| 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards | |
| Image Upright: | 1.15 |
| Venue: | CJ ENM Contents World, Paju, South Korea |
| Hosts: | Lee Hyori |
| Most Wins: | BTS (10) |
| Network: | Mnet, across CJ E&M channels, and other international networks |
| Runtime: | 100 minutes (Red carpet) 285 minutes (Main ceremony) |
| Previous: | 2020 |
| Main: | MAMA |
| Next: | 2022 |
The 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, also known as 2021 MAMA, organized by CJ E&M and broadcast through its music channel Mnet, took place live on December 11, 2021. The ceremony was held at CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, South Korea. The theme for the ceremony was titled as "Make Some Noise". The ceremony was the 23rd in the show's history, and the last to be named as the "Mnet Asian Music Awards," as the show rebranded for the following edition.
On July 20, 2021, it was reported by Ilgan Sports the ceremony is undergoing discussion to be held in Hong Kong despite the ongoing pandemic and travel restrictions.[1] On September 7, it was announced the ceremony would be held at CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, South Korea. This will be the second consecutive year, the ceremony will take place in South Korea only.[2]
On October 13, Mnet announced that Lee Hyori will be hosting the ceremony. She will be the first female host for Mnet Asian Music Awards. In addition, Mnet also announced that the theme of the ceremony titled as "Make Some Noise".[3] Mnet also announced that it will be airing a 7-episode special documentary titled "MAMA: The Original K-pop Awards" from October 28, to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Mnet Asian Music Awards.[4] According to video teaser posted on Mnet's Twitter, the documentary is expected to feature interviews from Psy, Park Jin-young, Exo's Kai, Twice's Nayeon, Sana, and Jihyo, Mamamoo's Hwasa, Stray Kids, Super Junior, Shinee, and 2NE1.[5]
On November 16, a global press conference was held. It was revealed that the awards ceremony will be an offline event with a limited audience in accordance with government disease prevention guidelines. South Korean-based company, Samil PwC, will be auditing the ceremony. Mnet also announced additional performers including British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, the 8 crews of Street Woman Fighter, a reunion stage of Wanna One, and a collaboration stage between members of top fourth-generation K-pop groups.[6]
On December 9, Mnet announced the 2021 MAMA Ambassadors. Rain, Song Joong-ki, Ed Sheeran and Han Ye-ri will deliver the key values that made K-content globally loved by global audiences.[7] On December 11, Mnet released a special album titled, "Do the dance", performed by Lee Hyori on music streaming platforms.[8]
Ed Sheeran, Street Woman Fighter, and Wanna One were announced as performers on November 16, 2021.[9] The rest of the performers were announced on November 25.[10] On December 5, Kep1er withdrew from the ceremony after a staff member from the group tested positive for COVID-19.[11] Some performances are pre-recorded.
| Song performed | Stage theme | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heeseung (Enhypen), Hyunjin (Stray Kids), Karina (Aespa), Wooyoung (Ateez), Yeji (Itzy), Yeonjun (Tomorrow X Together) | "BlooM The Sound" | [12] | ||
| Brave Girls | "Rollin'" (Ballad ver.) + "Chi Mat Ba Ram" + "Rollin'" | "Wind of Wish" | [13] | |
| INI | "Rocketeer" | "One Dream" | [14] | |
| Kimura Masaya (INI), Kawashiri Ren (JO1) | ||||
| JO1 | "Bokura no Kisetsu" | [15] | ||
| Itzy (featuring Heo Sung-tae) | "Loco" (MAMA ver.) + "In the Morning" (MAMA ver.) | "Mission: Be A Good Kitty" | [16] | |
| Jannabi | "A Thought on an Autumn Night" + "I Know Where The Rainbow has Fallen" | "Sailing into the Autumn" | [17] | |
| Gwang-il Jo X Gaeko | "Waterbomb" + "Garion" (MAMA ver.) | "Shout Out If Hip Hop" | [18] | |
| Show Me the Money 10 | "Resume" + "82" (MAMA ver.) | [19] | ||
| NCT U | "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" | "Welcome to Universe" | [20] | |
| Ateez | "Turbulence" + "The Real" (Heung ver.) | "The Real Journey Begins" | [21] [22] | |
| Tomorrow X Together | "Frost" + "Loser=Lover" | "Break All Myself" | [23] [24] | |
| Stray Kids | "Cheese" | "Stray Kids World Domination" | [25] | |
| 3Racha (Bang Chan, Changbin, Han) | "Hey, Monster!" | [26] | ||
| Stray Kids | "Thunderous" (Hero ver.) | |||
| Ed Sheeran | "Bad Habits" + "Shivers" | "Permission to Challenge" | [27] | |
| NCT Dream | "Hello Future" + "Hot Sauce" (MAMA ver.) | "Dipping in a Dream" | [28] [29] | |
| Wanna One | "Spring Breeze" (MAMA ver.) + "Energetic" + "Burn It Up" + "Beautiful" (Part III) | "1 = 111 (I Miss You)" | [30] | |
| Aespa (featuring Haha) | "Next Level" + "Savage" | "Oh My Gosh! We Are On Another Level" | [31] [32] | |
| Enhypen | "Drunk-Dazed" + "Tamed-Dashed" (MAMA ver.) | "Carnival to Dilemma" | [33] [34] | |
| NCT 127 | "Favorite (Vampire)" + "Sticker" (MAMA ver.) | "Eternal Love" | [35] [36] | |
| Lee Hyori X Street Woman Fighter (YGX, LACHICA, WANT, WAYB, CocaNButter, PROWDMON, HolyBang, HOOK) | "Do the Dance" | "Make Some Noise" | [37] |
The list of presenters was announced on December 7, 2021.[38] Choi Si-won was originally scheduled as a presenter but was diagnosed with COVID-19 a day before the ceremony.[39]
All songs that have been released from October 29, 2020, to October 31, 2021, are eligible to be nominated.[40]
| Division | MAMA professional panel | Digital sales | Record sales | Global music video view counts | Global music platform | Online voting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist of the Year | 40% | 20% | 20% | 10% | 10% | — | |
| Categories by Artist | |||||||
| Song of the Year | 40% | 30% | 10% | 10% | 10% | — | |
| Categories by Genre | |||||||
| Album of the Year | 40% | 10% | 40% | — | 10% | — | |
| Best Music Video | 70% | — | — | 30% | — | — | |
| Worldwide Icon of the Year | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10 | |||||||
Artists from Japan, Greater China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam who have worked on songs released from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
Music experts who participated in the production, creation, activities etc., of K-Pop's records and digital songs released from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
Winners and nominees are listed in alphabetical order. Winners listed first and highlighted in bold.[41] [42]
Online voting for Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10 opened on the official website and Twitter on November 4, 2021. Online voting for Worldwide Icon of the Year opened on the official MAMA website and Twitter on November 25, 2021. Voting on the official website and Apple Music ended on December 9, 2021, while voting on Twitter ended during the live broadcast.[43]
The list of nominees for all categories excluding Album of the Year, Worldwide Icon of the Year, and Best Music Video, were announced on November 3, 2021, through the official website.[44]
The list of nominees for Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10, were announced on November 3, 2021, through the official website.
| Worldwide Fans' Choice Top 10 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Favorite Asian Artist | Favorite International Artist | |
| Category | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Asian Artist | Japan | JO1 | |
| Mandarin | Accusefive | ||
| Thailand | Tilly Birds | ||
| Indonesia | Anneth | ||
| Vietnam | |||
| Best New Asian Artist | Japan | Ado | |
| Mandarin | Anson Lo | ||
| Thailand | Sprite X Guygeegee | ||
| Indonesia | Lyodra | ||
| Vietnam | |||
| TikTok Favorite Moment | BTS | ||
| KTO Breakout Artist | Brave Girls | ||
| 2021 Visionary (CJ E&M) |
| ||
| Category | Winner | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Executive Producer of the Year | Bang Si-hyuk | BTS | |
| Best Producer of the Year | Teddy | Lalisa | |
| Best Composer of the Year | Yoo Young-jin | "Savage" | |
| Best Engineer of the Year | Gu Jong-pil & Kwon Nam-woo | "Celebrity" | |
| Best Video Director of the Year | Lumpens | "Butter" | |
| Best Choreographer of the Year | Leejung Lee | "Money" | |
| Best Art Director of the Year | MU:E | "Butter" |
The following artist(s) received three or more awards:
| Awards | Artist(s) |
|---|---|
| 10 | BTS |
| 3 | IU |
| Aespa |
The ceremony of the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards was broadcast live worldwide from Mnet in South Korea, to simulcast across CJ E&M channels; other international networks, and online via Mnet K-pop, Mnet TV, M2, and KCON's YouTube account.[45] The red carpet was broadcast live 2 hours before the main ceremony.
| Country | Network | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | YouTube (Mnet K-Pop, Mnet TV, M2 & KCON Official) | ||
| United States | KCON USA | ||
| South Korea | Mnet, TVING, tvN STORY, tvN Show | ||
| Japan | Mnet Smart, Mnet Japan, au Smart Pass | ||
| Hong Kong | JOOX, ViuTV, ViuTVsix, viu.tv, NOW Drama | tvN Asia | |
| Macau | ViuTV, ViuTVsix, viu.tv, NOW Drama | ||
| Taiwan | FET Friday Video, FET Mobile Circle app (Far EasTone) | ||
| Philippines | GigaPlay (Smart Communications) | ||
| Singapore | MeWATCH | ||
| Indonesia | Indosiar, Vidio, JOOX | ||
| Malaysia | JOOX, TonTon | ||
| Thailand | JOOX | ||
| Myanmar | tvN Asia | ||
| Maldives | |||
| Sri Lanka | |||
| Vietnam | FPT TV, FPT Play, Foxy | ||
| Sub-Saharan Africa | tvN Asia (through DStv) | ||