For the first time in its history, the 2024 MAMA Awards will start in the United States before taking place in Japan in November. The move to present awards and have performances across the ocean in a different time zone at the beginning of the show is yet another significant step towards broadening K-pop reach as well as connecting global K-pop fans across time zones.
The 2024 MAMA AWARDS ceremony will center around the concept of “BIG BLUR : What is Real?,” in a reflection of growing trends on blurred boundaries between industries, culture, music genres and technology. Under the Big Blur concept, the awards ceremony will present surreal but real experiences and showcase visually captivating performances through the convergence of art and technology.
Leading entertainment company CJ ENM, and the 2024 MAMA AWARDS, presented by Visa, revealed the addition of a new award category and updated criteria for its biggest awards. The change is part of CJ ENM's effort to set new standards of K-pop awards as it did 25 years ago when the company started the MAMA AWARDS, the world’s No.1 K-POP Awards.
The new criteria was set to better reflect the multifaceted success artists, songs, albums and music videos have enjoyed with their fans over the course of the last year. For example, for “Album of the Year”, the album’s value will no longer be judged solely upon sales, but will now take into account the album's entire package, including the production quality, art and visuals, individual songs, its impact on the music industry, and more.
The new award category introduced is “Best Choreography”, keeping with the theme of honoring K-pop and the work put into creating the music as comprehensively as possible. The Best Choreography award will recognize K-pop choreographers and artists who have contributed to K-Pop's global success by creating the synchronized dance moves and visually-captivating performances that the genre is known for.
Boasting a 25-year legacy, the MAMA AWARDS have been at the forefront of K-pop’s expansion, with award ceremonies hosted across Asia, including Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Japan. Reflecting CJ ENM’s commitment to elevate K-pop music on a global scale, this year’s MAMA AWARDS will kick off at the Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on November 21 (PST) and will be held at the KYOCERA DOME OSAKA in Japan over two days from November 22 to 23 (KST/JST). 2024 MAMA AWARDS will also be broadcast worldwide including global digital platforms.
“We are forever trying to grow, and as K-pop evolves so must we, which is why we are adding new categories and updating the criteria in which we honor each of our award participants,” CJ ENM said. “In an era defined by rapid technical change and industry convergence, the MAMA AWARDS aim to redefine the value of K-pop albums and highlight every aspect of K-pop, which is more than just the music, but a combination of so many things, from music video production, to dance, to global competitiveness and so much more.”
Nominations for 2024 MAMA AWARDS will be aired on Mnet and its official YouTube channel Mnet K-POP on Oct 14 at 6 PM (KST). More details on the awards will be unveiled in the coming months.