This year’s Seoul Music Awards, held on January 2, was hosted at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and has come under heavy scrutiny for a series of mishaps and controversies that happened during the event.
It has been dubbed the “messiest” awards show this season, with problems ranging from fans being forced to wait out in the heat for an hour despite buying soundcheck tickets, a fire breaking out on stage, and terrible camerawork, among other things.
HAHAHAHAHA NOW THERE’s FIRE IN THE STAGE.
This show is seriously getting more and more insteresting.
I just hope no idols get caught on fire later #33rdSeoulMusicAwardsinBKK #SeoulMusicAwards #SeoulMusicAwardInBKK #SMAinBKK pic.twitter.com/HXPwBVmbPq
— gemilang (@nandoongg) January 2, 2024
And it turns out, there’s more to be discussed regarding the poor performance of the Seoul Music Awards. Fans have been sharing photos of the audience turn-out for the event, and each of the pictures show just how low the attendance was.
| The Qoo | The Qoo | The Qoo
The bleacher seats look all but barren, which is especially evident later on when lightsticks are lit up.
| The Qoo | The Qoo
There have been a number of reasons suggested that may have led to such low attendance, from high ticket prices to the stadium itself being far too big for an event such as the Seoul Music Awards. Some netizens also believe that the show is rigged and just a cash grab with a poor execution.
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When compared to pictures taken of the event in the past, it’s easy to see that the attendance numbers were much higher back then.
Previous Seoul Music Awards | The Qoo | The Qoo
The low attendance of the awards show became a topic of conversation on an online forum post, with many K-Pop fans sharing their thoughts and generally negative opinions towards the event.
Hopefully next year’s Seoul Music Awards will have a much better reception!
