ILLIT has proven their hot popularity by winning the Rookie of the Year award at Japan's top music awards, even before their official debut in the country.

According to their agency, BELIFLAB, ILLIT (Yoona, Minju, Mocha, Wonhee, Iroha) was selected as the recipient of the "Rookie Award" at the 66th Japan Record Awards held on the 21st.

ILLIT shared, "Our goal this year was to win the Rookie Award, and we are so happy and grateful to have achieved that dream. We will continue to grow and show new music and performances to our fans."

The Japan Record Awards is a music award ceremony hosted by the Japan Composers Association, which started in 1959 and holds the longest tradition and the most authority in Japan.

It is the first time in 13 years since Girls' Generation and 2NE1 that a K-pop girl group has won the Rookie Award. Notably, it is very rare for an artist who has not yet debuted in Japan to win this award, and ILLIT is the first to achieve this.

ILLIT has received great love in Japan this year with their Korean album. The title track Magnetic from their first mini-album SUPER REAL ME, released in March, surpassed 100 million cumulative plays on both the Japan Record Association and Oricon in the shortest time among all-time female group songs.

True to their role in leading the short-form trend, the song also ranked 5th on the Japanese list for TikTok’s "Song of the Summer 2024."

ILLIT has also stood out in various charts, ranking first in the "New Artist" category of the Tower Records Music 2024 Mid-Year Streaming Rankings and first in the "Artist" category of the Shibuya 109 Lab's Trend Award 2024.

ILLIT will also appear in the Kohaku Uta Gassen broadcast on NHK every December 31st. The Kohaku Uta Gassen is Japan's representative year-end special music program, where popular singers gather, boasting unparalleled presence in terms of viewership and buzz.

Meanwhile, ILLIT is actively promoting their second mini-album I'LL LIKE YOU with the track Tick-Tack. The catchy melody of Tick-Tack has gained popularity on various social media platforms, ranking 1st in both Korea and Japan for trending audio on Instagram Reels on the 20th.

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Actor Lee Min Ho recently shared an unforgettable and embarrassing moment from his early career, revealing how he became a “falling star” at his first Baeksang Arts Awards.

On the December 25th episode of You Quiz on the Block (Episode 274), Lee Min Ho made a guest appearance and reflected on his rise to fame.

The actor, known for his iconic role as Goo Jun Pyo in Boys Over Flowers, won the Best New Actor award at the Baeksang Arts Awards, but it wasn’t just his victory that grabbed attention.

Lee Min Ho recalled, "I was attending the Baeksang for the first time, and I was so excited. Since I wasn’t going as Goo Jun Pyo, but as Lee Min Ho, I styled my hair in a perm and was ready to go." However, things took an unexpected turn when he tripped and fell on the red carpet.

He sighed, recalling, "That day, I fell. I fell and created so many memes. Even now, I look back and think, 'How did I walk that quickly on the red carpet?'"

Laughing at his own clumsiness, he admitted, "I was moving at the speed of light, no composure, no focus. Honestly, more than the joy of winning the award, that day was chaotic and so embarrassing for me."

Though his win was a highlight, Lee Min Ho humorously shared that the incident of tripping overshadowed the excitement of his achievement.

It’s safe to say that while the fall became a funny meme, it also became a lesson in humility for the actor, and a moment that fans still remember to this day.

Source: [1]