As another year comes to a close, so does the awards season in the Korean music industry, signposted by the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, iconically known for its elaborate stages and lineups of K-Pop’s crème de la crème. 

With wins and performances ranging from BTS to ITZY to Ash Island, the 2021 MAMA was certainly a fascinating watch this year. Here is a rundown of all the winners and some of the key highlights of the show.

Main category winners

TIKTOK ALBUM OF THE YEAR (DAESANG) - BTS with BE

TIKTOK WORLDWIDE ICON OF THE YEAR (DAESANG) - BTS

TIKTOK SONG OF THE YEAR (DAESANG) - BTS with ‘Butter’

TIKTOK ARTIST OF THE YEAR (DAESANG) - BTS

This clean sweep for BTS, with all four of the grand prize daesangs, meant this was their third consecutive year obtaining this achievement – they are only act to do so in MAMA history.

BEST FEMALE GROUP - TWICE

BEST MALE GROUP - BTS

BEST FEMALE ARTIST - IU

BEST MALE ARTIST - BAEKHYUN

BEST NEW FEMALE ARTIST - AESPA

BEST NEW MALE ARTIST - ENHYPEN

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE FEMALE GROUP - AESPA with ‘Next Level’

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE MALE GROUP - BTS with ‘Butter’

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE SOLO - ROSÉ (BLACKPINK) with ‘On The Ground’

BEST BAND PERFORMANCE - JANNABI with ‘A thought on an autumn night’

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE - IU with ‘Celebrity’

BEST COLLABORATION - AKMU (with IU) with ‘Nakka’

BEST HIP HOP & URBAN MUSIC - ASH ISLAND with ‘Melody’

KTO BREAKOUT ARTIST - BRAVE GIRLS

BEST OST (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) - CHO JUNGSEOK with ‘Like You’ from Hospital Playlist Season 2

WORLDWIDE FANS’ CHOICE TOP 10 - BTS, ENHYPEN, LISA (BLACKPINK), NCT 127, NCT DREAM, SEVENTEEN, STRAY KIDS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), TREASURE, AND TWICE

FAVOURITE ASIAN ARTIST - INI

BEST ASIAN ARTIST -

Japan - JO1

Mandarin - ACCUSEFIVE

Thailand - TILLY BIRDS

Indonesia - ANNETH

Vietnam - QUÂN A.P

BEST NEW ASIAN ARTIST -

Japan - JO1

Mandarin - ANSON LO

Thailand - SPRITE X GUYGEEGEE

Indonesia - LYODRA

Vietnam - HOÀNG DUYÊN

TIKTOK FAVOURITE MOMENT OF THE YEAR - BTS

The unstoppable 4th Gen

The main show of MAMA 2021 included some incredible performances, kicked off by that of six K-Pop 4th generation idols: Hyunjin of Stray Kids, Yeonjun of TXT, Yeji of ITZY, Heesung of Enhypen, Wooyoung of Ateez, and Karina of aespa. 

Each dancer showcased their individual style, whilst highlighting the cohesiveness and talent of not only them as a collective, but of the 4th generation of K-Pop as a whole. Although it would have been amazing to see the six come together for a collaborative performance similar to that of the 2020 MAMA ‘Triangular Fight’ (Juyeon of The Boyz, Hyunjin of Stray Kids, and San of Ateez), COVID regulations likely limited how much could be done with a group of six performers and the resulting performance was still a great watch.

Watch the MAMA opening performance by Hyunjin, Yeonjun, Yeji, Heeseung, Wooyoung, and Karina.

Bringing J-Pop to the fore

The Japanese boy groups JO1 and INI also provided charismatic yet contrasting performances, collaborating to shine a spotlight on the pop/idol industry in Japan that is often overshadowed by the prominence of K-Pop. With a beautiful duet reminiscent of Seventeen’s ‘My I’ (JUN & THE8) sandwiching performances of their respective group’s own songs, INI’s Kimura Masaya and JO1’s Kawashiri Ren helped to pique the interest of a lot of K-Pop fans.

Squid Game specials and boy groups galore

Following JO1 and INI, ITZY’s MAMA performance provided viewers with a new kind of collaboration, combining music with acting in a mafia inspired piece that starred Squid Game actor Heo Sung-tae. 

Main rapper Ryujin took on the role of a ‘corrupt’ police inspector tasked, by Sung-tae (who portrayed bad guy Jang Deok-su in the global hit Netflix show), with killing the other ITZY girls during their MAMA stage. 

Intriguing sets, Catwoman-esque costumes, gorgeously choreographed fight scenes, rock remixes, and great stage presence made ITZY’s performance of ‘LOCO’ and ‘마.피.아. (Mafia) In the morning’ one of the most interesting of the night and one that would not have felt out of place in an episode of Queendom.

Segueing perfectly, Ateez and Stray Kids put their Kingdom: Legendary War competition experience to excellent use later on in the show, delivering fantastic performances between them. 

Ateez highlighted exactly why they are so globally popular with the songs ‘Turbulence’ and ‘The Real’. With unending energy and killing points, the boy group showed everything from elements of traditional Korean festivities, to contemporary dance, to evocations of Seo Taiji and Boys (often “considered the first K-pop group” back in the 90s and credited as fashion icons by idols and the Korean public alike).

Stray Kids then worked to show off all the skills which gave them their Kingdom: Legendary War crown with performances of ‘Hey Monster!’, a dark, rap-heavy song by the writers and composers of the group 3RACHA, and their addictive B-side and title track ‘Cheese’ and ‘Thunderous’ respectively. The latter two were accompanied by Kingdom: Legendary War worthy sets complete with tanks and a flaming sword display by main dancer Hyunjin, which emphasised the power and intensity of the tracks and Stray Kids themselves as performers. 

Despite a few technical difficulties in the form of unreliable microphones and some messy camerawork, the boys proved themselves deserving of both their crown and their Worldwide Fans’ Choice Award.

HYBE excellence

4th generation talent kept on coming throughout the night; HYBE labelmates TXT and Enhypen proved themselves worthy of following in the footsteps of their older brother group BTS with some fantastically refreshing and memorable stages. 

TXT displayed strong, stable vocals and sharp dance skills with their MAMA renditions of the unearthly ‘Frost’ (famously written by American singer/rapper Ashnikko) and the angsty ‘LO$ER=LOVER’ that were both audibly and visually stunning to watch. However, they could easily have been pushed to perfection with some better angled, less jumpy camerawork. 

Watch Tomorrow By Together perform Frost at 2021 MAMA.

Enhypen later provided arguably one of the most impressive performances, utilising the large LED screens behind them during ‘Drunk-Dazed’ to evoke the simple yet vampiric world of their music videos, whilst displaying feats of gymnastic skill, strong, great vocal performances and captivating choreographies throughout (including in the blood-drenched solo of Sunghoon). ‘Tamed-Dashed’ demonstrated buoyancy and consistent skill even when a rugby ball was thrown into the mix, met by audible cheers as Enhypen jumped between exuberant electro-bass, rock, and 90s hip-hop with touches of orchestral hits.

An SM shining star but a mixed bag

Of the SM Entertainment groups, NCT Dream presented the most impressionable stages, performing their contrasting title tracks ‘Hello Future’ and ‘Hot Sauce’ in a choice that emphasised versatility. 

With vocal stability and stage presence from all the members, (enhanced by some creative backdrops, a remixed dance break, and supporting dancers) Dream quite easily overshadowed the stages of their other NCT counterparts, groups NCT 127 and NCT U as well as SM girl group aespa, despite all SM artists seeming to have suffered a lack of funding and creativity for their stages. 

However, there was an excellent mix of performances throughout the show and a few real standouts (including the heartfelt reunion of Wanna One, the Produce 101 Season 2 formed boy group who disbanded in January 2019 after just under 2 years of incredible success). Unfortunately, it felt overall as though MAMA was struggling to get back on its feet as it returned to live audience events, with the quality of stages and range of artists dropping significantly from previous years. This was even the case in comparison to the 2020 show in which a lack of audience allowed for more imaginative performances and camerawork. 

A combination of many 3rd generation idols missing from this year’s lineup and some lacking extravagance in stage concepts, props, and styles meant that the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards as a whole will perhaps be much less likely to go down in the history books as iconic than its predecessors. The pressure is therefore on for next year’s show to up its game in order to showcase the best of the best in the Asian music industry, particularly if MAMA wants to remain the prestigious “global awards ceremony” it claims to be.

© 18.12.21, Gabii Rayner