Virtual group PLAVE (Ye-jun, Noah, Bambi, Eun-ho, Ha-min) took first place in the 'Global Hot Star' award category at the 2026 THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS. The voting took place over three weeks from last month's 20th to the 10th, and PLAVE won the award for the second consecutive year. The 'Global Hot Star' award is presented to the 4th and 5th generation K-pop artists who received the most love both domestically and internationally in 2026. PLAVE competed against nine other finalist teams including NEXZ, BOYNEXTDOOR, Stray Kids, Nine, ATEEZ, N.SSign, TEMPEST, Tomorrow X Together, and TOURS. The group surpassed all competitors to claim first place, with NEXZ finishing second and Nine in third place. Winners in second and third place received special perks including advertisement exposure on Korean Building in Cheonggyecheon and K-City Tour Bus advertisements respectively. The 2026 THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on September 19th.