Seoul Music Awards 2023: Where to watch, time, presenters, and all you need to know

Seoul Music Awards 2023 is all set to roll out the red carpet on January 19. This is the 32nd edition of the prestigious award show, which will take place at the KSPO Dome in Seoul. SHINee’s Minho, Lovelyz’s Mijoo, and Kim Il-joong have been selected as the hosts for the evening.

The ceremony will be held at 7 pm KST/ 3.30 pm IST/ 5 am ET/ 2 am PT. Fans can watch the award ceremony from the comfort of their homes on KBS Joy and Idol Plus.

Seoul Music Awards 2023: IVE, NCT Dream, (G)I-DLE, and Melomance, among others attending the awards

Seoul Music Awards 2023 is one of the most prestigious awards in the Korean entertainment industry. The biggest stars, artists, and industry giants will be in attendance to grace the event, participating in the awards ceremony either as presenters, hosts or nominees.

Seoul Music Awards 2023 boasts an interesting line of presenters, with some of the best names from the Korean entertainment industry including:

Fans can look forward to a spectacular night full of celebrations, performances, and some heartwarming wins at the awards.

According to the latest red carpet update, NCT Dream, IVE, (G)I-DLE, Melomance, Yoonha, KARA, ZICO, Kep1er, Jannabi, bignaughty, BeO, TAN, TNX, and CocaNButter are among some of the attendees at the awards.

Moreover, some of the biggest artists like BTS, Jin, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, BLACKPINK, IVE, NCT Dream, NCT 127, PSY, Red Velvet, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER are nominated for the Main Award (Bongsang), while talented Gen 4 groups like NewJeans and LE SSERAFIM have been nominated for the Best Rookie Award category at the Seoul Music Awards 2023.

Mobile voting was conducted for the following awards--Main Award (Bongsang), Rookie of the Year, Trot Award, Ballad Award, R&B/Hip Hop Award, OST Award, Popularity Award, and K-Wave Award.

Voting was held throughout December and mid-January in two phases. The first comprised audience voting that was open for fans within and outside of Korea. For the Main Award (Bongsang), the total final votes are distributed between 30 percent mobile votes, 30 percent album and song sales (according to Hanteo Chart), and 40 percent on the judges' score.

Meanwhile, international fans were only allowed to vote for the K-Wave Award and not the Popularity Award.

Seoul Music Awards 2023 accused of being partial towards SM Artists

Seoul Music Awards 2023 have landed themselves in fresh controversy. Fans have accused the award show of being partial towards SM Artists. Unlike other award shows, the Seoul Music Awards have always revealed their artist lineup on the day of the live event, which is today, January 19.

In fact, they had also declared that audience tickets would be distributed to attendees randomly, with no designated fan seating. However, a day prior to the event on January 18, fans of SM Entertainment artists SHINee’s Minho, GOT The Beat, and NCT Dream revealed they received notices for seat reservations via fan communities.

The notice revealed that 50 seats will be reserved for SHAWOLs (SHINee fans) and 225 seats each for NCT Dream and GOT The Beat fans.

As a result, fans have accused them of being partial towards SM Artists and giving them preferential treatment. Seoul Music Awards is yet to respond to these allegations.

About the author

Anwaya is a journalist who covers Korean Pop at Sportskeeda. She holds a post-graduation degree in Marketing and Communication. She firmly believes that Korean content is the present and future, and hopes fans find her and SK POP as the medium that connects them to their favorite Korean stars and find comfort in our content, especially curated for readers

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