Today the nominees for the 9th Korean Music Awards were announced. Out of all the awards in Korea it’s considered the most prestigious among musicians and a majority of the nominees are indie artists rather than idols. The winners of the awards will be presented on February 29th.

Album of the Year nominees:

• Idiotape – 11111101
• The Black Skirts – Don’t You Worry Baby (I’m Only Swimming)
• Yi Sung Yol – Why We Fail
• Chang Kiha & The Faces – 장기하와 얼굴들
• Jeong Cha Sik – 황망한 사내

Song of the Year nominees:

• 2NE1 – “내가 제일 잘 나가”
• Meta Wreckx – “무까끼하이”
• IU – “좋은 날”
• Yi Sung Yol – “돌아오지 않아”
• Chang Kiha & The Faces – “그렇고 그런 사이”
• Cho Deok Hwan – “수만리 먼 길”

Artist of the Year nominees:

• 10cm
• Park Joo Won
• Yi Sung Yol
• Chang Kiha & The Faces
• Cho Deok Hwan

Rookie of the Year nominees:

• 40
• Bye Bye Badman
• BG Salon
• Neon Bunny
• JTong

Go below the jump for nominees in other categories as well as playlist for easy sampling in case there’s something you have yet to hear!

Starting with representative samples from the rookies of the year:

And here are the best songs:

The full nominee lists for category albums is long, but hopefully we’ll be able to bring a bit on information on each on the Korean Indie main site within the next month or so. For now, here are YouTube playlists showing all the nominees for the category songs.

Best Rock Song nominees; including songs from Downhell, Lowdown 30, Apollo 18, Yellow Monsters, Chang Kiha & The Faces, Cho Deok Hwan:

Best Modern Rock Song nominees; including songs from The Black Skirts, Goonamguayeoridingstella, Bye Bye Badman, Yi Sung Yol, The KOXX, Huckleberry Finn:

Best Pop Song nominees; including songs from 10cm, UV, Song Sung-Jae, IU, Neon Bunny, Urban Zakapa:

Best Dance & Electronic Song nominees; including songs from 2NE1, f(x), Trampauline, Infinite, T-ara:

Best Rap & Hip Hop Song nominees; including songs from GD & TOP, Meta Wreckx, Verbal Jint, JTong:

Best R&B & Soul Song nominees; including songs from 40, Boni, Soulstar, Junggigo:

In addition to the award categories above, there are also three categories where netizens get their say for Best Male Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Group. The many nominees are listed on the KMA voting page. The voting opened today and closes on February 17th.

Source: Korean Music Awards