[GOLDEN DISC] Seventeen wins Grand Prize for Album of the Year at Golden Discs

Seventeen won the Grand Prize for the Album of the Year at the 38th Golden Disc Awards on Saturday with its 10th EP “FML,” a solid hunk of 24-carat recognition of the boy band that soars higher each and every year.

Boy band Seventeen [PLEDIS ENTERTAINMENT]

Seventeen won the Grand Prize for the Album of the Year at the 38th Golden Disc Awards on Saturday with its 10th EP “FML,” a solid hunk of 24-carat recognition of the boy band that soars higher each and every year.

The 38th Golden Disc Awards took place at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) with some 80,000 audience members filling up the venue with thunderous roars at every minute. This year's event was hosted by singer and actor Cha Eun-woo and singer Sung Si-kyung and sponsored by Mandiri, the largest commercial bank in Indonesia.

The Golden Disc Awards, hosted by the JoongAng Group, is a unique pop music ceremony that gives out multiple honors and one grand prize in three main categories — Digital Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Rookie Artist of the Year — and popular vote awards for male and female acts.

Seventeen beat 19 other candidates in the album category: (G)I-DLE, aespa, Agust D (or Suga of BTS), Ateez, Enhypen, EXO, ITZY, IVE, Le Sserafim, NCT, NCT 127, NCT Dream, NMIXX, Stray Kids, Treasure, Twice, ZeroBaseOne, Jungkook of BTS and Tomorrow X Together.

Seventeen also received the Best Album award along with aespa, Enhypen, IVE, Le Sserafim, NCT Dream, Stray Kids, Jungkook, ZeroBaseOne and Tomorrow X Together.

Boy band Seventeen gives a speech after winning the Grand Prize of the Album of the Year award at the 38th Golden Disc Awards on Saturday at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Indonesia. [GOLDEN DISC AWARDS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE]

“I really don’t know what to say,” member S.Coups said after receiving the award from Hong Jeong-do, vice chairman of JoongAng Group, and singer and actor Lee Jun-ho.

“We’re now into our 10th year as a group, and I firstly want to thank the members for having come all this way together. We wish that Jeonghan was here with us today, but he’ll be with us again shortly. So much work was put into this album, and I really want to thank everyone at [our agency] Pledis Entertainment again.”

Jeonghan was absent due to a recent ankle surgery following an injury he sustained last month.

“We’ve been taking it all one step at a time since our debut, especially at the Golden Disc Awards,” Mingyu said. “We’ve always told ourselves, ‘Let’s all keep going until we’re at the top.’ Today, I feel like we’ve been given the greatest honor possible and I feel so honored and proud.”

Boy band Seventeen gives a speech after winning the Best Digital Song of the Year award at the 38th Golden Disc Awards on Saturday at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Indonesia. [GOLDEN DISC AWARDS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE]

“To be honored at such a prestigious ceremony as the Golden Disc Awards is just so overwhelming, especially with the senior artists and fellow artists who we grew up listening to,” Seungkwan said.

“Our goal is to work hard and bring hope to others. We’ll try so hard that people think, ‘Is that really necessary?’ We’ll make our music even more stubbornly and diligently. Thank you.”

Seventeen was the best-selling K-pop artist in 2023.

The band's 10th EP "FML" has sold 5.5 million copies since its release in April, the highest not only this year but ever by any K-pop artist. The band's 11th EP "Seventeenth Heaven" was the No. 3 best-selling album, with 4.8 million copies sold since October.

Seventeen had already sold over 10 million copies of its albums even before “Seventeenth Heaven” came out, bringing the number of albums sold to 15 million this year alone as of November.

Boy band Seventeen gives a speech after winning the Grand Prize of the Album of the Year award at the 38th Golden Disc Awards on Saturday at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Indonesia. [GOLDEN DISC AWARDS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE]

“We really worked so hard during the past 10 years of our career,” Woozi, the songwriter of the group, said.

“But with every new music and album, I still feel like I’m up against a wall. It’s really not easy, but I know it’s [fan club] Carat that’s the reason for the impossible strength with which I get to take my every step. […] We’ll keep on venturing out to find good music so as to stand proud of this honor. This may sound a little arrogant, but Seventeen will kill this scene with our music that we won't be ashamed of.”

“We’ll make a prompt comeback with an album that’s fitting for a Grand Prize winner,” S.Coups added.

Boy band Stray Kids gives a speech after winning the Best Album of the Year award at the 38th Golden Disc Awards on Saturday at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Indonesia. [GOLDEN DISC AWARDS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE]

Boy band Tomorrow X Together gives a speech after winning the Best Album of the Year award at the 38th Golden Disc Awards on Saturday at the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) in Indonesia. [GOLDEN DISC AWARDS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE]

The 38th Golden Disc Awards was the fifth time that the music awards ceremony was held outside of Korea, following the 26th edition in Japan, 27th in Malaysia, 29th in China and 37th in Thailand. The Golden Disc Awards began in 1986 to recognize and honor the popular music that garners significant attention each year.

K-pop's biggest stars shone at the awards ceremony, putting on never-before-seen performances for the global audience.

Boy bands Seventeen, Stray Kids, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen, BoyNextDoor, Parc Jae-jung, La Poem and ZeroBaseOne and girl groups NewJeans, IVE, Le Sserafim, STAYC and Fifty Fifty’s Keena all took the stage, while hosts Sung and Cha also flaunted their soft vocals in a special duet stage for the show.

Seventeen performed its hits “Super” (2023), the Korean version of “Ima -Even if the world ends tomorrow-” (2023) and “Gold of Music” (2023).

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]