Voting has begun for the Melon Music Awards (MMA) 2022!

On November 4, the Melon Music Awards officially announced the nominees for this year’s award ceremony, which will take place on November 26 at 6 p.m. KST. Only artists who released music between November 8, 2021 and November 3, 2022 were eligible for this year’s awards.

Voting is now open for Melon’s Top 10 awards, which will be awarded to 10 artists based 80 percent on their Melon download and streaming counts for the year and 20 percent based on votes. Votes for the Top 10 awards will also automatically count towards the Artist of the Year award, which will be determined based 60 percent on Melon download and streaming counts, 20 percent on judges’ evaluations, and 20 percent on votes.

Melon has also opened voting for eight additional awards, including Album of the Year and Best Song of the Year, all of which will be determined based on the same 60-20-20 formula with one exception: the Netizen Popularity Award will be determined based 40 percent on Melon download and streaming counts and 60 percent on votes.

Other awards that have not been included in the online voting, such as Record of the Year and Music Video of the Year, will be determined based entirely on judges’ evaluations and Melon performance.

Check out all of this year’s nominees below!

Artist of the Year and Top 10

• 10cm
• aespa
• BE’O
• BIGBANG
• BIG Naughty
• BLACKPINK
• BOL4
• BTS
• Choi Ye Na
• (G)I-DLE
• IU
• IVE
• Jay Park
• Juho
• Kassy
• KyoungSeo
• LE SSERAFIM
• Lee Mujin
• Lim Young Woong
• MeloMance
• NCT DREAM
• NewJeans
• PSY
• Red Velvet
• SEVENTEEN
• sokodomo
• STAYC
• Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation)
• Tophyun
• WSG Wannabe

Album of the Year

• BLACKPINK – “BORN PINK”
• (G)I-DLE – “I NEVER DIE”
• IU – “Pieces”
• Lim Young Woong – “IM HERO”
• NCT DREAM – “Glitch Mode”
• NewJeans – “New Jeans”
• PSY – “PSY 9th”
• Red Velvet – “The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm”
• SEVENTEEN – “Face The Sun”
• Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation) – “INVU”

Best Song of the Year

• BE’O – “Counting Stars” (featuring Beenzino)
• BIGBANG – “Still Life”
• (G)I-DLE – “TOMBOY”
• IVE – “LOVE DIVE”
• Jay Park – “GANADARA” (featuring IU)
• Kim Min Seok (MeloMance) – “Drunken Confession”
• PSY – “That That” (produced by and featuring BTS’ Suga)
• Red Velvet – “Feel My Rhythm”
• sokodomo – “Merry-Go-Round” (featuring Zion.T and Wonstein) (produced by Slom)
• Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation) – “INVU”

New Artist of the Year

• Billlie
• IVE
• Kep1er
• LE SSERAFIM
• NewJeans
• NMIXX

Best Group (Male)

• BIGBANG
• BTS
• MONSTA X
• NCT DREAM
• SEVENTEEN

Best Group (Female)

• aespa
• BLACKPINK
• (G)I-DLE
• IVE
• NewJeans

Best Solo Artist (Male)

• 10cm
• BE’O
• BIG Naughty
• Lim Young Woong
• PSY

Best Solo Artist (Female)

• Choi Ye Na
• IU
• Kassy
• KyoungSeo
• Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation)

Netizen Popularity Award

• BIGBANG
• BLACKPINK
• BTS
• Ha Sung Woon
• IVE
• Kim Ho Joong
• Lim Young Woong
• NCT 127
• NCT DREAM
• SEVENTEEN

Voting will be open until November 18. Melon users with verified accounts and South Korean residents with a Kakao ID can vote on the Melon Music Awards’ official website here.

Which artists are you rooting for this year?

BIGBANG’s G-Dragon has spoken with Elle Korea for their 30th anniversary issue!

On what energizes him these days, G-Dragon commented, “The timing of a lot of things have synced well so I’ve been spending time preciously. From a certain point on, I developed the tendency to avoid outdoor activities but through the moments I’ve experienced recently, my thoughts have changed a lot. I’ve had schedules overseas and had a lot of chances to meet with people I’ve known for a long time while attending various events.”

He explained how happy this made him and added, “I wanted to give my time, heart, and energy to those who also conveyed their heartfelt sincerity, despite meeting me for the first time in awhile. I’ve been gaining lots of strength from others and spending each day enjoyably. That’s the vibe these days.”

To describe what makes musicians cool to him, G-Dragon shared, “It’s hard to define but I believe being like a singer means naturally and not artificially singing about your story and behaving like a song. If life is a play, living your own life where you’re the main character looks cool to me. I wanted to live like that too and am working to do so.”

After, the artist touched on the competitive musical journey to build his career and what he’s learned along the way. “When I first entered YG [Entertainment], it wasn’t like the system they have now,” he explained. “I spent my trainee period while attending school and getting scolded a lot. Since it wasn’t a lifestyle where each day was guaranteed, it seriously felt like living in the wild. When I look back, that’s when it was most fun, most difficult, but also most passionate. Each day was jam-packed with ambition and energy. I do miss those things.”

G-Dragon continued, “I debuted with BIGBANG at 19 years old and we made music that was a bit different from mainstream idol music at the time. Next year, I think it becomes nearly 30 years since I first entered this field. This is something you hear often from adults, but I understand the phrases ‘there’s pleasure at the end of suffering’ and ‘there’s no limit to learning.’ This is obvious, but as time goes by, I think this is the truth. During my trainee period where I prepared for a long time, I had so many thoughts, wishes, and prayers. I longed and suffered like it was life or death. That’s why after succeeding, my life feels surreal. However, I also feel that this is the life I’ve accomplished and what I’ve earned for everything I’ve endured.”

When asked what he hopes stays the same about him forever, G-Dragon chose “being consistent.” He elaborated, “This is something I often hear from those around me and I feel the same way. Now, as I’ve grown older, I’ve gained freedom and become more gentle in different ways. When I was younger, depending on the situation, I’m sure I was someone who looked bold, spiteful, sensitive, and cold. However, the thoughts, intentions, and interests of Kwon Ji Yong [G-Dragon’s birth name] are the same, without any changes. Most of the staff I work with have been with me for 20 years. To me, they are my greatest treasure and they are important figures who allow me to continue doing this work.”

G-Dragon also talked about his current dreams, sharing, “Regardless of the result, as long as the circumstances allow for it, I will continue working quietly in the same spot. That will obviously be shared. I want to share myself as I am, including what I find pretty and good, as well as the emotions I feel. The attempts I’ve made up until now and that I will show in the future are the longtime dreams that have allowed me to be here today. I hope to be a ‘good dream’ that can become someone else’s dream.”

G-Dragon is one of six cover models for Elle Korea’s upcoming special issue for their 30th anniversary. His full interview and pictorial will be available in their November issue!

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The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) has announced its latest batch of official certifications!

In 2020, the RIAJ implemented a new certification system for online streaming of songs, as an addition to its pre-existing certification systems for physical album shipments and digital download sales. According to the new system, songs are certified silver once they reach 30 million streams, gold at 50 million streams, and platinum at 100 million streams.

In the RIAJ’s newly announced batch of certifications (dated September 2022), BIGBANG, BTS, TWICE’s Nayeon, LE SSERAFIM, and KARA’s Kang Ji Young all received new official certifications for streaming.

BIGBANG earned their first two gold streaming certifications at once this month: both their 2012 hit “FANTASTIC BABY” and their 2015 bop “BANG BANG BANG” were certified gold after surpassing 50 million streams in Japan. While BIGBANG has previously received gold certifications from the RIAJ for physical albums, this is the first time that one of their songs has been certified gold for streaming.

Although TWICE as a group boasts a record number of RIAJ certifications, Nayeon earned her first-ever gold certification as a soloist for her solo debut track “POP!“, which surpassed 50 million streams in Japan.

LE SSERAFIM’s debut track “FEARLESS” and Kang Ji Young’s Japanese song “Sukina Hitoga Irukoto” also earned both artists their first-ever gold streaming certifications this month.

Finally, BTS and Coldplay’s hit collab single “My Universe” was officially certified gold as well.

Congratulations to all the artists who went gold in Japan!

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