It's Hard to Stay on Top: Taking a Look at the Top 5 Artists with the Most Music Show Wins for Each Year from 1981 to 2020

For my latest analysis of music show wins, I wanted to take a look at the top 5 artists with the most wins for each year from 1981 to 2020. My goal was to see which artists have been able to stay on top for extended periods of time.

The results of my research are shown below. Artists that have appeared 4 or more times are highlighted with different colours, while the number of wins achieved in a given year is shown in parenthesis.

1981: Cho Yong-pil (12), Lee Jung-hee (5), Lee Eun-ha (5), Ham Jung-a (5), Kim Man-su (4)

1982: Cho Yong-pil (11), Lee Yong (9), Songolmae (8), Namgung Okbun (4), Yoon Si-nae (4)

1983: Cho Yong-pil (10), Bang Mi (9), Hye Eun Yi (6), Kim Soo-hee (5), Heo Yeong-ran (5)

1984: Cho Yong-pil (13), Yoon Soo-il (10), Jung Su-ra (5), Kim Soo-chul (5), Choi Hye-young (5)

1985: Cho Yong-pil (12), Lee Eun-ha (5), Na-mi (5), Jeon Yeong-rok (5), Kim Beom-ryong (5), Koo Chang-mo (5)

1986: Cho Yong-pil (8), The Treble Clef (7), Lee Moon-se (5), Koo Chang-mo (5), Jung Su-ra (5)

1987: Lee Jae-sung (8), Kim Hak-rae (6), Chang Deok (5), Lee Sun-hee (5), Lee Chi-hyun & His Friends (5), Kim Beom-ryong (5)

1988: Jung Su-ra (8), Choi Sung-su (6), Jeon Yeong-rok (6), Lee Sun-hee (5), Yeoun (4), Lee Sang-eun (4)

1989: Park Nam-jung (13), Yang Soo-kyung (10), Kim Heung-gook (10), Lee Sun-hee (6), Lee Ji-yeon (5)

1990: Kim Min-woo (15), Byun Jin-sub (13), Sunshine Village (12), Min Hae-kyung (10), Kim Ji-ae (9)

1991: Lee Sang-woo (19), Shin Seung-hun (14), Shim Sin (12), Kim Wan-sun (10), Noh Sa-yeon (10), Lee Bum-hak (10)

1992: Seo Taiji and Boys (42), Shin Seung-hun (38), Hyun Jin-young (13), Lee Sang-woo (12), Lee Hyun-woo (10)

1993: Kim Soo-hee (14), Seo Taiji and Boys (13), Noise (12), Lee Moo-song (12), Kim Won-joon (11)

1994: Kim Gun-mo (16), Kim Won-joon (12), Two Two (10), Shin Seung-hun (9), Mr. 2 (7)

1995: Roo'ra (26), Park Mi-kyung (20), Kim Gun-mo (18), Noise (17), R.ef (17)

1996: Turbo (33), Kim Jung-min (31), DJ DOC (19), Clon (15), Kim Gun-mo (14)

1997: H.O.T. (37), Im Chang-jung (30), Cool (18), Yangpa (17), Untitle (14)

1998: Turbo (27), Kim Hyun-jung (22), H.O.T. (19), Fin.K.L (18), Sechs Kies (14)

1999: S.E.S. (36), Sechs Kies (21), Yoo Seung-jun (19), Kim Hyun-jung (16), Fin.K.L (14), Shinhwa (14)

2000: g.o.d (29), Fin.K.L (15), Kim Hyun-jung (15), Yoo Seung-jun (12), Baek Ji-young (12)

2001: S.E.S. (19), g.o.d (18), Fin.K.L (15), Im Chang-jung (12), Position (12)

2002: S.E.S. (16), Jang Na-ra (15), g.o.d (10), Fin.K.L (10), Cool (10)

2003: Lee Soo-young (16), Lee Hyori (14), Seven (10), Cool (10), Rain (9)

2004: Koyote (19), TVXQ (18), MC the Max (13), Tei (13), Seven (10), Kim Jong-kook (10), Lee Soo-young (10)

2005: Kim Jong-kook (24), g.o.d (19), Buzz (18), Tei (13), Yoon Do-hyun (10)

2006: SG Wannabe (13), TVXQ (11), Fly to the Sky (9), Lee Seung-gi (9), Lee Hyori (8)

2007: Big Bang (15), Wonder Girls (14), Ivy (11), F.T. Island (10), Yangpa (9)

2008: Big Bang (23), Wonder Girls (16), Jewelry (11), Lee Hyori (11), MC Mong (9)

2009: 2PM (20), Girls' Generation (17), 2NE1 (14), Super Junior (12), G-Dragon (11)

2010: Girls' Generation (22), 2PM (12), 2NE1 (11), T-ara (10), Kara (8), Super Junior (8)

2011: Big Bang (14), Girls' Generation (12), Super Junior (11), f(x) (10), TVXQ (9)

2012: Psy (20), T-ara (12), Girls' Generation-TTS (12), Big Bang (9), f(x) (9)

2013: EXO (26), Shinee (16), Sistar19 (11), Infinite (11), Sistar (11)

2014: Apink (21), Beast (19), Sistar (13), B1A4 (11), Soyou & Junggigo (11)

2015: EXO (32), Big Bang (22), Girls' Generation (21), EXID (13), VIXX (11), Red Velvet (11), Shinee (11), Taeyeon (11)

2016: GFriend (29), Twice (23), EXO (18), Red Velvet (11), BTS (10)

2017: Twice (36), Wanna One (23), EXO (16), Red Velvet (15), BTS (14)

2018: Twice (28), Wanna One (26), BTS (20), iKon (19), Red Velvet (16)

2019: Itzy (21), BTS (21), Mamamoo (14), Chungha (13), GFriend (12), Seventeen (12)

2020: BTS (50), Blackpink (22), Iz*One (16), Twice (15), Itzy (13)

Based on this data, we see that relatively few artists have been able to keep up a high level of music show wins for over a handful of years, which isn't too surprising. I'm looking forward to seeing who comes out on top in 2021!

Quote from beyoncesvt

2019 SEVENTEEN WINS

HOME - 10 wins

FEAR - 2 wins

12 wins so is TIE wsoet

Great catch! Yes you are correct. I accidentally cut off SVT from the list, but I've added them back in.

Quote from Abozu

And also Music Core stopped giving out first win for a while during 2nd gens.

Yes, Music Core actually stopped giving out awards for a very long period, from January 2006 to April 2013. They also had another break from November 2015 to April 2017.

Quote from icyruios

Also, do take note that for 2nd Gen artists there wasn't "The Show" or "Show Champion" so music show wins for 3rd Gen onwards are kinda inflated

Correct, though the Second Generation did have KMTV's Show Music Tank and Music Triangle handing out wins. That being said, there has still been a large increase in the number of music show wins awarded each year since 2007. I actually made a thread on this exact topic recently; please see here.

Now for the purposes of this analysis, win inflation shouldn't really matter, since we're not focusing on the raw number of wins achieved each year per se, but instead a ranking of relative win strength for each year.

Quote from MassiveKpopFan

BTS got 50 in a year, that's insane.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's the most that a single artist has ever won in a year.

Quote from Zazatwin22

Its a new era....let it go

Huh? Let what go exactly?

Quote from im-random

it's interesting than exo had more wins than bigbang in 2015 although that year was bigbang biggest year

2015 was certainly a good year for Big Bang, but I believe that they were at their strongest in the 2007-2008 time period. That's when they had three back-to-back iconic hit songs with Lies, Last Farewell, and Day by Day (along with Sunset Glow, which also did pretty well). Their success during those two years established their legacy as the defining boy group of the Second Generation, and also cemented YGE's place among the "Big Three."