Seoul Music Awards
The Seoul Music Awards is an awards show founded in 1990 that is presented annually by Sports Seoul for outstanding achievements in the music industry in South Korea.
The winners are selected from singers who have released albums during the year, combined with 30 percent mobile votes, 40 percent digital downloads and album sales, and 30 percent judges' scores.
Categories
There are eight awards which are not restricted by genre, and three awards which are each in trot, hip hop, R&B.- Daesang Award
- * Prior to 2020, the Grand Award was awarded to the best artist among up to 12 of them by calculating album and digital sales with online vote and a final judgement by the judges of the award ceremony.
- * From 2020, there are two Daesangs: Album Grand Award and Digital Grand Award.
- Bonsang Awards is awarded to up to 12 artists by calculating album and digital sales with online vote and a final judgement by the judges of the award ceremony.
- * Two main prize categories, Record of the Year in Album and Record of the Year in Digital Release, have been defunct since the 2020 award ceremony.
- New Artist Awards are awarded to new performers, usually three in each year.
- Performance Award is awarded to best live performer of the year.
- Trot Award is awarded to the performer of trot music.
- Hip Hop/Rap Award is awarded to the performer of hip hop music/Rapping music.
- R&B/Ballad Award is awarded to the performer of the R&B/ballad music.
- OST Award is awarded to the performer of the original soundtrack from drama/movie/TV program.
- Popularity Awards are awarded to performers who gained popularity during the year, usually two in each year, the winners chosen by online voting. The nominee pool comes from the nominees for the Bonsang and the Newcomer awards.
- Hallyu Special Award is awarded to the performer who gained popularity around the world during the year.
Editions
| Edition | Date of ceremony | Venue | Location | Hosts | Ref |
| 17th | 31 January 2008 | Kangwon Land High1 Hotel Conference Hall | Gangwon | ||
| 18th | 12 February 2009 | Taebaek Gowon Auditorium | Taebaek | ||
| 19th | 3 February 2010 | Olympic Fencing Gymnasium | Seoul | ||
| 20th | 20 January 2011 | Kyung Hee University | Seoul | ||
| 21st | 19 January 2012 | Olympic Gymnastics Arena | Seoul | ||
| 22nd | 31 January 2013 | SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium | Seoul | ||
| 23rd | 23 January 2014 | Jamsil Arena | Seoul | Eunhyuk | |
| 24th | 22 January 2015 | Olympic Gymnastics Arena | Seoul | Jun Hyun-moo, Leeteuk, Soyou | |
| 25th | 14 January 2016 | Olympic Gymnastics Arena | Seoul | Jun Hyun-moo, Honey Lee, Hani | |
| 26th | 19 January 2017 | Jamsil Arena | Seoul | Tak Jae-hoon, Heechul, Jeon So-mi | |
| 27th | 25 January 2018 | Gocheok Sky Dome | Seoul | Shin Dong-yup, Heechul, Kim So-hyun | |
| 28th | 15 January 2019 | Gocheok Sky Dome | Seoul | Shin Dong-yup, Heechul, Kim So-hyun | |
| 29th | 30 January 2020 | Gocheok Sky Dome | Seoul | Shin Dong-yup, Heechul, Jo Bo-ah |
Grand Award (Daesang)
| # | Year | Winners |
| 29th | 2020 | BTS ' / Taeyeon ' |
| 28th | 2019 | BTS |
| 27th | 2018 | BTS |
| 26th | 2017 | Exo |
| 25th | 2016 | Exo |
| 24th | 2015 | Exo |
| 23rd | 2014 | Exo |
| 22nd | 2013 | Psy |
| 21st | 2012 | Super Junior |
| 20th | 2011 | Girls' Generation |
| 19th | 2010 | Girls' Generation |
| 18th | 2009 | Wonder Girls |
| 17th | 2008 | Big Bang |
| 16th | 2006 | TVXQ |
| 15th | 2004 | Shinhwa |
| 14th | 2003 | Lee Hyori |
| 13th | 2002 | BoA |
| 12th | 2001 | Kim Gun-mo |
| 11th | 2000 | Jo Sungmo |
| 10th | 1999 | Jo Sungmo / Fin.K.L |
| 9th | 1998 | H.O.T. / Sechs Kies |
| 8th | 1997 | H.O.T. |
| 7th | 1996 | Clon |
| 6th | 1995 | Roo'ra |
| 5th | 1994 | Kim Gun-mo |
| 4th | 1993 | Seo Taiji and Boys |
| 3rd | 1992 | Seo Taiji and Boys |
| 2nd | 1991 | Tae Jin-ah |
| 1st | 1990 | Byeon Jin-seob |
Main Award (Bonsang)
New Artist Award
Genre-specific awards
R&B Award
Ballad Award
Hip-Hop/Rap Award
Dance Award
Trot Award
OST Award
Band Award
Popularity Award
The nominees for the Popularity Award come from the pool of artists that were nominated for Bonsang and Newcomer awards.| Edition | Year | Winners |
| 29th | 2020 | Exo |
| 28th | 2019 | Shinee |
| 27th | 2018 | Taemin |
| 26th | 2017 | Shinee |
| 25th | 2016 | XIA |
| 24th | 2015 | Taemin |
| 23rd | 2014 | Shinee, B1A4 |
| 22nd | 2013 | Lee Seung-gi, Shinee |
| 21st | 2012 | Lee Seung-gi, Girls' Generation |
| 20th | 2011 | Girls' Generation, Shinee |
| 19th | 2010 | 2PM, Super Junior |
| 18th | 2009 | Big Bang, TVXQ |
| 17th | 2008 | Super Junior |
| 16th | 2006 | TVXQ, Super Junior |
| 15th | 2004 | Shinhwa, TVXQ |
| 12th | 2001 | Click-B |
| 11th | 2000 | Baby V.O.X., SKY, Click-B |
The K-wave Special Award
Special Awards
Discovery of the Year Award
Fandom School Award
| Edition | Year | Winners |
| 28th | 2019 | Wanna One |
| 27th | 2018 | Exo |
| 26th | 2017 | Exo |