Aespa And NewJeans Headline, But “The 2024 Fact Music Awards” Venue Was Still Half-Empty

The 2024 Fact Music Awards — held at Kyocera Dome in Japan — may have been an exciting night filled with awards and performances, but the day after the event faced significant backlash online.

Photos of the venue’s empty seats quickly went viral, particularly focusing on the underwhelming attendance despite popular groups like NewJeans and aespa being part of the lineup.

A post on Pann highlighted the situation, showing large gaps in the second and third floors of the dome, and even scattered empty seats on the first floor. The user questioned the decision to hold the event in such a large venue with high ticket prices, suggesting it would have made more sense to either lower prices or choose a smaller location with around 10,000 seats.

The second and third floors are practically empty, and even the first floor has lots of empty seats. Even though it’s a joint concert with a lineup including aespa and NewJeans…

Why are they holding an award ceremony in Japan, charging such high prices? I’m not going. Shouldn’t they lower the price or hold it at a smaller venue, like 10,000 seats?

— OP on Pann

Many fans speculated that the lackluster turnout was not due to the popularity of the headlining girl groups but rather the male idol lineup. Typically, male idol fandoms are known for filling out joint award shows, but this time, the selection of male artists seemed to lack the usual star power needed to attract a large audience.

Despite the concerns, some fans defended NewJeans and aespa, pointing out that both groups had recently sold out Tokyo Dome on their own, proving their popularity in Japan. Many argued that it was unfair to blame the girl groups for the event’s poor attendance, noting that girl group fans are more likely to attend solo concerts rather than joint award shows.

• “The male idol lineup was too much of a stretch.”
• “Some people are blaming NewJeans and aespa, but both of them sold out Tokyo Dome. Do you really think it’s their fault? Lol. Usually, it’s the male idol fandoms that fill up these joint award shows. It’s not that NewJeans and aespa have weak fanbases, lol. I can tell exactly which fans are ranting here. Just so you know, NewJeans and aespa managed to sell out Tokyo Dome, which your faves could never even dream of. Oh, and for the record, over 900,000 people applied for aespa’s showcase in Japan, lol.”
• “For joint award shows like this, it’s usually the male idol fandoms that fill up the venue, but the male idol lineup this time was really lacking.”
• “It’s not NewJeans’ fault. They can fill up their solo concerts. It’s not like they have the same issue as that one other group that can’t even rank on Gallup and has empty fan meetings. Why would you blame NewJeans for the joint award show not selling out? Fans of girl groups usually don’t spend money to attend these kinds of events. They prefer to go to solo concerts.”
• “Apparently, TMA said something on Twitter, and that caused even more Japanese fans to cancel.”
• “What? I thought NewJeans were super popular in Japan, but now it’s half-empty?”