Building up on the K-wave impact crafted by last year’s inaugural Asia Star Entertainer Awards, its second edition will leave K-entertainment enthusiasts starstruck this week. Fan-faves from the worlds of music and TV will come together for a splendid two-day celebration of the performing arts.

Joining an expansive list of Korean awards shows, the Asia Star Entertainer Awards were launched by Newsen and @star1 magazine last year. Set to be held at K-Arena Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan, on May 28 and 29, the annual ceremony will once again honour top K-pop artists, Asian singers and K-drama stars.

Asia Star Entertainer Awards hosts: With the event split into a two-day extravaganza, THE BOYZ’s Juyeon and IVE’s Rei will be taking over the main MC duties on the first day, i.e. on Wednesday, May 28. For the second day, MONSTA X’s Hyungwon, who was discharged from the military just over a week ago, will join actress Kim Hye Yoon of Lovely Runner fame and THE BOYZ member Younghoon as the co-host on May 29. This marks Hyungwon’s first time leading an awards ceremony in his 10-year career that took off with idol boy group MONSTA X’s debut in 2015.

2025 Asia Star Entertainer Awards: Where to watch

Fans around the world can enjoy watching the Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2025 presented by ZOZOTOWN from the comfort of their homes in real time. The ceremony will be live-streamed on May 28 and May 29 from Japan for free.

International audiences, excluding Japan, may sign up on the Dalda (dalda.io) official website to view the special experience for free. NAVER CHZZK and Naver TV will reportedly also reportedly offer accessibility to the show in South Korea. Meanwhile, fans in Japan may tune into TBS Channel and ABEMA for the broadcast.

When to watch: Red Carpet event begins at 3:30 pm KST (12 pm IST) and the main ceremony will commence at 5:30 pm KST (2 pm IST).

2025 Asia Star Entertainer Awards Lineup

With Japan hosting the 2nd ASEA ceremony, beloved J-pop stars will also set the stage on fire. On the first day (May 28), performance by aespa, KiiiKiii, NCT WISH, Hearts2Hearts, NiziU, timelesz (minus Yositaka Hara), Xdinary Heroes, ENHYPEN and NEXZ will woo fans. Actor Jang Geunseok will be in attendance as one of the many MCs of the night.

As for Day 2 (May 29), the lineup features ZEROBASEONE, FANTASY BOYS, BTOB, NouerA, Jo Yuri, ATARASHII GAKKO!, &TEAM, BADVILLAIN, i-dle (former (G)I-DLE), HANA, n.SSign, SKY-HI, &TEAM, SAKURAZAKA46, THE BOYZ, and THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE. Kim Hye Yoon’s Lovely Runner co-star and K-drama heartthrob Byeon Woo Seok will be presenting the Grand Prize. Meanwhile, actor Choo Young Woo, fresh off The Tale of Lady Ok and The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call fame will attending as a presenter as well.

2nd Asia Star Entertainer Awards Categories

With ASEA determining its winners largely on the basis of fan votes, its nomination policy for this year’s show renders all songs and albums released between March 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, eligible. The artist selection criteria further extends to those who have appeared in works, including dramas, OTT content and films, released between the same time span.

Categories mentioned below are subject to change:

• Grand Prize (Daesang): 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Platinum: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Artist of the Year: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Song of the Year: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Album of the Year: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Best Stage: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Best Performance: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Best New Artist: 40% Streaming/Sales Performance + 30% Jury panel + 30% Fan vote
• Best Group (Male / Female): 40% Streaming/Sales Performance + 30% Jury panel + 30% Fan vote
• Best Solo (Male / Female): 40% Streaming/Sales Performance + 30% Jury panel + 30% Fan vote
• Best Trot: 40% Streaming/Sales Performance + 30% Jury panel + 30% Fan vote
• Best OST: 40% Streaming/Sales Performance + 30% Jury panel + 30% Fan vote
• Hot Icon: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Hot Trend: 50% Streaming/Sales Performance + 50% Jury panel
• Fan Choice Artist (Actor / Actress): 30% Jury panel + 30% Critics’ Panel  + 40% Fan vote
• Fan Choice Couple: 30% Jury panel + 30% Critics’ Panel  + 40% Fan vote
• Fan Choice Character: 30% Jury panel + 30% Critics’ Panel  + 40% Fan vote
• Fan Choice Artist (Singer): Fan vote 100%
• Fan Choice 5th Generation: Fan vote 100%