{"id":357811,"date":"2025-12-20T14:52:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T14:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/357811\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T14:52:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T14:52:19","slug":"it-was-a-long-and-arduous-journey-g-dragons-triple-grand-prize-triumph-and-its-meaning-mma-2025-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/357811\/","title":{"rendered":"“It Was a Long and Arduous Journey” \u2013 G-Dragon\u2019s Triple Grand Prize Triumph and Its Meaning [MMA 2025 Recap]"},"content":{"rendered":"

G-Dragon Wins Three Grand Prizes: ‘Artist of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, and ‘Best Song of the Year’ Jennie Takes ‘Record of the Year’ AllDay Project and Hearts2Hearts Win Rookie of the Year EXO Delivers Explosive Performances of Consecutive Hits <\/p>\n

\"G-Dragon. \uc0ac\uc9c4 \ud655\ub300 G-Dragon. Photo: MMA 2025 <\/p>\n

The night began and ended with G-Dragon. He claimed three out of four grand prizes, reigning as this year\u2019s K-pop king.<\/p>\n

On the 20th, the 2025 Melon Music Awards (MMA) took place at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul. The event spanned an impressive five hours, with a total of 39 awards presented.<\/p>\n

G-Dragon also kicked off the awards by being the first to be called for the ‘Top 10’ category. Perhaps he anticipated more wins to come. Expressing his gratitude to fans, he briefly remarked, “I hope to share this honor with the fellow artists who will be called up next.”<\/p>\n

\"G-Dragon. \uc0ac\uc9c4 \ud655\ub300 G-Dragon. Photo: MMA 2025 <\/p>\n

That was just the beginning. He swept every solo artist category, including ‘Best Solo Artist’, ‘Best Songwriter’, and ‘Millions Top 10′. The final grand prizes\u2014’Artist of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, and ‘Best Song of the Year’\u2014also went to him. In total, he took home seven trophies.<\/p>\n

Accepting ‘Album of the Year’ for his third full-length album ‘\u00dcbermensch’, G-Dragon said, “This year was personally meaningful. I tried many new things, so it took a long time to make this album. I named it ‘\u00dcbermensch’, meaning ‘the one who transcends’, partly because I wanted it to sound impressive\u2014but honestly, it was a mantra for myself. I made this album with the mindset that I want to become that person.” He added, “I am grateful for all things in the world that inspire me and serve as my creative source.”<\/p>\n

Regarding ‘Home Sweet Home’, which won ‘Best Song of the Year’, he said, “It’s a warm song because my members joined me.” He continued, “I will strive to be an artist who fits this moment. I\u2019ll keep working hard. While everyone\u2019s life story is different, there\u2019s no single right answer. I\u2019ll live as the protagonist of my own life,” he declared with confidence.<\/p>\n

He emphasized, “The path to winning awards is long and difficult. But because it\u2019s so meaningful, it doesn\u2019t feel hard at all\u2014I\u2019m just happy.” After a long hiatus, his poignant words seemed to allude to the drug scandal that surrounded him in 2023. He also expressed gratitude toward his current agency, Galaxy Corporation, with whom he signed a new contract after the controversy. This was the first time he publicly thanked CEO Yongho Choi at an official event.<\/p>\n

\"Jennie. \uc0ac\uc9c4 \ud655\ub300 Jennie. Photo: MMA 2025 <\/p>\n

Jennie, who claimed the remaining grand prize, ‘Record of the Year’, shared, “This year has been filled with many meaningful moments for me. I\u2019m happy to end the year on such a high note.” She added, “I\u2019ll continue to make great music. I miss my members, and being alone is lonely. I love my fans.” Jennie also won ‘Top 10’ and ‘Millions Top 10’, proving her status as a standout solo artist.<\/p>\n

The coveted Rookie of the Year award went to the groups AllDay Project and Hearts2Hearts.<\/p>\n

\"AllDay \uc0ac\uc9c4 \ud655\ub300 AllDay Project. Photo: MMA 2025 \"Hearts2Hearts. \uc0ac\uc9c4 \ud655\ub300 Hearts2Hearts. Photo: MMA 2025 <\/p>\n

Other notable performances came from BoyNextDoor and aespa. BoyNextDoor won four awards: ‘Top 10’, ‘Millions Top 10’, ‘Best Group (Male)’, and ‘Japan Favorite Artist’. aespa also demonstrated their global reach by winning ‘Top 10’, ‘Stage of the Year’, and ‘Global Artist’.<\/p>\n

The night\u2019s most memorable stage belonged to EXO. As the original large-member group, they performed as a five-member unit this time, excluding Exo-CBX (Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin). Although they did not win any awards, their performances of hits like ‘Monster’, ‘The Eve’, ‘Growl’, ‘Back It Up’, and ‘Love Shot’ electrified the venue. EXO is set to release their eighth full-length album in the first half of next year.<\/p>\n

\"EXO. \uc0ac\uc9c4 \ud655\ub300 EXO. Photo: MMA 2025 <\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter Han Loro, the only non-idol act, also drew attention with his performance and received the special ‘Track Zero Artist’ award. In addition, 10cm and TV personality Joo Woo-jae delivered a surprise collaboration, adding more fun to the event.<\/p>\n

2025 Melon Music Awards: Full List of Winners<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Artist of the Year: G-Dragon<\/p>\n

\u25b2 KakaoBank Album of the Year: G-Dragon \u2013 ‘\u00dcbermensch’<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Song of the Year: G-Dragon \u2013 ‘Home Sweet Home’<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Record of the Year: Jennie<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Rookie of the Year: Hearts2Hearts \/ AllDay Project<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Top 10<\/p>\n

Ros\u00e9, Lim Young-woong, Jennie, aespa, BoyNextDoor, G-Dragon, IVE, NCT Wish, PLAVE, RIIZE<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Millions Top 10<\/p>\n

Ros\u00e9 \u2013 ‘rosie’<\/p>\n

SEVENTEEN \u2013 ‘Happy Burstday’<\/p>\n

IU \u2013 ‘Kkotgalpi Set’<\/p>\n

Lim Young-woong \u2013 ‘I’m Hero 2’<\/p>\n

Jennie \u2013 ‘Ruby’<\/p>\n

BoyNextDoor \u2013 ‘No Genre’<\/p>\n

G-Dragon \u2013 ‘\u00dcbermensch’<\/p>\n

IVE \u2013 ‘IVE Empathy’<\/p>\n

PLAVE \u2013 ‘Caligo Part 1’<\/p>\n

RIIZE \u2013 ‘Odyssey’<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Solo Artist: G-Dragon<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Songwriter: G-Dragon<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Producer: Zico<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Group (Male): BoyNextDoor<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Group (Female): IVE<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Performance (Female): ILLIT<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Performance (Male): RIIZE<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Music Style: AllDay Project<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Best Music Style: 10cm<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Verys Global Fans’ Choice: Hearts2Hearts<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Global Artist: aespa<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Music Video of the Year: KiiiKiii<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Hot Trend: WOODZ<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Stage of the Year: aespa<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Track Zero Artist: Han Loro<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Wonder K Global Icon: KiiiKiii<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Japan Favorite Artist by U Next: BoyNextDoor<\/p>\n

\u25b2 Global Rising Artist: IDIT<\/p>\n

\u25b2 KakaoBank Everyone\u2019s Star Award: NCT Wish<\/p>\n

\"Star \uc0ac\uc9c4 \ud655\ub300 Star Today K-star English Newsletter <\/p>\n

[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today]<\/p>\n

\nThis article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"G-Dragon Wins Three Grand Prizes: ‘Artist of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, and ‘Best Song of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-357811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}