67th Japan Record Awards Nominees Announced... ILLIT and BOYNEXTDOOR Shine in K-Pop

The list of nominees for each category of the 67th Japan Record Awards, a prestigious award ceremony in the Japanese music industry, was announced on November 21. With the award ceremony scheduled to be broadcast live on TBS starting at 5:30 PM on December 30, the selection of K-Pop artists as nominees in major categories is drawing attention.

ILLIT Competes for 'Grand Prize' in Excellent Work Award

A total of 10 songs have been selected for the Excellent Work Award, and the final grand prize will be determined on the day of the award ceremony on December 30.

The main nominees for the Excellent Work Award include ILLIT's 'Almond Chocolate' and the J-Pop group FRUITS ZIPPER's 'Mirror (かがみ)'. Additionally, songs by popular Japanese artists such as Mrs. GREEN APPLE's 'Darling (ダーリン)' and BE:FIRST's 'Dreaming (夢中)' are also in the running for the grand prize.

BOYNEXTDOOR Set to Compete for Best New Artist Award

A total of 4 teams have been selected for the Best New Artist Award, with the HYBE-affiliated boy group BOYNEXTDOOR raising expectations among Korean fans.

The nominees for the Best New Artist Award include CUTIE STREET, SHOW-WA & MATSURI, HANA, BOYNEXTDOOR, from which the final Best New Artist winner will be determined. HANA is being evaluated as a strong competitor, having achieved good results on the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 after debuting.

Individual Award Winners Also Confirmed

The Record Awards also announced the winners of the individual award categories in advance.

• Best Composer: Daiki Kudo and Sota Hanamura won for 'Non Fictions'.

• Best Lyricist: Rino Sashihara won for 'とくべチュ、して'.

• Best Arranger: Kazutoyo Sato won for '朧' and '夜香蘭'.

Since its inception in 1959, the Japan Record Awards has shown a tendency to value not only CD sales but also streaming play counts and social media buzz, with the award ceremony being broadcast live starting at 5:30 PM on December 30.