BTS has won big at this year's Soribada Best K-Music Awards.
The K-pop juggernaut made a clean sweep of the ceremony's major categories, picking up the Daesang (the grand prize), Bonsang (a shared award viewed as the second most prestigious prize) and the Favourite Male Bias awards.
In a blow to the organisers, BTS were not able to attend the Seoul ceremony, held on August 13, due to work commitments.
The event had to make do with the group accepting their award via a video message.
“We’ve received such a meaningful award from the 2020 Soribada Best K-Music Awards,” said leader RM. “Thank you for giving us such a valuable prize.”
Member Jin went on thank the group's fan base, knows as the "army": “To our army who always loves and supports us, thank you and we love you! It’s because of you that we’re able to receive this award, which is such an honour.”
BTS's achievement is unsurprising considering the success they are enjoying this year, in spite of the pandemic postponing their world tour.
Their latest album, Map of the Soul: 7, is the bestselling physical album of 2020 so far, with 500,000 copies sold, and ninth best when combined with streaming figures.
The seven-member group are also prepping their first English single, Dynamite, set to be released on Friday August 21, with a new album out later this year.
Kang Daniel confirms solo star status
Other key winners of the night included the girl group Twice, which nabbed three awards, including Artist of the Year and a Bonsang. The duo Red Velvet picked up the Music of the Year award, as well a Bonsang, while Kang Daniel was there to pick up a trio of gongs: the Bonsang New K-Wave Real Fan Award and Stage of the Year.
Kang's wins consolidate his path to solo stardom. The former teen dancer was the leader of the 11-member band Wanna One, which was created on the back of the 2017 season of talent show Produce 101. With the group disbanding last year, Kang immediately launched a solo career and recently released Magenta, the second of a trilogy of colour-inspired EPs.
Speaking to The National last week, Kang, 23, expressed his love for his Arab fans and confirmed that a UAE visit is on the cards.
“I really want to visit for a holiday and to meet my fans there in concert where we can spend time together,” he says. “My message to my UAE fans and those in the Arab world is that I hope they enjoy the new EP and I will work harder to make more good music. Hope you stay safe and healthy.”
On the stage front, the Soribada Best K-Music Awards featured performances by Gfriend, Astro, Red Velvet and Itzy. Popular K-drama actors Shin Hyun Bin (Hospital Playlist) and Jin Seo Yeon (Tell Me What You Saw) were also on hand as presenters.
Launched in 2017, the Soribada Best K-Music Awards (also known as Soba) honours artists for works released between the September of the previous year and August. Winners are chosen through a mix of industry data and online votes from fans and critics.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
It
Director: Andres Muschietti
Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor
Three stars
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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