Girl Group I-DLE Breaks 15-Year Streak with Historic Seoul Music Awards Victory
First female act since Girls' Generation to claim top honor as group celebrates rebranding milestone
I-DLE achieved a landmark victory at the 34th Seoul Music Awards on June 21, becoming the first girl group to win the Grand Prize in 15 years. The quintet's triumph at Inspire Arena in Incheon marks their ascension to K-pop's elite tier and validates their recent strategic rebranding from (G)I-DLE.
The last girl group to claim the ceremony's highest honor was Girls' Generation in 2010, making I-DLE's win particularly significant in an industry where male acts have dominated major awards. The group also secured a Main Award (Bonsang), achieving double recognition at the prestigious ceremony.
"We're deeply thankful. It's an honor to receive the same award our senior artists once held in such high regard," the group said during their emotional acceptance speech.
The victory comes just months after the group officially dropped "(G)" from their name in May 2025, coinciding with their seventh anniversary. Cube Entertainment explained the rebrand reflects their evolution beyond gender labels, promising "limitless" concepts moving forward.
Member Miyeon revealed, "I always found the 'female' label in parentheses a bit odd since our debut. It feels like we've finally claimed our true identity and name".
I-DLE's breakthrough hit "Fate" (나는 아픈 건 딱 질색이니까, literally "Because I hate being sick") from their second album "2" became a viral phenomenon, topping charts despite initially being a B-side track. The album sold over 1.53 million copies in its first week after its January 2024 release.
Their latest release "We Are," launched with their rebranding, sold 1.06 million copies in its first week, marking their fourth consecutive million-seller and setting 2025's highest first-week sales record for girl groups.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER matched I-DLE's historic achievement by winning both Best Song ("Deja Vu") and Best Album awards, becoming the first group since BTS in 2020 to claim both honors simultaneously.
Three rookie acts shared the Rookie of the Year award: Hearts2Hearts (SM Entertainment), KickFlip (JYP Entertainment), and KiiiKiii (Starship Entertainment), representing the next generation of K-pop talent.
The Seoul Music Awards, established in 1990, remains one of Korea's most prestigious music ceremonies, with winners determined through a combination of sales data, expert evaluation, and fan voting. I-DLE's victory signals a potential shift in industry recognition patterns that have historically favored male acts for top honors.
With all members having renewed contracts with Cube Entertainment in 2024, I-DLE's Grand Prize win positions them for continued prominence as they enter their eighth year as a group. Their success demonstrates how strategic artistic evolution and authentic self-expression can resonate with both industry professionals and global audiences.
The ceremony, hosted by I-DLE's own Miyeon alongside WINNER's Kang Seung-yoon and TXT's Soobin, celebrated the diverse achievements across K-pop's current landscape while highlighting the genre's continuing evolution beyond traditional boundaries.
