According to a report by Sports Kyunghyang published via Naver Entertainment on July 30, the Asia Artist Awards organizing committee has added RESCENE, ITZY, KiiiKiii and Hearts2Hearts to the second wave of performers for AAA 2026. The awards will take place December 5-6 at Kaohsiung National Stadium in Taiwan. RESCENE, a five-member group of Woni, Liv, Minami, May and Zena, saw its 2024 track “Love Attack” climb the charts again and claim a terrestrial music show win, followed by a double win with the remake single “Pretty Girl.” ITZY continues its third world tour, Tunnel Vision, with sold-out stops in Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, plus a fully booked fifth fan meeting in Seoul on August 8-9. KiiiKiii scored its first Melon Top 100 number one with “404 (New Era)” earlier this year and will release its third mini-album, WhyKiiiKiii, on August 10. Hearts2Hearts, the eight-member SM group, followed its February single “Rude!” with the mini-album Lemon Tang last month.
For international fans less familiar with the newer acts, this lineup mixes established momentum with rising chart power. ITZY has maintained strong global touring numbers since their earlier eras, while RESCENE’s delayed chart success and KiiiKiii’s rapid Melon breakthrough mark them as acts gaining traction beyond Korea. Hearts2Hearts, formed under SM, has turned viral moments from “Rude!” into solid domestic performance. The ceremony is hosted by actor Ji Chang-wook, IVE’s Jang Wonyoung and Sung Hanbin, with actors Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung already confirmed on the actor side. First-wave music guests include LNGSHOT, &TEAM and ATEEZ. Star News hosts the event with the AAA committee, Motive and D-SOW; more names are expected later.
Fan accounts reacted quickly once the announcement circulated. RESCENE global pages posted the dates and location with clear excitement, noting the “Kaohsiung Yaho~!” framing used in Korean coverage, while Brazilian fan pages shared the confirmation in Portuguese. Broader comments on X described the expanding lineup as looking strong alongside ATEEZ and &TEAM. Additional artists will be revealed in coming weeks as organizers build toward the two-day event.
Source: Sports kyunghyang Report
