2024 MAMA Awards: A Global K-Pop Phenomenon Captivating Audiences Worldwide

The '2024 MAMA AWARDS', a globally recognized K-Pop awards ceremony, continues to captivate audiences with its unique offerings, both before and after the event. This year's event, which concluded last weekend, was a relay from the United States to Japan, broadcasted worldwide, and became a hot topic for its groundbreaking performances.

The '2024 MAMA AWARDS' featured debut performances that not only trended in real-time but also sparked a replay frenzy, dominating online charts. MAMA-related keywords ranked in over 860 instances across 42 countries and regions on X's real-time trends, with approximately 13 million related hashtags on global social media, marking an 800% increase in mentions compared to previous years. The official YouTube videos of the awards ceremony surpassed 100 million views within just five days.

The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, USA, garnered significant attention with performances from global rookie artists and legendary American artist Anderson .Paak, alongside veteran artist Park Jin-young, celebrating his 30th anniversary. The excitement continued at Japan's Kyocera Dome Osaka, where storytelling and cutting-edge technology created an overwhelming spectacle. Highlights included a dance collaboration between Tomorrow X Together's Yeonjun and a robotic dog, and a collaborative band 'TOENZE' featuring members from prominent K-Pop boy groups like Tomorrow X Together, ENHYPEN, and ZEROBASEONE. Virtual artist PLAVE and Lee Young-ji, along with actress Lee Ji-ah's surprise transformation into a rapper, also drew attention. Cinematic stages, such as ZEROBASEONE's reinterpretation of 'Romeo and Juliet' and a fairy tale-like performance by BIBI and Ahn Jae-hyun, were among the audience's favorite spectacles.

The most talked-about performances included the debut of Bruno Mars and Rosé's 'APT.' and BIGBANG's return to the 'MAMA AWARDS' stage after nine years. G-Dragon, Daesung, and Taeyang delivered legendary performances, with G-Dragon's charismatic entrance reminiscent of his 2014 'MAMA' appearance. He performed 'Untitled' and debuted the new song 'POWER'. Taeyang and Daesung's surprise appearances followed, unveiling the new track 'HOME SWEET HOME'. G-Dragon and BIGBANG's performances showcased the timeless power of music, amassing over 10 million views on YouTube within a day and causing a surge on various music charts. G-Dragon's solo track 'Untitled' re-entered Melon's TOP100, while 'HOME SWEET HOME' topped Melon's HOT100 and TOP100. BIGBANG's music also soared on China's QQ Music charts. Bruno Mars and Rosé's 'APT.' performance video ranked high on YouTube's trending music videos worldwide, surpassing 12 million views. Following the '2024 MAMA AWARDS', the track re-entered Spotify's global top spot and saw a significant increase in downloads, streaming, radio, and video plays on Billboard Japan, with radio plays increasing 2.3 times compared to the previous week, reaching number one. The '2024 MAMA AWARDS' continues to resonate with audiences, with memorable performances and acceptance speeches.

The 'MAMA AWARDS' began in 1999 as Mnet's 'Video Music Awards' and was rebranded in 2009 as the 'Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS', the first Asian music awards in South Korea. In 2022, it was rebranded again as the 'MAMA AWARDS', continuing to spread hope and empathy worldwide through the positive influence of music. As a unique global K-Pop awards ceremony, the 'MAMA AWARDS' continues to challenge and redefine the value and future of K-Pop.

By Min-Kyung Lee, Ten Asia Reporter 2min_ror@tenasia.co.kr