The 2024 MAMA Awards began on Friday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, marking the awards ceremony’s first time being held in the United States in its 25-year history.
The historic event boasts a lineup of up-and-coming artists in K-pop, including Riize, TWS, ILLIT, Katseye and Young Posse.
“The MAMA Awards opened in Hollywood for its 25th anniversary,” actor Park Bo-gum, the host, said on Friday. “This is where the Academy Awards is held, where actor had her Youn Yuh-jung’s historical win. We are so honored to be a part of this first step.”
The Best New Male Artist award went to TWS and the Favorite Global Performer Male award went to Riize.
The rookie bands performed covers of hit K-pop tracks from the past, such as TWS performing BTS’s “Dynamite” (2020), Riize taking on NCT 127’s “Kick It” (2020) and ILLIT doing its version of Twice’s “Heart Shaker” (2017).
Veteran singer Park Jin-young, filmmaker Isaac Chung, actor Dustin Hoffman and singer Lance Bass also took part in the event.
The second and third part of the MAMA Awards will continue at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, on Friday and Saturday.
Enhypen, Tomorrow X Together, BoyNextDoor, Treasure, IVE, ME:I and Plave will take the stage on Friday. Seventeen, aespa, INI, Zerobaseone, Lee Young-ji, Meovv, BIBI, (G)I-DLE and G-Dragon will perform on Saturday.
Friday’s Osaka performance will also include the first live performance of “APT.” by Blackpink’s Rosé and Bruno Mars.
Having started in 1999, the MAMA Awards is known as one of the largest and most popular awards ceremonies in K-pop, alongside the Golden Disc Awards, Melon Music Awards, Korean Music Awards and Seoul Music Awards.
BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]
