South Korean mega group BTS dominated the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) on Saturday through their nine award wins.
What happened: The event, which was held at CJ ENM’s Contents World in Paju City in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province, was hosted by Lee Hyo-ri, the first female artist to host the show since its inception in 1999, according to Channel News Asia.
- The musical group — consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook — won nine awards , including four Daesangs (grand prizes) for Song of the Year (“Butter”), Album of the Year (“Be”), Worldwide Icon of the Year and Artist of the Year.
- BTS also won Best Group (Male), Best Dance Performance (Male Group), Best Music Video, TikTok Favorite Moment and a spot in the Worldwide Fan’s Choice Top 10.
- Although the group, who just returned to South Korea from their most recent U.S. concert, was not present during the awards show due to COVID-19 quarantine protocol changes, they did release a pre-recorded message where they thanked their fans for their support, The Straits Times reported.
- “For all those who had difficult times this year, we tried new things in making music and worked hard to share strength and comfort with them,” group leader RM said. “Thank you for empathizing with our heartfelt music and enjoying it with us.”
- “Once again, we thank 2021 MAMA and ARMY for the honour of this award,” Jungkook said. “There’s only a little bit of 2021 left, please spend it together with BTS’ music.”
More details: Other winners at the awards show include Aespa for Best New Artist (Female), Twice for Best Group (Female), Exo’s Baekhyun for Best Artist (Male), Blackpink’s Rosé for Best Dance Performance (Solo) and more.
- “Over the past 22 years, MAMA has highlighted the potential of K-POP by showcasing the values of diversity and novelty that challenges prejudice and offered a world in which ‘MUSIC MAKES ONE’ to music fans around the world,” its website states. “MAMA is now leading K-POP’s greater tomorrow and will take another step forward as ‘the World’s No. 1 K-POP Music Awards.’”
