2PM wins Song of the Year at 2009 KBS Gayo Festival

Korean idol group 2PM's hit single "Again And Again" was voted Song of the Year at the major TV network KBS' year-end music awards ceremony, held December 30.

The seven songs nominated for the top prize at the 2009 KBS Gayo Festival included "Sorry, Sorry" by Super Junior, "I Don't Care" by 2NE1, "Mister" by Kara, "8282" by Davichi and "Like a Bullet Hit Me" by Baek Ji-young. Candidates were selected based on the combined number of airplay their song received and record sales during the year.

After viewers had cast their votes via text messaging during the live show, it was announced that 2PM -- who reportedly received 57,060 votes -- had won the Song of the Year title for "Again".

Overwhelmed by their big win, member Junsu was unable to finish his acceptance speech and Taecyeon stepped in for Junsu, saying, "Thank you."

2PM -- composed of Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Nichkhun, Junho, Junsu and Chansung -- has been one of the most popular idol groups in Korea since their debut in 2008.

The boy band had a tumultuous year; in September, former leader Park Jaebeom quit the group and left Korea after sparking national controversy over what he had written on his MySpace page several years ago. His comments -- including "I hate Korea" -- created an uproar around the country, particularly among Internet users, that he had decided to leave the group.

The remaining six members managed to make a successful comeback with their first full-length album "1:59 PM", which was released in November. The album's first single "Heartbeat" topped Korea's music charts for three consecutive weeks.

Reporter : Yun Tae-hui th20022@asiae.co.kr
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr