On the evening of November 14, the 2nd Korea Grand Music Awards (KGMA) took place in Incheon, Korea. The first awards ceremony was led by singer Irene (Red Velvet) and actress Nam Ji Hyun.
Among the artists and groups honored on the first night, 4 major awards (Daesang) were presented to the groups ATEEZ, BoyNextDoor, The Boyz and Allday Project.
ATEEZ won the Artist of the Year category, BoyNextDoor was honored as Performer of the Year. The Boyz and Allday Project both received the Honorary Choice of the Year award.
When lifting the winning trophy, Annie of Allday Project shared: We didnt even dare to expect to win an award. We are truly grateful to the KGMA organizers for giving us this honor.
We just debuted this year, but have received a lot of affection and attention from everyone and from Day One (the group's fandom name). We are extremely grateful and promise to strive to be worthy of that love. Allday Project will bring good music products".
Member tarzzan added: The stage is always very solemn, so we will always keep it humble and return every year with an increasingly wonderful image. Thank you to everyone who has followed us, whether near or far.
In addition to the Daesang award, Allday Project was also named at the Rising Star award, along with girl group KiiiKiii.
Teddy, music producer of The Black Label - management company Allday Project - also won the Best Producer category.
However, Allday Project's Daesang award has caused controversy.
Allday Project is a mixed music group for men and women with 5 members - Annie, tarzzan, Bailey, Woochan and Youngseo. The group will debut in June 2025 with a single album including 2 songs Famous and Wicked.
Allday Project's debut product achieved high results on Korean music charts, helping the group become one of the outstanding Kpop rookies of this year.
However, many opinions say that Allday Project does not deserve to receive the Daesang. Overall, Allday Project's international achievements are not too outstanding, and album sales are not high.
Not to mention, domestically, the group's song has not been able to reach the title of "Perfect All kill" - topping all of Korea's leading music charts in real time, by day and week.
The online community questioned the fairness of the award, because the Daesang category that Allday Project won was completely voted by the judges, without the criteria for album sales and digital music achievements like other awards.
On social networks, the audience mentioned the origin of member Annie - daughter of Chung Yoo Kyung, Chairman of the Department of Supply Chain Business of Shinsegae Group, the largest luxury retail and distribution empire in Korea.
Annie was mocked with the phrase "Nepo baby" - referring to people born into famous and wealthy families who often achieve quick career success thanks to their relationships and privileges from their parents.
Many people suspected that Annie's origin had an impact in helping Allday Project win the first Daesang award in its career.
