Ed Sheeran, US expansion & more: MAMA 2021 announces exciting details for going global

MAMA 2021, aka, Mnet Asian Music Awards have made their game bigger and better this year. At a global press conference held in Seoul on November 16, CJ ENM revealed significant details about the upcoming award show, slated for December 11, 2021, at 6 pm KST.

From announcing performance lineups to setting foot in the U.S.A., MAMA shared its goals for going global.

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MAMA 2021 announces special performances including Ed Sheeran, Street Woman Fighter dance crews, and more

All set to make MAMA 2021 unforgettable, the Shape of You singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will grace the awards show with his special performance. CP Park Chan Wook stated,

“Ed Sheeran wrote BTS’s ‘Permission to Dance.’ He has some ties with K-pop. He’s the singer who sang ‘Bad Habits,’ one of the most-loved pop songs this year in Korea. He is preparing a MAMA version performance.”

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The year-end awards show will also see the popular group, Wanna One, reuniting with 11 out 12 members. Both the members and fans are thrilled to see the group join the stage again.

Park Chan Wook has also revealed that the production team has multiple ideas to make the stage fit for their return. It will be “like a gift for fans”, he added.

Other performances for MAMA 2021 will include eight female dance crews that stunned fans in Street Woman Fighter, and collaboration between several fourth-generation K-pop groups. The company has not yet revealed the groups’ names, raising curiosity and anticipation.

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MAMA's plans for further expansion

Meanwhile, MAMA will soon go global. Head of CJ ENM’s Music Content Division, Kim Hyun Soo, revealed that Mnet Asian Music Awards will be hosted in the United States sometime in the future. He said the emphasis would be around K-pop, but it will also “represent film, drama and lifestyle” from South Korea.

He explained the company’s plan, stating,

“We will expand the host countries to the Asian market and other close-by regions and later host MAMA in the United States. While centering around K-pop, we will invite celebrities who represent South Korea in film, drama, and K-lifestyle and strength communication with the generation between ages 15 and 24, showcase unique content based on storytelling, and strengthen the global data that reflects the rising status of K-pop.”

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MAMA introduces massive changes in judging criteria and voting system

During the meeting, the team also discussed the new judging criteria. Along with Gaon chart, Twitter, and YouTube, data from Apple Music will also be counted for multiple categories.

They also changed rules for the daesangs (Grand Prizes). Instead of fan votes and judges' evaluation, MAMA 2021 will focus only on the experts' evaluation. The only category that counts fan votes is the Worldwide Fans Choice Top 10. Check out the nominations for MAMA 2021 here.

MAMA 2021 will be hosted on December 11, 2021 at 6 PM KST.