At the 'ASEA 2025' awards, the Album of the Year was awarded to ENHYPEN, the Artist of the Year to aespa, and the Song of the Year also went to aespa.

On the afternoon of the 28th, the second 'Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2025' (ASEA 2025) ceremony took place at K-Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The MCs for the event were The Boyz's Juyeon and IVE's Rei.

aespa was called to the stage first as the recipient of the Platinum award. Standing in front of the microphone, Karina said, "I am so grateful to receive such a meaningful award. We worked hard on our albums last year, and I hope you all look forward to our return with a good album this year," before mistakenly referring to the group name as "aespo," which made everyone laugh.

Unable to compose herself from laughter, Karina covered her mouth with her hand and couldn't continue her speech. Winter, who followed her, also said, "I hope you all love aespa a lot... and thank you," unable to stop laughing. The two tried to hug each other to suppress their laughter, but it wasn't easy. Eventually, Ningning stepped in, saying, "Please love aespa a lot in the future, and arigatou gozaimasu," as she wrapped up her comments.

Earlier, Karina, who had been embroiled in a political controversy, showed a bright demeanor throughout the awards ceremony.

Recently, a single daily photo that Karina took in Japan sparked an unexpected political controversy. She wore a jumper printed with the red number '2' and posted a rose emoji, leading some to raise suspicions of support for a specific political party. As the controversy intensified, Karina deleted the photo, but even the spokesperson of the People Power Party mentioned "aespa shout-out" on social media, further escalating the situation.

Subsequently, SM Entertainment clarified, "Karina only posted a casual photo on social media without any other intentions or purposes. Upon realizing that it could be misinterpreted, she promptly deleted the post. We sincerely apologize for causing any concern. We will make sure to exercise greater caution to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. We hope that the intentions of the artist are not distorted and consumed for specific purposes, and we will do our utmost to protect all our artists, including Karina."

Performing as a complete group, aespa sang hits like "Whiplash," "Supernova," and "Armageddon," receiving a huge cheer from the Japanese fans present.

Notably, Hallyu star Jang Geun-suk presented the three main awards: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year.

The Album of the Year was awarded to ENHYPEN, the Artist of the Year to aespa, and the Song of the Year also went to aespa.

aespa's Giselle said, "Thank you so much for this award, and thank you to our company staff," while Ningning noted, "Thank you for the award, and I believe it's a meaningful award after receiving so much love last year. A new song will be released soon, so please give it lots of love." Winter added, "I am honored and grateful to receive such a significant award in succession," and Karina expressed, "I am thankful to SM for creating the song 'Supernova,' and we will become artists who make music that is uniquely ours."

Additionally, the Best New Artist award in the institutional sector went to KiiiKiii, Hearts2Hearts, and NEXZ.

Firstly, KiiiKiii said, "It is such an honor to be invited to an awards ceremony just over two months after our debut, and I am very happy to win the 'Best New Artist' award at the ASEA awards. I would like to thank Starship Entertainment for allowing us to debut as KiiiKiii with five members, and our staff and family members who always support us. Thank you so much to our Tiki fans for always cheering us on and loving us. I believe this award is a reminder to work even harder, and we will show you our dedication as we move forward. Thank you; we love you!"

Hearts2Hearts expressed their gratitude, saying, "It is an honor to receive such a good award so soon after our debut. Thank you to our manager brothers and sisters and everyone at SM who always helps us. Most importantly, we are so grateful to our Hachu fans for always being with us, and we will return with better music and performances. Thank you!"

NEXZ said, "Thank you to everyone at ASEA for this wonderful award. Thank you to Producer Park Jin-young, everyone at JYP, and the staff who always help us. And to our NEXZ, we have received this award. We will continue to work hard and become wonderful artists. Thank you!"

The HOT TREND award was won by NOWADAYZ, who said, "We didn't think we would win an award, so it is such an honor. We want to extend our gratitude to all of the Cube staff who helped us receive this significant award. Thank you sincerely to everyone at ASEA for giving us this meaningful award, and I am really grateful that we won because of our Day and D. We will work hard to become artists who can receive even more significant awards in the future. Sincere thanks to our supportive staff, the Hemez team!"

The BEST BAND trophy went to Xdinary Heroes. They remarked, "It is an honor to receive such a fantastic award, and there are countless people who help us receive such wonderful accolades; we are always sincerely grateful. Thank you to everyone at Studio J, and we really love our Villains. We were able to receive this award because of you. We will continue to produce great music and deliver remarkable performances, keeping up the hard work. Thank you!"

THE BEST GROUP award went to NiziU, who stated, "It is truly an honor to receive an award at ASEA, a special occasion, just like last year. I want to express my gratitude to our staff who always help us and to Weju. We will continue to be a hardworking group."

The TOP TOURING ARTIST title was claimed by ENHYPEN, who said, "We have done a lot of tours, and we will soon be doing a Japan tour, so please pay attention. Also, a new album will be released on June 5. Please look forward to it."

In addition, the Best Trot award went to Lim Young-woong, the Best Solo award to Im Young-woong, the Best Solo to Jisoo, and the Best Performance award to NCT WISH, among others.

Meanwhile, at the awards ceremony, aespa, ENHYPEN, Hearts2Hearts, KiiiKiii, NCT WISH, NEXZ, NiziU, NOWADAYZ, timelesz, and Xdinary Heroes were in attendance.

[Photo] OSEN DB, Naver TV live broadcast capture, provided by JYP Entertainment.

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