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Rescene takes two trophies on opening night
The 2026 Korea Grand Music Awards opened Nov. 7 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, with girl group Rescene emerging as the first night’s biggest winner.
Rescene received the best artist award and the Berries Global Fan Choice award. Accepting the first trophy, the group promised to continue working hard onstage. After the second win, member May said it was meaningful to receive two awards during Rescene’s first appearance at the ceremony. Zena thanked the group’s fans and said Rescene would work to meet more supporters around the world.
Close Your Eyes also received a best artist award. Fifty Fifty and Cravity won in the best stage category, while Jang Min-ho, a singer in Korea’s trot genre, received the best trot performance award and thanked his fan club, known as Minho Special Forces.
Japanese band Novelbright received a special award for Asian cultural exchange and posed with the trophy during its visit to South Korea.
Korean and Japanese singers share the stage
One of the night’s featured performances brought together Young K of the Korean band Day6 and Novelbright frontman Yudai Takenaka for “You Were Beautiful,” a well-known Day6 song whose Korean title is “Yeppeosseo.”
Young K delivered the song with a deep, steady tone, while Takenaka brought a powerful approach to its high notes. Their voices joined at the song’s climactic passages, filling the domed stadium while preserving each singer’s distinct style. The two performers embraced after finishing the duet.
Performances and broadcast
Rescene member Woni opened the show with a solo cover of BoA’s “Atlantis Princess.” Woni also co-hosted the first night with actor Nam Ji-hyun. Other performers included Close Your Eyes, Meovv, Madein, Idid, Treasure, tripleS, P1Harmony, xikers, Lucy and AllDay Project.
The ceremony aired live in South Korea on the ENA television network. Japanese viewers could watch through Hulu Japan, while audiences in other overseas markets, excluding China, had access through TikTok Live. That distribution made the show available to American and other international K-pop fans. A YouTube video titled “Korean Grand Music Awards 2026 Live Stream,” posted Nov. 7, had recorded 48,457 views.
A relatively new Korean music awards show
The Korea Grand Music Awards was established in 2024 by the Korean sports and entertainment newspaper Ilgan Sports and is now in its third year. Music sales and streaming data were supplied by Hanteo Chart, Genie Music, Flo and Bugs, while official fan voting was conducted through the Kookoong app.
The two-day ceremony continues Nov. 8, with ENA scheduled to begin its second-night broadcast at 5 p.m. Korean time. Trot singer Park Ji-hyun is among the performers scheduled to appear.
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