“Who wanna rock with Jennie?” After the reveal of the 2025 nominees, the Asian Pop Music Awards clearly do as the superstar leads this year’s field with nine nominations that reflect the pull of her solo work and the enduring global impact of BLACKPINK.
As an organization represented by Hong Kong’s Asia VVV Entertainment Group and the London-based UK VVV Music Group LTD, the Asian Pop Music Awards carried a somber and respectful tone ahead of this year’s nomination rollout. Organizers postponed the original reveal date amid the devastating Hong Kong estate building fire, issuing a message of condolence before the full slate was published late on December 1.
Close behind Jennie’s nine nods for the annual award show are G-Dragon and Lay Zhang with eight nominations each, while Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 honoree Jackson Wang logged seven. This year’s top-nominated acts represent the expansive K-pop scene, with all four of the aforementioned stars gaining their starts in Korea-based groups but reaching new career heights as soloists, with music beyond Korean pop targeting China, the U.S. and beyond.
Chinese-pop queen Jolin collected six APMA nominations, as did Jennie’s BLACKPINK bandmate Rosé, with Jisoo earning five, and Lisa four, with BLACKPINK also appearing as a group on the list.
The BLACKPINK women have a strong history at the Asian Pop Music Awards. The group earned Album of the Year in 2020 for The Album and 2022 for Born Pink. Plus, all four of them have solo wins through the years with Jennie, Rosé and Lisa all landing at least one award at the 2024 APMAs.
With 16 trophies to date, Mandopop icon JJ Lin is the most-awarded artist in APMA history since the ceremony first kicked off in 2020 and has the chance to expand his winnings with three nominations this year. Lay Zhang has the chance to surpass Lin with his eight nods this year after 12 wins under his belt, the title for second-most APMA wins that he shares with K-pop superstar group SEVENTEEN.
Other major Asian artists spotlighted this year include Chinese pop idol turned fearless solo supesrtar KUN, Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu, Taiwanese R&B-rock crossover star David Tao and multinational K-pop girl group aespa all scored four nominees too.
All of the artists are also competing in the APMA 2025 People’s Choice Award which is the only fan-voted category where music lovers can use social media platforms including WeChat, Instagram, Weibo and X (formerly known as Twitter) to vote for their favorites from the year. Traditionally, the People’s Choice winners are part of a Top 10 list of winners.
Read the full list of nominations for the 2025 Asian Pop Music Awards below. Further information about the ceremony and winners reveal are expected to be revealed soon, but may also be delayed as Hong Kong heals from the late-November fire tragedy.
Asian Pop Music Awards (APMA) 2025 Nominations
Best Album of the Year
RAISA, ambiVert
RADWIMPS, Anew
SEVENTEEN, HAPPY BURSTDAY
JACKSON WANG, MAGICMAN 2
LAY ZHANG, NAO TIAN GONG (Rock the Heavenly Palace)
RIIZE, ODYSSEY
JOLIN, Pleasure
ROSÉ, rosie
JENNIE, Ruby
G-DRAGON, Ubermensch
Record of the Year
LISA x Doja Cat x RAYE, “Born Again”
Stray Kids, “CEREMONY”
aespa, “Dirty Work”
JIN, “Don’t Say You Love Me”
XG, “HANDS UP”
MEOVV, “HANDS UP”
LAY ZHANG, “KAI TIAN”
YUQI, “M.O.”
TIA RAY, “PHONE”
BABYMONSTER, “WE GO UP”
Song of the Year
YEJI, “AIR”
KUN, “Deadman”
G-DRAGON, “DRAMA”
JISOO, “earthquake”
MINNIE, “HER”
WANG YIBO, “I AM NOT HERE”
KENSHI YONEZU, “IRIS OUT”
BLACKPINK, “JUMP”
JENNIE, “Like JENNIE”
ROSÉ, “number one girl”
Best Collaboration
JACKSON WANG x Diljit Dosanjh, “BUCK”
JISOO x ZAYN, “EYES CLOSED”
MARK x LEE YOUNG JI, “Fraktsiya”
JENNIE x Dua Lipa, “Handlebars”
KENSHI YONEZU x UTADA HIKARU, “JANE DOE”
J-Hope x GloRilla, “Killin’ It Girl”
LiSA x Felix, “ReawakeR”
THE 8 (XU MINGHAO) x GALI, “Star Crossing Night”
G.E.M. x Faouzia, “Still Breathing (Acoustic)”
G-DRAGON x Anderson .Paak, “TOO BAD”
Best Music Video
KUN, “Deadman”
LISA, “Dream”
JACKSON WANG, “GBAD”
ZEROBASEONE, “ICONIK”
LAY ZHANG, “KAI TIAN”
JOLIN, “Pleasure”
LE SSERAFIM x J-HOPE, “Spaghetti”
TWICE, “THIS IS FOR”
G-DRAGON x Anderson .Paak, “TOO BAD”
JENNIE, “ZEN”
Best OST
TAN WEIWEI, “DONGJI YAO” from Dongji Rescue
JJ Lin, “Blink of Eternity” from Measure in Love
SHAN YICHUN, “Firework” from Love’s Ambition
D.O., “FOREVER” from Resident Playbook
WINTER, “HUNJUNG YEONSUH” from The Tale of Lady Ok
DOYOUNG, “I find you” from Bon Appetit Your Majesty
SILENCE WANG, “Like Sunny Days, Like Rainy Days” from The First Frost
ZHOU SHEN, “MENG JIAN NI” from Endless Journey of Love
IU, “Midnight Walk” from When Life Gives You Tangerines
LIM HYUNSIK, “See the Light” from When the Phone Rings
Best Dance Performance
KUN, “Deadman”
aespa, “Dirty Work”
JISOO, “earthquake”
WANG YIBO, “I AM NOT HERE”
JENNIE, “Like Jennie”
TREASURE, “NOW FOREVER”
IVE, “Rebel Heart”
SEVENTEEN, “THUNDER”
KAI, “Wait On Me”
BABYMONSTER, “WE GO UP”
Best Male Artist
BAEKHYUN, Essence of Reverie
CHANYEOL, Upside Down
DAVID TAO, STUPID POP SONGS
G-DRAGON, Ubermensch
JACKSON WANG, MAGICMAN 2
JIN, Echo
KAI, Wait on Me
LAY ZHANG, NAO TIAN GONG (Rock the Heavenly Palace)
MARK, The Firstfruit
SUHO, Who Are You
Best Female Artist
JENNIE, Ruby
JISOO, AMORTAGE
JOLIN, Pleasure
LEXIE LIU, TEENAGE RAMBLE
LISA, Alter Ego
MINNIE, HER
RAISA, ambiVert
ROSÉ, rosie
THELMA AOYAMA, Easy Mode
XIN LIU, O
Best Group
aespa, Rich Man
ENHYPEN, DESIRE : UNLEASH
IVE, IVE SECRET
LE SSERAFIM, HOT
NMIXX, Blue Valentine
RIIZE, ODYSSEY
SEVENTEEN, HAPPY BURSTDAY
Stray Kids, KARMA
TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Star Chapter: TOGETHER
TREASURE, PLEASURE
TWICE, THIS IS FOR
ZEROBASEONE, NEVER SAY NEVER
Best New Artist
ALLDAY PROJECT, FAMOUS
CORTIS, COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES
HANA, ROSE
Hearts2Hearts, The Chase
izna, N/a
KickFlip, Kick It! Flip It!
KiiiKiii, UNCUT GEM
TIAN XUNING, GUANG YAN
TOP (TransfOrm Project), LØVE IS DANGEROUS!
ZI YU, Too Deep
Best Lyricist
FRANCIS LEE, (“From Dust to Dust (WEI CHEN)” by DAVID TAO)
G-DRAGON, Diane Warren & CHOICE37 (“DRAMA” by G-DRAGON)
JACKSON WANG, Alexis Andrea Boyd, Louis Bartolini & Sayak Das (“Made Me a Man” by JACKSON WANG)
JENNIE, Tayla Parx, Amanda “Kiddo A.I.” Ibanez, ZICO, Thomas Wesley Pentz & Jorge Antonio Alfonzo Sr. (“Like JENNIE ” by JENNIE)
JIN CANCAN (“I AM NOT HERE” by WANG YIBO)
JOLIN, Jackson Dimiglio Wood & Richard Craker (“DIY” by JOLIN)
KENZIE (“poppop” by NCT WISH)
LI YIJIE & LAY ZHANG (“KAI TIAN” by LAY ZHANG)
ROSÉ, Evan Blair, Michael Pollack & Emily Warren Schwartz (“toxic till the end” by ROSÉ)
WOOZI & BUMZU (“THUNDER” by SEVENTEEN)
Best Composer
Diane Warren (“DRAMA” by G-DRAGON)
GUO GUANTING, JOKER XUE & ZHOU YILI (“YUE” by JOKER XUE)
JJ LIN (“Turn Of A Page” by JJ LIN)
KENSHI YONEZU (“IRIS OUT” by KENSHI YONEZU)
LEXIE LIU & Trinidad Cardona (“X” by LEXIE LIU)
MINNIE, BreadBeat, SHINKUNG, CA$HCOW & Tim Tan (“HER” by MINNIE)
Nathan Fertig & Wyatt Sanders (“Don’t Say You Love Me” by JIN)
QIAN LEI (“I AM NOT HERE” by WANG YIBO)
ROSÉ, Amy Allen, Dernst Emile II, Omer Fedi, Carter Lang, Bruno Mars & Dylan Wiggins (“number one girl” by ROSÉ)
RYAN JHUN, Sorana Pacurar, Jaro Omar, Inverness & Ferras (“258” by YEJI)
Best Arranger
Anti-General & LAY ZHANG (“KAI TIAN” by LAY ZHANG)
CHANCELLOR, JAKOPS & DOOMSDAY (“GALA” by XG)
Cody Tarpley, Ben Samama, RYAN JHUN (“Rich Man” by aespa)
DAVID TAO (“Stupid Pop Song” by DAVID TAO)
Gabriel Benjamin (“SHAKE” by YAN HAOXIANG)
Gustav Landell, DiGenius & Daoud (“THIS IS FOR” by TWICE)
Imad Royal, MAX (“Adult Swim” by KAI)
Siixk Jun (“M.O.” by YUQI)
The Wavys, Chloe, Dyan (“KNOW BOUT ME” by NMIXX)
Trackside, MLITE (“XOXZ” by IVE)
Best Producer
13 & Jackson Shanks (HOT by LE SSERAFIM)
BLISSOO & The Wavys (AMORTAGE by JISOO)
DAVID TAO (STUPID POP SONGS by DAVID TAO)
G-DRAGON (With his production team) (Ubermensch by G-DRAGON)
JACKSON WANG (with his production team) (MAGICMAN 2 by JACKSON WANG)
JENNIE (with her production team) (Ruby by JENNIE)
JOLIN (with her production team) (Pleasure by JOLIN)
LAY ZHANG (NAO TIAN GONG (Rock the Heavenly Palace) by LAY ZHANG)
Mathias Wang, Tomy & OHU (Sunkiss by WENDY)
VERSACHOI & Bang Chan (3RACHA), (KARMA by Stray Kids)
Global Artist Award
Daniel Caesar, Son Of Spergy
Demi Lovato, It’s Not That Deep
Justin Bieber, SWAG II
Lady Gaga, MAYHEM
Mariah the Scientist, HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY
Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving
Sabrina Carpenter, Man’s Best Friend
SZA, SOS Deluxe: LANA
Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl
The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow
APMA 2025 People’s Choice Award (Fan Voted)
Stay tuned for further information including ceremony date and more from the 2025 Asian Pop Music Awards.
