“Golden Disc Awards” Accused Of “Making Up” Daesang For BLACKPINK’s Jennie
At the 40th Golden Disc Awards, BLACKPINK’s Jennie walked away with three solo trophies, once again putting her at the center of attention. The idol won “Best Digital Song Bonsang” for “like JENNIE,” the Global Impact Award, and the newly introduced Artist of the Year Daesang.
However, her Daesang win has quickly turned controversial.
JENNIE wins “artist of the year (daesang)” at the 40th golden disc awards, congratulations jennie❤️ pic.twitter.com/qPMGvFrDaw
— jennie loops (@jnkloops) January 10, 2026
This year marked the first time the Golden Disc Awards introduced an Artist of the Year Daesang. Previously, the ceremony only had two main prizes: Song of the Year (Digital) and Album of the Year (Physical).
the aura of the first solo artist in history to win artist of the year (daesang) at GDA. pic.twitter.com/V4MQjEscWK
— jennie (@jnkzip) January 10, 2026
Because of this change, a viral post on Korean community site Pann accused the GDA of hurriedly creating a new Daesang specifically to award it to Jennie.
Jennie’s chart results weren’t good enough, so they rushed to make up a Daesang and give it to her.
They literally rushed out an “Artist of the Year” just for Jennie in 2026 LOL People are dragging them because the judging criteria are ridiculously vague. Just give her a participation or lifetime achievement award instead. Don’t steal the Daesang from juniors who actually have good results.
— Viral post on Pann
The accusation sparked heated debate, with many netizens pushing back against the claim and defending Jennie’s achievements. Others, however, agreed that the timing and unclear criteria of the new Daesang felt questionable.
- “Excluding ‘Golden,’ are there actually songs (domestic or international) that did better than ‘like JENNIE’ last year?”
- “The one getting a rushed participation trophy is your fave LOL. Last year, Jennie was #1 among K-Pop soloists in Spotify streams, and her YouTube Music performance ranked #1 among solo artists worldwide.”
- “Where exactly is she getting criticized? I don’t see anyone trashing her anywhere. She was predicted to be #1, so what’s the problem with her winning?”
- “Huh? Jennie’s impact is insanely obvious. How is this ‘rushed’?”
- “Is this one of those cases where only this forum is negative? Everywhere else, the reaction is good.”
- “For real, this is such a buzzkill. How is that even a Daesang?”
