The 2023 Asia Artist Awards (AAA) was indeed a night to remember. But with so many artists involved over six hours of happenings, we had a rather difficult time narrowing down this list into 8. But we tried to anyway. So here are our top picks for the most memorable moments at the AAA:

K-artists jamming to SB19

From the very start of the awards ceremony, we got some great interaction between some of our favorite Pinoy and Korean artists. During SB19’s electrifying performance, fans spotted NewJeans and Stray Kids jamming to the Kings of P-Pop! Stray Kids’ Bang Chan enjoyed the performance so much he changed his status message in the Bubble app to “GENTO”.

NewJeans winning Artist of the Year

Speaking of NewJeans, the beloved girl group had quite the big night, bagging six awards, including two Daesangs: Song of the Year and Artist of the Year.

Yaochen asking Stray Kids if they can be friends

During his thank-you speech, Chinese singer Yao Chen — in Korean — jokingly asked Stray Kids if they could start being friends now, wanting to be closer to them. The members of Stray Kids were seen smiling and giving their thumbs up.

ICYDK, Stray Kids and Yao Chen trained together at the former’s label JYP Entertainment, and Yao Chen debuted under Fanling Culture (JYP China). In 2020, Stray Kids’ producer unit 3RACHA even composed and arranged a song for Yao Chen entitled “NEVERMIND”.

3RACHA receiving their first award ever

Composed of Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han, Stray Kids’ production unit received their first-ever award as a subunit with the AAA Best Creator Award. Bang Chan even said they didn’t expect to win this award at all, but they were truly honored and grateful.

Fun fact: When the award was announced, Han and Seungmin stood up briefly to step out and presumably go to the restroom. They had to return quickly to their table so Han could join Bang Chan and Changbin onstage. So no, they really didn’t expect this award.

3HO debuting as a trio

As AAA MC Jang Wonyoung said, if K-pop has 3RACHA, K-actors have 3HO: SUHO, Kim Seon-ho, and Lee Jun-ho. We love this new trio. We want them in a drama or even a movie!

K-celebs speaking in Tagalog

It was lovely hearing Korean artists saying “Kumusta ka”, “Maraming salamat po”, and even the ever-nakakikilig “Mahal kita.”

We even got ATBO’s Wonbin giving his thank-you speech in Tagalog. “Maraming salamat po. Lumaki ako dito sa Philippines. Sobrang masaya na nakita ko ang Philippine BOATs [ATBO’s fans]. Maraming salamat po. Mahal ko kayo!” Wonbin spent 10 years in the Philippines before he returned to South Korea to start idol training.

Melai bringing Pinoy humor at AAA

Melai’s naturally funny and gregarious personality made the whole Philippine Arena laugh their hearts out. When MC Jang Wonyoung interviewed her and when she gave her thank-you speech onstage, she stole the show. Even the K-artists couldn’t help but be endeared — look at how Stray Kids’ Bang Chan and Felix laughed so hard!

Pinoys winning big

This year marks the first time Filipino artists were invited to the Asia Artist Awards. From SB19, HORI7ON, Ben&Ben to Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, and Melai Cantiveros-Francisco, our homegrown artists and actors made all Pinoys proud as they received their awards.

The 2023 Asia Artist Awards is organized by STAR NEWS, TONZ ENTERTAINMENT, and PULP Live World, co-sponsored by Smart and Viu Philippines, and made possible through the support of the official banking partner, Metrobank.

READ MORE:

• COMPLETE LIST: 2023 Asia Artist Awards Winners
• 8 Best Performances from the 2023 Asia Artist Awards We’re *Obsessed* With
• Asia Artist Awards 2023: A Quick Guide on Everything You Need to Know

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