BTS vs Lim Young-woong, PLAVE vs RIIZE Clash…Where Is the Strongest Fandom?

The excitement surrounding the “Hanteo Music Awards 2025” is heating up in earnest.

On January 22, Hanteo Global, the organizer and host of the “Hanteo Music Awards 2025” (HMA 2025), announced, “Starting on January 21, we opened the semifinal voting to determine the TOP4 teams for the WhosFandom Award.”

Photo by Hanteo Global.

The WhosFandom Award is presented to the global fandoms and artists who stand at the center of K-pop, with winners determined 100 percent by global fan voting through the Whosfan app. In the preliminary round, the TOP16 teams were selected out of a total of 40 candidates, and from the TOP8 onward, the competition has been conducted in a tournament format, intensifying the rivalry.

In the semifinals, “ARMY (BTS) vs Hero Era (Lim Young-woong)” and “PLI (PLAVE) vs BRIIZE (RIIZE)” are matched against each other, drawing significant attention. Voting runs from 3 p.m. on January 21 to 3 p.m. on January 22, during which the two teams advancing to the finals will be decided.

Alongside the WhosFandom Award voting, first-round voting for the “Domestic Popularity Award” and the “Global Popularity Award” categories is also underway as part of HMA 2025.

Meanwhile, the “Hanteo Music Awards 2025” ceremony is scheduled to be held on February 15 at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul.

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