CJ ENM aims to take Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS to US
The 2021 Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS will take place at the CJ ENM Content Studio in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 11 Courtesy of Mnet
By Dong Sun-hwa
Numerous fans in Korea have raised eyebrows at the entertainment behemoth CJ ENM for holding the Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS (MAMA) ― a major Korean music awards ceremony ― overseas, while frequently skipping Korea, where K-pop was born.
During a press conference Tuesday, the company's officials, who appeared to be well aware of this grievance, explained that they have a reason for it.
“After holding MAMA outside Korea for more than a decade, we have learned that organizing events in different countries and meeting the local fans in person is far more influential than just exporting our programs, when it comes to culture dissemination,” Kim Dong-hyun, the head of the convention business department at CJ ENM, said. “K-pop stars' riveting performances on MAMA often make headlines in the countries where we hold the event, and we think this has largely contributed to K-pop's global ascent.”
With this thought in mind, CJ ENM is planning to take MAMA to the U.S, the largest music market in the world.
“MAMA will continue to penetrate into uncharted territory, like the U.S., to maximize K-pop's potential,” Kim said. “We will spare no efforts to make MAMA comparable to other prestigious global awards ceremonies.”
From left are, Kim Dong-hyun, the head of the convention business department at CJ ENM; Kim Hyun-soo, the director of music content and Park Chan-wook, the chief producer at Mnet. Courtesy of Mnet
The 2021 MAMA will herald the beginning of CJ ENM's transition, the officials added. The event, which is scheduled to take place at the CJ ENM Content Studio in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Dec. 11, will be held under the theme, “Make Some Noise.”
“With the 2021 MAMA, we will seek to become a global K-pop awards that focuses not just on the Asian market,” CJ ENM's Music Content Director Kim Hyun-soo said. “We will invite various celebrities to our event and also attempt to touch on global issues such as climate change and ESG (Environmental, social and corporate governance) standards.”
Hyun-soo also revealed that his company has joined forces with Apple Music ― the second largest music streaming service worldwide ― to accumulate more accurate sales data to decide the winners.
“For fairness, Korea's leading accounting firm Samil PwC will check the judging process,” he added.
For the first time in its twelve-year history, MAMA is set to have a female host: K-pop superstar Lee Hyo-ri, who is best known for her smash-hit, “10 Minutes” (2003).
“Lee, who debuted as part of girl group Fin.K.L in 1998, has been an active player in the K-pop scene for nearly 20 years,” Mnet's chief producer, Park Chan-wook, said. “She is the past, present and future of K-pop, who fits best to this year's MAMA that aims to bring diversity and freshness.”
The 10 members of now-defunct project boy group Wanna One ― except for Taiwanese member Lai Kuan-lin ― will reunite and perform at MAMA, almost three years after the group's dissolution. Wanna One, comprising Yoon Ji-sung, Ha Sung-woon, Hwang Min-hyun, Ong Seong-wu, Kim Jae-hwan, Kang Daniel, Park Ji-hoon, Park Woo-jin, Bae Jin-young, Lee Dae-hwi and Lai Kuan-lin, was created via the second season of Mnet's audition program, “Produce 101” (2017).
The eight female dance crew teams from Mnet's dance competition show, “Street Woman Fighter” (2021) ― PROWDMON, Coca N Butter, HOOK, LACHICA, HOLYBANG, WANT, WAYB and YGX ― will also take the stage on MAMA. And British pop star Ed Sheeran, who wrote K-pop juggernaut BTS's July release, “Permission To Dance,” is gearing up to command the stage with his song, “Bad Habits” (2021). But the names of the other headliners have been kept under wraps.
“We will use state-of-the-art technology, such as augmented reality (AR), to present eye-catching performances,” Park hinted.