Year-end Kpop festivals are a great way for fans staying at home to rejoice in the warmth and cosiness of their abodes during the chilly Holiday season. Blessing this festive air further, a new SM Family photo, released following the musical concert held in lieu of the new year celebrations has once again become a uniting bridge for multiple fandoms rooting for several groups and artists from one of the “Big 4” K-pop agencies. This picture was posted on the “smtown” social media pages on the first day of the new year, i.e. January 1, 2024, a day after 2023 MBC Gayo Daejejeon was broadcasted (2023 MBC 가요대제전).
Annually held around this time of the year, this show is graced by some of the most loved and talented names from the K-pop space as they beckon the arrival of the next year with high spirits and positive hopes. Snapped backstage, this latest photograph featuring the big “SM Family” includes a multitude of artists, such as the NCT members – (NCT 127) Taeyong, Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo in red-black attires; (NCT DREAM) Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung in all-black outfits; SHINee members, Taemin and Key in white, whereas Minho, also one of the show’s MCs, in black.
Moreover, aespa members, Karina, Winter, Ningning and Giselle shine in their blue cyberpunk costumes, and RIIZE members, Shotaro, Sungchan, Sohee, Eunseok, Wonbin and Anton also rock out in white ensembles by NCT’s side. And stealing the spotlight as the “nation centre and SM centre”, as remarked by one of the fans on Instagram, Yoona aka Im Yoon-ah outshines the rest in her yellow ball gown as yet another MC for the event night.
Although the majority of comments under the post encapsulate the general trend of fans being in their feels on seeing these multi-fandom interactions, one of the most significant highlights of these year-end ceremonies, others have gone on to question where the remaining artists are. A netizen pointed out that NCT’s Chinese sub-unit, WayV, was missing, and some hardcore fans were even baffled by EXO and Red Velvet’s absences. However, neither of these groups had been omitted intentionally from this picture, they’d simply not been a part of the 2023 MBC Music Festival lineup on December 31, 2023.
Some other reactions also included fans wishing for their favourites from across different groups to share one-on-one interactions: “I NEED MINHO AND JAEHYUN INTERACTION GOD PLEASE”, while long-time fans again reminded others that this gathering of SM artists was indeed an example of stars lining up perfectly in the sky, through simple comments like, “SM FAMILY >>>>”. Yet another admirer appreciated that aespa had finally been included in the conversation too, “you finally don’t forget about aespa”. In what appears to be a long tradition of unity and reciprocative support and respect, fans are overjoyed to have witnessed the first SM Family reunion of the new year.
Check Out the New SM Family Photo from 2023 MBC Gayo Daejejeon
SM Group Pics From MBC Gayo Daejejeon
SHINee
NCT U
NCT 127
NCT DREAM
aespa
Held at the MBC Dream Center in Ilsan, the 2023 MBC Gayo Daejejeon was hosted by SHINee Minho, Girls’ Generations Yoona and Hwang Minhyun. The former two artists are both from SM Entertainment, and among them, Yoona has consistently been the MC for this annual event since 2015, whereas Minho had first joined her to host the occasion in 2018.
All 2023 MBC Music Festival performances are now available on YouTube (MBCkpop). The full show is also expected to be released on Viki soon.
Did you enjoy this SM artists’ reunion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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