The group i-dle won the honor of three crowns following their Grand Prize.
On the afternoon of the 29th, the 2nd ‘Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2025’ (ASEA 2025) ceremony was held at K-Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The MCs for the day were Monsta X’s Hyungwon, actress Kim Hye-yoon, and The Boyz’s Younghoon.
As the performance by n.SSign opened the ‘ASEA 2025’, they covered SHINee’s ‘Sherlock.’ After the performance, actors Kim Hye-yoon, Monsta X’s Hyungwon, and The Boyz’s Younghoon, who hosted the event, took the stage with microphones. Kim Hye-yoon said, “I’m really happy to be able to participate in Asia’s number one awards ceremony. I’m really nervous as it’s my first time being an MC at a global event, but seeing the audience before me gives me strength. I will do my best with the two of you.”
As the awards began in earnest, the first category awarded was ‘ASEA HOT TREND’ for picking trend leaders. The winners were BADVILLAIN and NouerA. BADVILLAIN stated, “I didn’t expect to receive this award, but I’m so grateful. And I want to thank Chairman Chagawon and Producer MC Mong for their help in enabling me to receive this award. And to my parents watching, I received an award!” NouerA expressed, “It’s truly an honor to receive the ‘Hot Trend’ award. I want to thank all my NouerA family for their support in receiving this award. We will work harder to be a more diligent NouerA in the future.”
Next, HANA, who won the ‘ASEA THE NEW ARTIST’ award, said, “We are a group that debuted through the Japanese audition ‘No No Girls.’ Just being able to greet everyone at ‘ASEA’ today is a great honor, and I’m really grateful to receive our first award after debuting. I will strive to share more diverse music with many people.”
In the ‘Hot Icon’ category for artists making notable achievements, n.SSign and Fantasy Boys were the winners. Next, Jo Yuri appeared to present the ‘Producer Award,’ which was awarded to SKY-HI. The ‘Best Artist’ honor went to Atarashii Gakko. The ‘K-Pop Leader’ award was given to i-dle. Shuhua, who took the stage, said, “Thank you very much for this award. I’m moved, as I never expected it. I think I can work hard on the stage later. Thank you. Thank you, Neverland,” while Soyeon conveyed, “We will be an even harder-working i-dle.”
The ‘Global Rising Actor’ award went to Choo Young-Woo. He said, “It’s an honor just to be in a place with such stars, and I’m grateful for the award. I will work hard.” The honor for ‘Best OST’ went to Byeon Woo-seok for the OST of the drama ‘Lovely Runner.’ Byeon Woo-seok mentioned, “It was lucky to receive a great work and a great song. Thank you to the fans who loved ‘Sudden Shower.’ Thank you for loving Eclipse.”
The second part of the ceremony began, featuring the award for artists with high album sales, which is one of the main awards: the ‘The Platinum’ award. The honor went to six groups, including Sakurazaka46, ZEROBASEONE, &TEAM, The Rampage from Exile Tribe, The Boyz, and i-dle.
On stage, ZEROBASEONE stated, “It’s an honor to be able to perform and receive an award like this.” They added, “We will continue to work hard and develop as ZEROBASEONE.” &TEAM expressed their gratitude, saying, “Thank you very much to all the event officials. Also, I always love and appreciate our fans, LENE. We will be a more diligent &TEAM.” The Boyz said, “We are very grateful to our chairman, CEO, and all the Onehundred family who made it possible for us to receive this award. To our fans, we love you the most, and we will return soon with good news. And I dedicate this honor to my beloved Sangyeon.” The group i-dle stated, “Thank you so much for giving us this wonderful award. We are always thankful to Neverland. As our group is starting anew under a new name, we will unite as five members to show you a magnificent musical performance.”
The ‘Best Vocal Group’ award, given to the most trustworthy vocals, went to BTOB. On stage, Seo Eunkwang stated, “First of all, I dedicate this award to my beloved Melody. I felt a great sense of gratitude today. I want to thank my Cube family, those who I worked with during our activities in Japan, the event officials, the artist fans here, and the family members and friends in Busan who supported me; I feel that BTOB exists because of you all. I will truly strive to become a BTOB that lives up to this honor.”
In the male category of the ‘Best Group’ award, PLAVE was the winner. In a video message, PLAVE stated, “I heard that we were able to receive this award thanks to our fans who voted for us diligently,” adding, “We want to dedicate this award to our beloved fans. Thank you!” The Boyz, known for their outstanding visuals, won the ‘Conceptual Artist’ award for the second consecutive year following last year. The Boyz said, “We have received an award twice now, and we believe it’s thanks to our fans, Besties, who have supported us generously. We are truly grateful.”
The fan choice awards, which are determined by fan voting, were also held. PLAVE won in the ‘5th Generation’ category, Lim Young-woong in the singer category, Lee Seyoung and Sakaguchi Kentaro in the ‘Fan Choice Couple’ (actor) category, and Kim Hye-yoon in the ‘Character’ (actor) category. Kim Hye-yoon expressed, “As an MC, I was happy to see you all up close and thank you for giving me a big award. Thanks to the fans, I think I will be able to sleep warmly today. I’m very happy and hope to see you for a long time to come.” In the acting category, Byeon Woo-seok was recognized as the best male actor, while Kim Hye-yoon won again as the best female actor.
Byeon Woo-seok said, “I believe I received this award thanks to the attention and love given by the fans. I will always strive to be an actor who repays that. Lastly, I would like to thank my fan club ‘Postbox’ for always supporting me,” while Kim Hye-yoon, who took the stage again, said, “I thought I received a lot of love last year, and I’m thankful for the awards in return this year. I will be an actress who repays as much as the weight of the awards.”
The ‘Best New Artist’ award in the actor category, given to rising stars with outstanding performances in their works throughout the year, went to actress Jo Yuri. On stage, he said, “I want to thank this ceremony for giving me such a precious award. I want to send my gratitude to everyone who helped me receive this award. I would like to thank the director of ‘Squid Game,’ all the production staff members, those seniors who helped and took care of me, the Wakeone family, the Hemis staff, family and friends in Busan, and my beloved fans. I truly love and appreciate all of you. I will become a singer and actress who repays with even greater appearances. Please send lots of interest and love for ‘Squid Game’ Season 3.”
Additionally, the ‘Best Artist’ award, recognized by its outstanding influence and love from fans across Asia, went to Kim Hye-yoon in the female actor category, while Choo Young-Woo and Byeon Woo-seok received this honor in the male actor category consecutively. Choo Young-Woo remarked, “This is my first time at such an event, and it’s very exciting. Just being here is an honor, and I am grateful for receiving two awards. Thank you to the officials who presented these awards and to my fans; I love you all.”
In awarding the ‘Performance of the Year’, presented by actor Choo Young-Woo to the artist who showcased amazing performances with perfect synergy over the year, the honor went to ZEROBASEONE. ZEROBASEONE expressed, “It’s an honor to receive such a prestigious award. Last year, I couldn’t attend but was thankful for receiving the rookie award, and I appreciate this opportunity. I hope that as we always strive to show great performances in front of our Zeros, you remember that we are working together to create records and careers,” adding, “Thank you for giving us such a great award. In the future, we will repay you with even more fantastic performances.”
The award for ‘Record of the Year’, given for the most complete album, was presented by Byeon Woo-seok, with the honor going to i-dle. On stage, Soyeon expressed, “We have participated in many awards ceremonies, but I’m still nervous to receive such a great award. Thank you so much, Neverland. Even though I found out late, this award could not have been won with just our music. This is all made by Neverland. I hope you love our new song. While we can’t always show you new and surprising images, we will be an i-dle that always shows you our bold characteristics. Especially since we debuted anew as ‘i-dle,’ this is our real beginning, so please take good care of us for 50 years and 100 years.”
Below is the list of winners for ‘ASEA 2025’
▲ ASEA RECORD OF THE YEAR: i-dle
▲ ASEA PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: ZEROBASEONE
▲ ASEA THE PLATINUM: Sakurazaka46, ZEROBASEONE, &TEAM, The Rampage from Exile Tribe, The Boyz, i-dle
▲ ASEA THE BEST ARTIST (ACTOR - FEMALE): Kim Hye-yoon
▲ ASEA THE BEST ARTIST (ACTOR - MALE): Choo Young-Woo, Byeon Woo-seok
▲ ASEA THE BEST VOCAL GROUP: BTOB
▲ ASEA THE BEST ARTIST: Atarashii Gakko
▲ ASEA THE BEST NEW ARTIST (SINGER): HANA
▲ ASEA THE BEST NEW ARTIST (ACTOR): Jo Yuri
▲ ASEA THE CONCEPTUAL ARTIST: The Boyz
▲ ASEA THE BEST OST: Byeon Woo-seok (‘Sudden Shower’ from the ‘Lovely Runner’ OST)
▲ ASEA PRODUCER: SKY-HI
▲ ASEA HOT ICON: n.SSign, Fantasy Boys
▲ ASEA HOT TREND: BADVILLAIN, NouerA
▲ ASEA GLOBAL RISING ACTOR: Choo Young-Woo
▲ ASEA GLOBAL K-POP LEADER: i-dle
▲ ASEA FAN CHOICE COUPLE (ACTOR): Lee Seyoung - Sakaguchi Kentaro
▲ ASEA FAN CHOICE CHARACTER (ACTOR): Kim Hye-yoon
▲ ASEA FAN CHOICE ARTIST (ACTOR - MALE): Byeon Woo-seok
▲ ASEA FAN CHOICE ARTIST (ACTOR - FEMALE): Kim Hye-yoon
▲ ASEA FAN CHOICE ARTIST (SINGER): Lim Young-woong
▲ ASEA FAN CHOICE 5TH GENERATION: PLAVE
[Photo] Broadcast capture
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