A Melodic Welcome: K-Pop Countdown Events and New Year’s Concerts

It is always fascinating to see the world celebrating each New Year with festive concerts and events. Similarly, South Korea, the birthplace of K-Pop, involves New Years events with unique musical concerts to celebrate the year end. Multiple broadcasting channels host big scale music concerts, and K-Pop artists from different categories gather to take part in countdown events. While the concerts allow artists to present, reflect, and get rewarded for their year-long achievements, audiences also get to enjoy tremendous music showcases and the joyful mood, spending the last few days of the year cheerfully.

Traditionally, South Korea had multiple concert and K-Pop award programs broadcasted to celebrate the countdown and New Year. Particularly, MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards), SBS Gayo Daejeon, KBS Gayo Daechukje, MBC Gayo Daejejeon, and MMA (Melon Music Awards) are examples of major year-end K-Pop music shows. Corresponding to their scale, these music shows host various prominent K-Pop artists to showcase concerts and give out awards, where renowned icons such as BTS, BLACKPINK, TWICE, IU, PSY, and BIGBANG also have participated in some of those shows.

Recently, a long-awaited comeback of one of the K-Pop groups in the 2024 year-end music show has become an issue which successfully introduced the group back into the K-Pop scene and stirred up a festive environment for the country-wide audiences. BIGBANG, a respected K-Pop legend, came back and showcased a new song “HOME SWEET HOME” in 2024 MAMA. Both the song and video instantly got viral, exciting many fans who have long awaited their reunion. BIGBANG’s showcase in MAMA is a great example that portrays the power of music and K-Pop artists in bringing the festive tension of the year-end season and leading the countdown events. 

K-Pop countdown concerts not only highlight the achievements of the year but also unite audiences through upbeat music. Year-end K-Pop events encourage the cheerful mood in December, wrapping up the year meaningfully.

Works Cited

Digital tenasia.hankyung.com. “빅뱅 완전체 찢었다…GD·태양·대성, K팝 기강 잡은 레전드 무대 [2024 MAMA] | 텐아시아.” 텐아시아 연예뉴스, 23 Nov. 2024, tenasia.hankyung.com/article/2024112301014. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.

“빅뱅 MAMA 무대 반응 “폭발”…리액션 캠도 인기.” 동아일보, 28 Nov. 2024, www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20241128/130528961/1. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.

이다겸. ““월드투어로 바쁜 한 해”...에이티즈·아이브, 글로벌 아티스트상[MMA 2024].” 스타투데이, 30 Nov. 2024, www.mk.co.kr/news/musics/11182502. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.