Shocking Acceptance Speeches at the Korean Music Awards
The acceptance speeches at the Korean Popular Music Awards were always shocking. Unfortunately, an infectious disease had broken out at the worst possible time, so the event generated far less buzz than the WMA ceremony held earlier. Still, the Korean Music Awards were the Korean Music Awards.
Anyone with even the slightest interest in music was curious about who would take home the trophies, and those expectations showed up clearly in the real-time viewer count.
Some might say that number was nothing special, but for an online awards broadcast it was actually quite high. Most people simply didn’t care about tedious, overly academic ceremonies that only looked at chart performance.
Which meant the viewers tuned in right now, spamming the chat while watching live, were… obviously hardcore music addicts. All they ever did was listen to music and run endless “who’s better” tournaments in online communities.
The chat exploded the moment the broadcast began, but it gradually calmed down once the masked host appeared and the awards started being announced.
One of the Korean Music Awards’ defining traits was how many different categories it recognized. Song and album categories were judged separately, and multiple wins were possible.
First came the winners from various unpopular genres. Even people who considered themselves deep listeners had never heard of most of them, yet there they were giving their acceptance speeches.
After all that, familiar names finally started appearing when the rap and hip-hop category was announced.
Next came best dance and electronic. RPS swept both song and album.
It was so expected that the viewers’ reactions were lukewarm. Having reached number twenty-five on Billboard, the general consensus among critics and the public was that both its musical quality and popularity were undeniable.
Then came the pop category.
It was somewhat surprising, but not exactly a massive upset. Still, awarding songs and albums released in mid-December was a little unexpected.
Since she had won, a pre-recorded acceptance video played. The familiar studio appeared on screen.
Only Seo Siyeon was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly a small black shape rose from the bottom of the frame. It let out a weak, pitiful “Krrang” and finally revealed itself.
“…Were you surprised? I know you weren’t. Hehe. I just really wanted to try this once.”
Seo Siyeon flashed a mischievous grin and stared straight into the camera.
The rest of the acceptance speech was completely textbook, so the viewers didn’t pay much attention. A few of her fans were nervous, remembering the huge incident at the WMA, wondering if she would pull something again.
After seeing that comment, everyone relaxed and kept watching.
Metal and modern rock were awarded next. Blooming took both best rock song and album. The chat briefly exploded with complaints that a band that couldn’t even compose properly didn’t deserve it, but the handful of complainers were quickly drowned out and peace returned to the chat.
Only four categories remained: Rookie of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year.
Most of the chat agreed. Seo Siyeon hadn’t only captured mainstream popularity; her first full album had also earned critical acclaim for its musicality. On top of that, as a rookie she was basically guaranteed the newcomer award.
The moment everyone was waiting for—the possibility of the first quadruple crown, or at least a triple crown, in Korean Music Awards history—had arrived.
Rookie of the Year: Seo Siyeon!
Song of the Year: glassy sky
Album of the Year: First, story
Artist of the Year: Seo Siyeon!
And that was exactly what happened.
The first quadruple crown in Korean Music Awards history.
It had been somewhat expected.
She hadn’t realized it in the chaotic period right after Singer Star ended, but once things calmed down and she looked at it objectively, the conclusion was obvious.
“I should get at least these three, right?”
No matter how little weight the Korean Music Awards placed on popularity and chart performance, dominance on this level made it impossible to ignore.
Rookie of the Year and Artist of the Year had been virtually guaranteed. glassy sky also deserved Song of the Year. Ironically, because she had made the track without caring about mainstream appeal, the critics had responded first. They praised it so relentlessly that the song gradually climbed the charts.
The full album that came out after everything was over had also received tremendous critical acclaim. It was funny how these critics had torn apart the songs she made in her previous life but gave nothing but high praise to the ones she created as a little girl.
They’re such blatant opportunists.
Personally, she found critics completely untrustworthy. She had no idea why their standards were so arbitrary. Yet it was those same untrustworthy people who judged the Korean Music Awards.
So it wasn’t all that strange that her First, story, which had received rave reviews from the critics, would take Album of the Year.
In the end she received the insane report card of four grand prizes. For a musician active in Korea, it was the pinnacle—the dream stage.
And she had done it at the age of ten.
The real-time viewer count shot past one hundred thousand the moment the news broke. Everyone had rushed in to hear her acceptance speech.
In the pre-recorded video, Seo Siyeon gave a playful smile.
“Ta-da. What do you think? I received so many awards. Did I do well?”
“But sadly, Siyeon has come down with an illness… sob sob.”
The chat froze for a second, then flew up so fast it was impossible to read.
I munched on snacks with a satisfied smile as I watched the comments roll in.
In the video, Seo Siyeon stopped pretending to cry and continued with a bright smile.
“The name of that illness is voice change! Unfortunately it seems puberty has come to me faster than the other kids.”
“The break will last about a year.”
The chat went completely insane.
Most reactions were along the lines of ‘It’s sad but I’ll wait T_T’ and ‘That’s not even that long lol.’
Watching those comments, I couldn’t help but have one wicked little thought.
Maybe I should take a longer break?
Of course it had to stay just a thought, but the fact that it had crossed my mind even for a second was unavoidable.