Nominees for 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards announced with new judging criteria


The nominees in different categories for the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) have been announced on Nov. 3.

This year, drastic changes have been implemented in the criteria to select the winners in various categories.

BEST MALE GROUP nominees (clockwise from top left) BTS, NCT 127, NCT Dream, Seventeen, Stray Kids and TXT (MAMA)

The Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year, three of the four grand prizes, will be selected by a jury composed of experts related to K-pop and will be evaluated with the focus on the quality of work and artistry based on digital and album sales.

Meanwhile, the Worldwide Icon of the Year, another grand prize, and the Worldwide Fans’ Choice Top 10, will be 100 percent selected through votes.

By introducing a new judging method, MAMA will ensure fairness by balancing the evaluation of popularity, workmanship and artistry.

From this year, data from Apple Music, a global music platform servicing in 167 countries, will be added. Until last year, MAMA used data from Gaon Music Chart. The global voting will start at 6 p.m. KST on Nov. 4.

Here are the nominees for 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) as announced on Twitter and YouTube:

BEST MALE ARTIST

Kang Daniel

EXO’s D.O.

EXO’s Kai

EXO’s Baekhyun

Lee Mujin

BEST FEMALE ARTIST

BLACKPINK’s Lisa

BLACKPINK’s Rosé

IU

Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon

Heize

BEST NEW MALE ARTIST

ENHYPEN

EPEX

Drippin

P1Harmony

Mirae

BEST NEW FEMALE ARTIST

Aespa

STAYC

Lightsum

Jo Yu-ri

Kwon Eun-bi

BEST MALE GROUP

BTS

Seventeen

NCT 127

TXT

NCT Dream

Stray Kids

BEST FEMALE GROUP

Brave Girls

(G)I-DLE

Oh My Girl

ITZY

Red Velvet

TWICE

BEST FEMALE GROUP nominees (clockwise from top left) Brave Girls, (G)I-DLE, ITZY, Oh My Girl, Red Velvet and TWICE (MAMA)

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE (MALE GROUP)

BTS - “Butter”

Seventeen - “Ready to Love”

SHINee – “Don’t Call Me”

NCT 127 – “Sticker”

NCT DREAM – “Hot Sauce”

Stray Kids – “Thunderous”

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE (FEMALE GROUP)

ITZY - “In the Morning”

aespa - “Next Level”

Red Velvet - “Queendom”

Oh My Girl - “Dun Dun Dance”

STAYC - “ASAP”

TWICE - “Alcohol-Free”

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE (SOLO)

BLACKPINK’s Lisa - “Lalisa”

HyunA -“I’m Not Cool”

EXO’s Baekhyun - “Bambi”

BLACKPINK’s Rosé - “On the Ground”

Jeon Somi - “Dumb Dumb”

Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon - “Weekend”

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE

IU - “Celebrity”

AKMU - “NAKKA” (with IU)

Davichi - “Just Hug Me”

Heize - “Happen”

Lee Mu-jin - “Traffic Light”

BEST BAND PERFORMANCE

DAY6 - “You Make Me”

10cm - “Sleepless in Seoul” (feat. Lee Suhyun)

CNBLUE - “Then, Now and Forever”

Jannabi -– “A thought on an autumn night”

N.Flying -“Moonshot”

BEST OST

Jo Jung-suk – “I Like You” (Drama: “Hospital Playlist” Season 2)

10cm – “Borrow Your Night” (“Romance 101”)

Choi Yu-ree – “Wish” (“Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha”)

Lee Mu-jin – “Rain and You” (“Hospital Playlist 2”)

Highlight’s Yang Yoseob and Apink’s Jung Eun-ji - “Love Day” (“Romance 101”)

BEST HIP HOP & URBAN MUSIC

Jessi - “What Type of X”

Ash Island - “MELODY”

Changmo - “GJD”

WINNER’s Song Mino - “Run away”

YUMDDA - “9ucci” (feat. DOGE)

BEST COLLABORATION

Coldplay & BTS - “My Universe”

AKMU – “NAKKA” (with IU)

Gaeko & Kwon Jin Ah - "I Feel Like"

Hyolyn & Dasom – “Summer or Summer”

Rain – “Switch to Me” (with Park Jin-Young)

WORLDWIDE FANS’ CHOICE TOP 10 (PRE-VOTE)

Aespa

AKMU

Ash Island

ASTRO

ATEEZ

Brave Girls

BTS

Chungha

CL

Davichi

ENHYPEN

EXO

Fromis_9

(G)I-DLE

Heize

HyunA

iKON

ITZY

IU

Jannabi

Jessi

Kang Daniel

Lee Mu-jin

Lee Seung-gi

BLACKPINK’s Lisa

Loona

Mamamoo

WINNER’s Song Mino

Monsta X

NCT 127

NCT Dream

NU’EST

Oh My Girl

Rain

Red Velvet

BLACKPINK’s Rosé

Seventeen

SF9

SHINee

Jeon Somi

STAYC

Stray Kids

Sunmi

Super Junior

Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon

The Boyz

TXT

Treasure

TWICE

Weeekly