The Melon Music Awards 2021 took place on December 4. Among the many star winners of the day, the top four Daesangs were bagged by IU, BTS and aespa.

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IU took home five awards, including two Daesangs at MMA 2021

The "Strawberry Moon" singer last made an appearance at the MMAs in 2017, when she took home the Album of the Year, Best Songwriter, and Top 10 Artists (Bonsang). The idol beat her own record in 2021, not only bagging the awards she won in 2017 yet again, but also adding Artist of the Year and Best Solo (Female) to the list. Among the five, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year were Daesangs.

Incidentally, the latest achievement made IU the artist with the most Bonsang wins in MMA history, having eight of those to her name. Her album, LILAC, for which she won Album of the Year, is the first album by a female artist to win the prize, since the singer herself last won it in 2017 for Palette.

The idol-actor was overwhelmed by the support shown to her by her fans, aka Uaenas, and made sure the gratitude was felt in the speeches. When accepting the Artist of the Year, she reflected on the gravity of a title as big as that, saying:

“I have received such a big award. Artist of the Year is an award with a lot of weight. A lot of artists worked hard and did their best this year, but I am receiving this award alone, so I feel a sense of gratitude toward the other artists. I will carry the weight of this award and channel it into working hard at making music next year. Artists, you all worked hard this year.”

She looked forward to performing with the audience, saying,

“We’re in a situation where we can allow small audiences again. If we wait a little longer, the day will come when we can shout, "Make some noise," and we can scream and cheer, and tell people face-to-face, ‘You’re beautiful.'” Next year, I want to meet more people from a closer distance. Because Uaena [fan club name] was here today, I was able to feel like I really got an award. Uaenas, I got five trophies, are you proud? I’m glad that I can make Uaenas’ shoulders stand proud. I hope that the day will soon come when we can enjoy this with all the K-pop fans. I love you.”

For IU, a Daesang- Album of the Year was the award she wanted to win the most, for LILAC. After fulfilling the goal, the talented singer said,

“This is such a big award. This year, more than ever, I felt hungry for music and consumed it as a listener. I feel good about receiving this award. My music career can be short if you look at it one way or long if you look at it another, but I’ve never taken a break from releasing music once from age 20 to age 30. There were years when I wanted to take a break, but I spent those 10 years getting close to the fans who love my music through my songs, so I think I did well. This is really an award I wanted to win.”

IU concluded her MMA speech with a cute gesture for her fans,

"Next year, I will work hard on music in my cool 30s. Uaena, I love you.”

The idol’s significant fan following took to social media to celebrate her commendable victory, with several posting their favorite moments from MMA 2021. IU’s performances also left viewers speechless, with the dancer in her coming out after a long sabbatical.

Meanwhile, the other two big winners of the night, BTS and aespa, took home a Daesang each, for Song of the Year and Record of the Year respectively, among other awards.