The 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) ceremony was held on Dec. 11 at the CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea.
K-pop superstars BTS swept all the four “daesang” (grand prizes) of the night: TikTok Artist of the Year, TikTok Song of the Year, TikTok Album of the Year and TikTok Worldwide Icon of the Year.
They were unable to attend as they are under 10-day quarantine, a rule imposed by the Korean government starting Dec. 3 for incoming travelers due to the Omicron variant. BTS’ Jin, Jungkook and Jimin arrived in Korea on Dec. 6 from the US.
In a video message, Jin said, “Thanks again to ARMYs’ love and support this year, we were honored with a precious award at 2021 MAMA. Thank you very much.”
“For all those who had difficult times this year, to share strength and comfort, we tried new things in making music and we worked very hard. Thank you for empathizing with our heartful music and enjoying them with us,” said RM.
The winners of the Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10 are Stray Kids, NCT Dream, NCT 127, ENHYPEN, TXT, BTS, BLACKPINK's Lisa, Seventeen, Treasure and TWICE.
BTS and TWICE won Best Group while EXO’s Baekhyun bagged Best Male Artist and IU won Best Female Artist. ENHYPEN and Aespa took home the Best New Artist award.
The ceremony also saw the reunion of members of disbanded K-pop boy band Wanna One. However, members were unable to attend the ceremony after one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 on the day the group filmed their performance for MAMA.
Here are the winners at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA):
TikTok Artist of the Year - BTS
TikTok Song of the Year - BTS
TikTok Album of the Year - BTS
TikTok Worldwide Icon of the Year - BTS
Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10 - Stray Kids, NCT Dream, NCT 127, ENHYPEN, TXT, BTS, BLACKPINK's Lisa, Seventeen, Treasure, TWICE
Best Male Group - BTS
Best Female Group - TWICE
Best Male Artist - EXO’s Baekhyun
Best Female Artist - IU
Best New Artist (Male) - ENHYPEN
Best New Artist (Female) - Aespa
Best Vocal Performance - IU, “Celebrity”
Best Dance Performance (Male Group) - BTS, “Butter”
Best Dance Performance (Female Group) - Aespa, “Next Level”
Best Dance Performance (Solo) - BLACKPINK’s Rosé, “On the Ground”
Best Collaboration - AKMU and IU, “NAKKA”
Best Hip Hop & Urban Music - Ash Island, “Melody”
Best Band Performance: Jannabi, “A thought on an autumn night”
Best OST: Jo Jung-suk, “I Like You” for “Hospital Playlist 2”
Best Music Video - BTS
Korean Tourism Organization Breakout Artist - Brave Girls
TikTok Favorite Moment - BTS
Favorite Asian Artist - INI
Favorite International Artist - Ed Sheeran
Best New Asian Artist
- Japan - Ado
- Mandarin - Anson Lo
- Vietnam - Hoang Duyen
- Indonesia - Lyodra
- Thailand - SPRITE X GUYGEEGEE
Best Asian Artist
- Japan -JO1
- Vietnam - Quan A.P.
- Indonesia) - Anneth
- Thailand - Tilly Birds
- Mandarin - ACCUSEFIVE
Best Executive Producer of the Year - Bang Si-hyuk
Best Producer of the Year - Teddy
Best Composer of the Year - Yoo Young-sin
Choreographer of the Year - Leejung Lee
Best Art Director of the Year -MU:E
Best Video Director of the Year - Lumpens
Best Engineer of the Year - Gu Jong Pil, Kwon Nam Woo