The final protagonists of the pre-award best category, which is ‘warming up’the new festival of K-pop stars’ The Awards, have been decided. They are the top group TREASURE, P1Harmony, ENHYPEN, 0BASEONE, and RISE.

On the 21st, a day before the opening of the 1st The Awards, the ‘Pre-Announcement’ and the ‘Ending Fairies’ who will have the honor of the pre-award were confirmed. Five male idol groups that have risen to the top tier of K-pop: TREASURE, P1Harmony, ENHYPEN, Zerobase One, and RISE took home the Signature Trophy ‘D CUBE of THE AWARDS.

The top group ENHYPEN won Best Tour and Best Group. Following the record-breaking sales of their second full-length album ‘Romance: Untold’ released last year, ENHYPEN declared that ‘Engine World’, which they likened to their fandom engine, has risen to become a new global trend with their world tour ‘WALK THE LINE’.

TREASURE, the ‘gems’ of performance powerhouse YG Entertainment, took home the Best Tour award. As a YG group that can be called the AtoZ of K-pop performances, TREASURE has solidified their position as the best concert performers by renewing their own ‘overwhelming performances’ every year.

P1Harmony‘s surprising rise cannot be left out either. Starting with ‘Doom Doo Doom’ in 2022, and continuing a steady hit parade for three consecutive years from ‘Ttaekkal’ ‘Sad Song’, they have attracted attention with explosive growth centered around North America, the global pop mecca and the ‘Promised Land’ for K-pop. Thanks to such activities, P1Harmony took home the Best Stage award.

ZeroBaseOne, the nation’s ‘picked’ best output, took home the Best Stage award. As the title suggests, Zerobase One is a group that is well-received as a group that solidifies the ‘substance’ of K-pop by presenting stages that are close to innovation every time.

The group Rise, which shows expandability close to ‘all-rounder’ regardless of genre, took home the Best Group award. With all the songs from their first mini-album ‘Rise’ that were mega hits last year, and with their unprecedented performance that perfectly digested all genres from dance, EDM, and rock, they proved that a new chapter in K-pop has already been opened by Rise.

The first The Awards, which raised the heat to the max through the pre-award ceremony, will be held at the Hwajung Gymnasium of Korea University in Seoul at 6 PM on the 22nd. It will be broadcast exclusively on Channel A starting at 10:30 PM on the same day.


Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.