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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Kim Soo Hyun’s recent controversy is now affecting his appearance on MBC’s Good Day, with some viewers demanding that he leave the show.

On March 12, a post titled "ㄱㅅㅎ should step down" appeared on the viewer feedback section of Good Day, sparking discussion online.

The post’s author wrote, "G-Dragon’s show is supposed to be for fun, so what’s this controversy with ㄱㅅㅎ? He should voluntarily step down," directly calling for Kim Soo Hyun’s removal from the program.

Good Day is a music project variety show led by G-Dragon, where he collaborates with well-known figures from different fields to create a song representing the year. Kim Soo Hyun, who shares the same birth year as G-Dragon, was added to the show as part of the ’88 line, winning fans over with his friendly and lighthearted image.

However, things took a turn when Kim Soo Hyun became embroiled in controversy regarding allegations of a past romantic relationship with the late Kim Sae Ron when she was still a minor. While his agency strongly denied the claims, calling them "false information," additional photos showing affectionate moments between the two—such as a cheek kiss—along with text messages sent by Kim Sae Ron, have only fueled the public’s doubts.

Although the viewer feedback post did not mention his full name, Kim Soo Hyun is the only cast member whose initials match "ㄱㅅㅎ," making it clear that the post was referring to him.

Meanwhile, Kim Soo Hyun is also set to star in Disney+’s upcoming drama Knock-Off, with the first season scheduled to be released soon. However, with his controversy continuing to spread, even Knock-Off is facing growing concerns.

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