The 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, also known as 2021 MAMA, organized by CJ E&M and broadcast through its music channel Mnet, took place live on December 11, 2021. The ceremony was held at CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, South Korea. The theme for the ceremony was titled as "Make Some Noise". The ceremony was the 23rd in the show's history, and the last to be named as the "Mnet Asian Music Awards," as the show rebranded for the following edition.
Background
On July 20, 2021, it was reported by Ilgan Sports the ceremony is undergoing discussion to be held in Hong Kong despite the ongoing pandemic and travel restrictions.[1] On September 7, it was announced the ceremony would be held at CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, South Korea. This will be the second consecutive year, the ceremony will take place in South Korea only.[2]
On October 13, Mnet announced that Lee Hyori will be hosting the ceremony. She will be the first female host for Mnet Asian Music Awards. In addition, Mnet also announced that the theme of the ceremony titled as "Make Some Noise".[3] Mnet also announced that it will be airing a 7-episode special documentary titled "MAMA: The Original K-pop Awards" from October 28, to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Mnet Asian Music Awards.[4] According to video teaser posted on Mnet's Twitter, the documentary is expected to feature interviews from Psy, Park Jin-young, Exo's Kai, Twice's Nayeon, Sana, and Jihyo, Mamamoo's Hwasa, Stray Kids, Super Junior, Shinee, and 2NE1.[5]
On November 16, a global press conference was held. It was revealed that the awards ceremony will be an offline event with a limited audience in accordance with government disease prevention guidelines. South Korean-based company, Samil PwC, will be auditing the ceremony. Mnet also announced additional performers including British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, the 8 crews of Street Woman Fighter, a reunion stage of Wanna One, and a collaboration stage between members of top fourth-generation K-pop groups.[6]
On December 9, Mnet announced the 2021 MAMA Ambassadors. Rain, Song Joong-ki, Ed Sheeran and Han Ye-ri will deliver the key values that made K-content globally loved by global audiences.[7] On December 11, Mnet released a special album titled, "Do the dance", performed by Lee Hyori on music streaming platforms.[8]
Performers
Ed Sheeran, Street Woman Fighter, and Wanna One were announced as performers on November 16, 2021.[9] The rest of the performers were announced on November 25.[10] On December 5, Kep1er withdrew from the ceremony after a staff member from the group tested positive for COVID-19.[11] Some performances are pre-recorded.
The list of presenters was announced on December 7, 2021.[38]Choi Si-won was originally scheduled as a presenter but was diagnosed with COVID-19 a day before the ceremony.[39]
^Best New Male/Female Artist, Best Male/Female Artist, Best Male/Female Group.
^Best Dance Performance (Solo/Male/Female Group), Best Vocal Performance (Male/Female/Group), Best Hip-hop & Urban Music, Best Band Performance, Best Collaboration, Best OST.
^ abPre-voting will be held from November 4 to 22, 2021. Main voting period will be held from November 25 until the live broadcast of the show.
Asia Music categories
Artists from Japan, Greater China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam who have worked on songs released from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.[40]
Professional categories
Music experts who participated in the production, creation, activities etc., of K-Pop's records and digital songs released from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.[40]
Winners and nominees
BTS won ten awards, including the Artist of the Year (Daesang), Song of the Year (Daesang), Album of the Year (Daesang), Worldwide Icon of the Year (Daesang), Best Male Group, Best Dance Performance, Best Music Video, Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10, TikTok Favorite Moment and 2021 Visionary.IU won three awards, including Best Female Artist, Best Vocal Performance, and Best Collaboration.Aespa, Best Dance Performance – Female Group and Best New Female Artist
Winners and nominees are listed in alphabetical order. Winners listed first and highlighted in bold.[41][42]
Online voting for Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10 opened on the official website and Twitter on November 4, 2021. Online voting for Worldwide Icon of the Year opened on the official MAMA website and Twitter on November 25, 2021. Voting on the official website and Apple Music ended on December 9, 2021, while voting on Twitter ended during the live broadcast.[43]
Main Awards
The list of nominees for all categories excluding Album of the Year, Worldwide Icon of the Year, and Best Music Video, were announced on November 3, 2021, through the official website.[44]
The ceremony of the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards was broadcast live worldwide from Mnet in South Korea, to simulcast across CJ E&M channels; other international networks, and online via Mnet K-pop, Mnet TV, M2, and KCON's YouTube account.[45] The red carpet was broadcast live 2 hours before the main ceremony.
^Restricted access in some countries due to broadcasting rights.
References
^Hwang, Ji-young (July 20, 2021). "[단독] '2021 MAMA' 코로나 위기 속 홍콩 개최 논의 '솔솔'" [[Exclusive] Discussion about holding '2021 MAMA' in Hong Kong amid Corona crisis 'Solsol']. Daum (in Korean). Ilgan Sports. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
^Kim, Jin-seok (September 7, 2021). "[단독]2021 MAMA, 12월 11일 개최 ... 2년 연속 국내" [[Exclusive] 2021 MAMA to be held on December 11th ... 2 years in a row] (in Korean). JTBC. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via Naver.
^Im, Mi-ji (October 13, 2021). "이효리, '2021 MAMA' 호스트 확정..역대 최초 여성 호스트(공식)" [Hyori Lee, confirmed as host for '2021 MAMA'...First female host in history (official)] (in Korean). Herald POP. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021 – via Naver.
^Hong, Se-young (October 6, 2021). "[DA:이슈] 갑분 'MAMA' 다큐...추억팔이vsMnet 자존감 회복" [[DA:Issue] Gabbun 'MAMA' documentary...Selling Memories vs. Mnet Self-Esteem Recovery] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021 – via Naver.
^Hwang, Hye-jin (November 16, 2021). "이효리·워너원·스우파→에드시런까지...2021 MAMA 변화와 도전(종합)" [Hyori Lee, Wanna One, Supa → Ed Sheeran...2021 MAMA Changes and Challenges (Comprehensive)] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Naver.
^Moon, Wan-sik (November 25, 2021). "2021 MAMA, 에스파→TXT 12팀 최종 라인업 공개" [2021 MAMA, Espa → TXT 12 Team Final Lineup Revealed] (in Korean). MT Star News. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Naver.
^Park, Jeong-seon (December 3, 2021). "NCT, '2021 MAMA' 무대서 신곡 '유니버스' 무대 첫 공개" [NCT to unveil new song 'Universe' for the first time on stage at '2021 MAMA'] (in Korean). Dailian. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Naver.
^Lee, Min-ji (December 11, 2021). "워너원, 우여곡절 끝 3년만 무대 어땠나 "기적 같아"[2021 MAMA]" [Wanna One, how was the stage after 3 years of twists and turns "It's like a miracle" [2021 MAMA]] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Naver.
^Lee, Seul-bi (December 7, 2021). "'2021 MAMA' 엄정화·비→송중기·조정석...시상자 전격 공개" ['2021 MAMA' Uhm Jung-hwa, Rain → Song Joong-ki, Jo Jung-suk...Announcement of the presenter] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Naver.
^Kim, Seon-hee (December 10, 2021). "[전문] 최시원, 코로나 19 확진" [[Special] Siwon Choi, confirmed with COVID-19] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021 – via Naver.
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