The Winners of 2017 KpopBehind Awards: BTS, IU, Wanna One, EXO, TWICE, G-Dragon and more

Famous end-of-year music awards such as 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards and Melon Music Awards were held recently. Did you enjoy watching the award ceremonies? By the way, do you agree with the winners? Well, I'm sure you agree with not all of them. Some of popular artists didn't even attend the end-of-year awards, while some of the results of the end-of-year awards were unacceptable, frankly speaking.

Of course, most of the winners have sufficient qualifications for the awards, but end-of-year music awards are not always about ability and achievement. They are sometimes (maybe always) about power. One of the most important thing for end-of-year music awards is to maintain good relations with powerful and influential k-pop agencies such as SM, YG and JYP. That's why the award ceremonies try to give their awards to artists from big k-pop agencies all round. (Just like G-Dragon criticized in his rap lyrics at 2014 MAMA)

So, here are the winners of 2017 KpopBehind Awards. Unlike the other end-of-year music awards, we didn't care about how powerful their agencies are. And we didn't try to give them awards all round either. All we cared about were their achievement, popularity among people at home and abroad, and quality of their songs. Congratulations to the winners!

Artist of the Year - BTS

BTS' popularity clearly shows no sign of waning. After releasing its new album "LOVE YOURSELF 承-Her" on September 18, 2017, BTS proved its huge popularity by sitting high on the Billboard 200 and the Hot 100, while the boy group also sold more than 1.2 million copies of its album, becoming the first ever k-pop artist with album sales of over 1.2 million copies since legendary k-pop group god sold about 1.4 million copies of its album in 2001. Many people in the k-pop industry are now saying BTS writing a new page in the k-pop history, and the boy group is certainly taking center stage as the most popular k-pop idol group. And it seems like many people in the k-pop industry are greatly encouraged by BTS' huge success because it could give a boost to the industry.

Album of the Year - IU (Palette)

What's special about IU is that she is loved by men and women of all ages. She sings songs of various genres, and she is a singer who is able to sing about her genuine emotions and arouse people's sympathy. Her new album "Palette" that was released on April 21, 2017 was a great album. As a competent music producer, IU showed her great talent again. The songs in the album were not only high quality songs but also loved by people of all age, while the album became the most streamed k-pop album in 2017.

Song of the Year - Yoon Jong Shin (Like it)

It was kind of surprising that Yoon Jong Shin, a 28th-year k-pop singer topped a variety of online music charts. His song "Like it" is a rock ballad song that is totally different from popular idols' dance music, but the song was loved by men and women of all ages, causing a sensation in the k-pop world. Minseo's "Yes", a female version of "Like it" was loved by a wide range of people of different ages too.

Best New Male Artist - Wanna One

No doubt, Wanna One was the most loved rookie k-pop group in 2017. The boy group, which is comprised of 11 members who appeared in "PRODUCE 101 Season 2" has a lot of fans, while they have made advertising contracts with various brands too. Even though the team is a temporary boy group and will be disbanded someday, the team certainly created a sensation in the world of k-pop in 2017, giving a boost to the industry.

Best New Female Artist - Chung Ha

As you may know, there has been no successful female solo singer in the k-pop world for the past few years. Basically, k-pop agencies didn't want to produce female solo singer's album because they thought it's not profitable. However, Chung Ha, who was a member of I.O.I and finally debuted in 2017 opened up a new possibility. Even though her debut album was not as successful as popular idol groups', the female rookie singer did pretty well on various online music charts, showing off her special talents in singing and dancing.

Best Male Group - EXO

EXO has been regarded as the most popular k-pop idol group for the past few years. EXO couldn't win one of the grand prizes of 2017 KpopBehind Awards (Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year), unfortunately, but the boy group was chosen as the winner of Best Male Group Award because the team showed off its undiminished power in the k-pop world in 2017 by becoming a quadruple million seller. What's notable about EXO is that the the members do not merely rest on their laurels but challenge themselves again and again even though they've already achieved so many things and it has been 5 years since their debut.

Best Female Group - TWICE

No doubt, TWICE was the best female k-pop group in 2017. The team was loved by many people at home and abroad. Especially, it's notable that the girl group achieved a huge success in Japan. TWICE made an official debut in Japan by releasing its first Japanese album "#TWICE" in the country on June 28, 2017. The album sold over 100,000 copies within just 4 days, while TWICE topped Oricon's weekly chart too. And the girl group's "TT dance" was in vogue among young Japanese people. TWICE became the most successful k-pop girl group in the Japanese music market since Girls' Generation and KARA distinguished themselves in the market years ago.

Best Male Artist - G-Dragon

G-Dragon, the king of k-pop was chosen as the winner of 2017 KpopBehind Awards' Best Male Artist. By releasing his new solo album "Kwon Ji Yong" on June 8, 2017, the king proved his great musicality and influence again. After releasing the album, he held his world tour in 29 cities including Seoul, New York, London and Taipei, electrifying fans all around the world. And his team BIGBANG, the k-pop record breaker, set another record by becoming the first ever foreign artist who held a dome tour in Japan for five years in a row.

Best Female Artist - Sunmi

Sunmi, the former member of Wonder Girls is certainly enojoying her renaissance. As a solo singer, she has been on a roll, while her new song "Gashina" that was released on August 22, 2017, was very successful too. Especially, Sunmi's dance for the song was loved by so many people. Many famous idols covered her sexy dance moves, and the dance was in vogue among k-pop fans all around the world.

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-Written by an experienced k-pop journalist