Music awards and prestigious shows excite and bind artists, and those passionate about music together. In K-pop, after a year of releases, year-end award shows are like the end of a long and winding battle of new music, and those who prevail will be crowned. With the advancing technology comes the changing years of these music awards, and you may ask why. Let’s figure out if these music awards are slowly losing their value in the present times.
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Music Awards Shows and What You Should Know About Them
Annually, music enthusiasts hear and await numerous award shows around the globe. However, the most prominent shows worldwide are from the following:
- American Music Awards
- Billboard Music Awards
- BRIT Awards
- Grammy Awards
- MTV Video Music Awards
In K-pop, there are a few famed music awards shows usually held during the year’s end.
- Asia Artist Awards
- Golden Disc Awards
- Korean Music Awards
- Melon Music Awards
- Mnet Asian Music Awards
Of course, The Grammy Awards and MAMA Awards are the biggest award shows on a global stage and in K-pop, respectively. But how do they determine the winner for the Song of the Year (and other categories for the Grammys)? Does this award require album sales, number of streams, and voting? Let’s check it out.
According to the Recording Academy, the Song of the Year is given to the songwriter/s of a single track from an album. To know who deserves the prestigious gramophone, the music awards show undergoes two votes: the First and the Final Rounds.
- In the First Voting, the Grammy nominees are being determined, making it an essential part of the winning process. The Final Round will hold the winners of the Grammys.
- As prestigious as it is, the voting members aren’t simply fans and music enjoyers; instead, The Grammy Awards writes that the Voting Members “are composed of a pool of vetted and venerable performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, instrumentalists, and other creators currently working in the recording industry.” With high excellence on the line, these Voting Members shall only vote for the categories under their expertise.
- It makes clear sense how Grammys continue to live on the real essence of music, even for many years. A peer-voting system allows the award-giving body to filter the cream of the crop and the best of the best of the releases.
Well, this is a different situation with the 2023 MAMA Awards. Recently, the huge K-pop awarding released its revised criteria for each Daesang category. For the anticipated Song Of The Year, here is how it will be determined.
- I, myself, couldn’t believe how much the impact of song downloads and streaming had on winning the SOTY until now. From last year’s 60%, it went up to 80% in 2023, of which 50% comes from Korea, while 30% from Global.
- Do these criteria affect how people acknowledge what tracks should bag these music awards? Is it really time for these music awards to base their win on fandoms’ efforts (streaming, purchasing, and voting)?
Exploring the Winning Criteria
Before celebrating the winners of music awards and the ceremonies, a process of knowing which are the best candidates for the categories happens. Music has always been subjective, and most, if not all, music enthusiasts know that. Despite knowing what the best of the best music is, can these awards also be based on one’s subjective interest?
- It’s tough to determine what quality music is. But if we break it into two terms, quality is defined as an inherent feature and a degree of excellence, among all other definitions on Merriam-Webster. On the other hand,music refers to “vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody, or harmony.”
- However, in creating music, certain aspects need to be clean or, most fittingly, perfected. Each step in producing a track, an album even, requires lyrics, composition, melody, and tune. It might not be easy to weigh what can be considered one of the best qualities, but I can say that a perfect harmony of all the elements in a song could create the perfect piece, the most deserving of the SOTY award.
But at present, online streaming has been one of the criteria for winning the Song Of The Year in K-pop, specifically in the upcoming MAMA 2023. The higher the number of streams, the more chances for the track to take home the trophy. Did the award show bluntly acknowledge that quality and the best music are simply decided by how many streams it garnered on music streaming services?
- Honestly, I find it intriguing that the streaming numbers bear much more than the judges’ scores. Has the organizing body considered adding more criteria to add more weight to the SOTY award? An 80-20 deciding factor doesn’t seem fair enough for artists who produced music with lyrics with much depth, an eye-catching music video, and an engaging and well-composed melody that brings out the genuine passion and love for music, and being just set aside because of lesser streams.
- Going back to MAMA 2021, it may be the fairest criteria among the most recent changes. 40% came from the judges’ panel, 30% from digital song sales, 10% from record sales, 10% from music video, and 10% from Global music streaming platforms. Album sales and streaming almost touch the same thought: overdoing anything for their favorite artists. Fans who take their chances to join video fan calls often overbuy physical albums. Fans who want to add to the streams join streaming parties held by fanbases to break and enjoy new records for the artist.
This begs my stance that these numbers should bear only a minimal percentage for winning awards. Fandoms would most likely give their best, if not all, to their faves, especially regarding sales, votes, and streams.
Online streaming with 80 percent sounds ridiculous. I’m not against fans who love streaming and voting for their favorites, but it seems unfair that the award that bears excellence is chosen based on numbers, not its quality.
Meanwhile, fan voting is practiced with awards like MAMA’s Worldwide Fans’ Choice and Billboard’s Fan Army Face-Off. The winners are the most voted among all the contenders. Despite some strict instructions like one vote per account, avid fans find a way to go beyond all the time.
- It’s easy to create new accounts for voting purposes. I, myself, have tried it during the previous awards shows. I was a multi-stan of girl groups, so to be able to cast my vote for my nominated stan groups, I had to create new ones. For loyal fandoms, one person could even create a minimum of five voting accounts. It’s that easy!
- Interestingly, Billboard’s Fan Army Face-Off announced the winner last August 2023. SB19 and A’TINs (their fandom) took home the fan-based trophy. The P-pop boy group overpowered global K-pop groups such as SEVENTEEN and TWICE in the voting. Among them, artists like Cardi B, EXO, Selena Gomez, Nicki Minaj, and Shakira also reached the Quarterfinals.
No, I’m not saying that A’TINs and the group do not deserve the title; however, it just goes to show that with huge and dedicated fanbases, it’s easier for artists to reach greater feats in their careers. Having this huge fandom will always, always have an impact when it comes to awards, specifically in music. If with this fandom recognition, fans can do anything, what more about awards shows that urge online streaming and fan voting to determine the winners?
Do streams overpower good music?
In the most recent news in X (formerly Twitter), BTS Jungkook became the fastest track on Spotify to receive 1 billion streams. But, of course, numerous fandoms would not simply make the announcement rest. A now-suspended Miley Cyrus stats account on X accused the JK’s fanbase and ARMYs of fraudulent numbers and even adding ad hominem remarks.
- After 108 days, Jungkook’s debut single track, Seven (feat Latto), took the spot from Miley Cyrus chart-topping hit, Flowers. Cyrus’ record was 112 days, and the BTS member and the ARMYs snatched the fastest 1B streams on Spotify with a four-day difference.
- Jungkook’s fans argued that even with the other fandom calling them names, it wouldn’t change the fact that Seven broke Flowers’ record. Some fans retaliate by promoting the K-pop idol’s music, instead of bickering with Cyrus’ fans.
- This huge fanbase and on-loop streaming have been nonstop since the rise of K-pop globally. This also tapped music enthusiasts on how streams changed the way music is.
- Some fans have been vocal about the difference of both tracks’ messages. Jeon Jungkook’s Seven do have what it takes to be considered a top-tier song: catchy tunes, great vocals, huge numbers, even a nice music video, however, people picked out its lyrics as it talks about s*x.
- Miley’s Flowers also have the same elements, but its lyrics and message of self-empowerment couldn’t be understated.
While the two songs offer almost similar greatness in the industry (they created and broke records, respectively), I could say that Flowers has the upper hand on the ‘good music’ part. Sure, let’s give the fastest 1B streams to Seven, but I don’t think it could give the same impact or message that Cyrus’ song sent out.
- The track was streamed because of how it empowered women, people in general, of how they can love themselves better. I know that song messages aren’t really the main reason for liking a song or even winning music awards, but having all the other aspects plus a great message—it’s something perfectly created.
2023 MAMA Awards: Who Will Win The SOTY?
Now that I touched on the topic of music awards and the new criteria, I might as well take the initiative to share what I think about the upcoming 2023 MAMA Awards. Of course, the Daesang categories remain, but the Song Of The Year trophy would also be the star of the night. I stumbled upon a MAMA prediction for the award, and it’s no surprise for me.
- BTS Jungkook currently tops the prediction with around 1.275 billion points (Digital Points or Circle Chart + Spotify Streams), excluding the 20% judges’ evaluation. The newcomer girl group, NewJeans, follows with 1.246 billion points for their track, Ditto. It’s now only up to the panel on who will take the SOTY this year.
- I was looking forward to seeing (G)I-DLE’s Queencard vying for the top spot. It almost had the globe dancing to their song, especially online, on TikTok and YouTube even. A track with catchy beats, well-thought lyrics, and spreading the message of realization that genuine self-love and acceptance make a person a real Queencard. I have been waiting for the girl group to take the SOTY home since their previous releases, TOMBOY and Nude.
- Despite my pick on who should win SOTY, I’m leaning on that Ditto to be crowned star. With all the love it received in South Korea, the fourth-gen youngsters would be victorious. Since the percentage from South Korea is higher than Global, NewJeans takes 50%, while Jungkook wins 30% from international listeners. We now have to wait for the 2023 MAMA Awards to know what track is officially the Song Of The Year.
Of course, there’s a possibility that people would argue, but a win is still a win, anyway. It might not be the best quality music for everyone, but it was successful in reaching the criteria that the award show requires. And to conclude this article, I do believe that certain music awards lose its value from overutilizing online streaming and fan voting in the criteria
Who do you think should win the 2023 MAMA Awards’ Song Of The Year? What are your thoughts about music awards and online streaming? Do let us know in the comments below.