One of the most highly anticipated categories at the Melon Music Awards is the Bonsang Award, which honors the top artists of the year based on sales, popularity, and impact. These artists have not only achieved great success in their careers but also left a lasting impression on the music industry. So, if you are interested in knowing whether your favorite group is a winner of this prestigious award or not, then given below are the top 10 bonang winners in the Melon Music Awards.
1. BTS
South Korean boy band BTS are also known as the Bangtan Boys. Its foundation dates back to 2010. They debuted in 2013. Each member contributes vocals, while RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Junkook round up the group's seven-person lineup. BTS came out with their debut studio albums Dark & Wild in Korea and Wake Up in Japan. With over 40 million records sold as of 2023, BTS tops the Circle Chart as South Korea's best-selling act. Map of the Soul: 7 is the first South Korean album to sell over four million copies in physical form and the third best-selling album in South Korean history. The members of the group will temporarily suspend their activities on June 14, 2022, to allow them to serve in the South Korean military. They will then reunite in 2025.
2. Seventeen
South Korean boy band Seventeen. The group debuted in 2015. S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino are its 13 members. Seventeen is a "self-produced" idol group because each member contributes to the creation of their songs and performances in some capacity, including songwriting, music production, and choreography. Seventeen has been recognized with a number of prestigious honors in South Korea and beyond. On May 4, 2016, the group's track "Pretty U" won the weekly music show Show Champion, marking the group's first weekly music show victory. Seventeen was the first K-pop artist to be featured in MTV's "We Speak Music" and "MTV Push" campaigns, respectively, which celebrate the best performances by artists on MTV under the theme of "Music as a universal language."
3. Lim Young-Woong
Lim Young-woong is a popular South Korean artist, singer, and YouTuber who sings ballads, pop songs, and trots. On June 16, 1991, he entered the world. His age is given as 32. The song "Hate You" was released as his first official release as a singer in 2016. Lim has recorded four number-one albums on the Gaon Digital Chart, two of which are collaborative medley albums. He is also the first trotting artist ever to achieve the Gold Play Button for attaining one million subscribers on his official YouTube channel. After reaching over one hundred thousand followers on his official YouTube channel, Lim was awarded the Silver Play Button.
4. Jungkook
Jeon Jung-kook, also known as Jungkook is a South Korean singer. He is a member of the boy band BTS. He was born on 1 September 1997. He is 26 years old. He debuted in 2013. He has performed three solo songs as part of BTS' discography— Begin in 2016, Euphoria in 2018, and My Time in 2020—all of which charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. Jungkook was the most-searched male K-pop idol on Google and the most-searched K-pop idol on YouTube in 2019 and 2020. Jungkook was announced as the new global ambassador for Calvin Klein in March 2023.
5. Aespa
AESPEA is a South Korean girl group. It has four members which are Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. They debuted in 2020 with the single Black Mamba. The song's music video achieved the highest number of views for a K-pop group's debut video in 24 hours, with 21.4 million views. Aespa became the inaugural winner of the Artist of the Year award at the 36th Golden Disc Awards.
6. IVE
IVE is a female pop group from South Korea. Gaeul, Yujin, Rei, Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo are the six members of the girl group. They made their debut that year with the EP Eleven. Song of the Year honors were bestowed upon it at the Asia Artist Awards, the Golden Disc Awards, the MAMA Awards, and the Melon Music Awards, making it the year's most successful single. The song also marked the group's debut in the top ten of the Billboard Global Exclusive US list. K-pop industry insiders from 31 different major record labels unanimously voted Ive as their most anticipated performer of the year. In addition to the four MAMAs, four Melon Music Awards, three Golden Disc Awards, two Seoul Music Awards, and two Circle Chart Music Awards they have also won the MTV Video Music Awards in Japan on multiple occasions.
7. LE SSERAFIM
The South Korean girl group LE SSERAFIM. Kazuha, Hong Eun-chae, Huh Yun-jin, and Sakura round out the group's complement of five. On January 25, 2023, Le Sserafim made their debut in Japan with the release of the Japanese single Fearless. It contained Japanese versions of Fearless and Blue Flame, along with an original Japanese song, Choices. The artist won many awards including the Asia Artist Award, Circle Chart Music Award, The Fact Music Award, the Golden Disc Award, and many more.
8. NCT Dream
South Korean boy band NCT Dream. Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung are its seven members. Chewing Gum, their first song, was released in 2016. Since their debut, NCT Dream has released four EPPs, six singles, and two studio albums and headlined one tour in Asia. On 17 July 2023, NCT Dream released their third studio album, ISTJ, which contains 10 tracks including the lead single of the same name and a pre-released single, Broken Melodies.
9. NewJeans
NewJeans is a South Korean girl group. The group consists of five members which are Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. They debuted in 2022 with the single Attention. This song was their first number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart. NewJeans won numerous rookie awards at the Golden Disc Awards, the Korean Music Awards, the Melon Music Awards, the Seoul Music Awards, and many more.
10. (G)I-dle
(G)I-dle is a South Korean girl group. It consists of five members which are Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. They debuted in 2018 with the single Latata. They became the first act from an independent label to rank at number 39 on the Mediabase Top 40 Radio airplay charts and debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard Pop Airplay chart with a non-English song.
