Rundown: MAMA 2022 Day Two ‘We Are K-Pop’
From BTS to IVE and TREASURE, here's EVERYTHING you need to know about the winners and the performance highlights from Day two of the MAMA Awards 2022.
BTS rapper j-hope bagged multiple MAMA Awards, and delivered a showstopping performance. Image: MAMA 2022.
The MAMA Awards are perhaps the biggest event in the Asian music calendar, and this year was no different. As a two-day long event hosted in the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan, you wouldn't be blamed for being unable to keep up! But don't worry, we've got you covered.
Day Two of the 2022 MAMA Awards had the overarching theme ‘We are K-POP’, showcasing a plethora of music and dance celebrities. Actor Park Bogum stood as the main host of the event, leading us straight into the first of many incredible performances and a huge range of awards, presented by celebrities such as Olympic figure skating medallist Yuna Kim, actor Hwang Minhyun, and former Wonder Girls member and actress Ahn Sohee.
Presenter Hwang Minhyun (R) poses with his Alchemy of Souls (2022) co-star, Lee Jaeuk (L) backstage. Image: @optimushwang on Instagram.
Day two performances:
Composer Jung Jaeil kicked off the show. Accompanied by a string orchestra, he presented his pieces from the global phenomena Parasite (2019) and Squid Game (2021) in a glorious celebration of Korean media, scattered with reactionary shots of K-Pop idols such as IVE and BTS’ j-hope. Immediately after, Korean rap icon Tiger JK took to the stage with a slam poem style of flow, including Morse code to represent the ability of music to be a universal language.
This segued into the incredible 3RACHA unit of Stray Kids, composed of Changbin, HAN, and leader Bang Chan. The three enhanced the poignancy of the artists before them whilst showcasing incredible live rap skill. The other Stray Kids members could even be seen supporting in the crowd with handwritten signs. Bang Chan’s English verse epitomised the piece perfectly:
“If music gives you life, then that's the answer that you've been searching…”
“If the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, then music is what powerhouses us through hell…”
“No matter how gruesome it gets, we all know that music makes one...”
Images: MAMA 2022.
Rookie boy group TEMPEST performed their track “Dragon” against a cinematic backdrop complete with fiery visual effects. Although it was unfortunate that the vocals were pre-recorded, the sharp choreography enabled the group to showcase rookie intensity in a short space of time.
NewJeans followed the ‘Inspiring Achievement’ and ‘Best Urban/Hip-Hop’ awards for short yet skilful “Cookie” and “Attention'' dance breaks before member Danielle kicked off a MAMA rendition of “Hype Boy”. Proving their worth as one of the winners of ‘Best New Artist’ at the Melon Music Awards 2022, the girls brought a bounce and effervescence to the Osaka stadium. Then came the iconic “Attention” on the central stage. Like the majority of artists across the two days of MAMA, it would have been great to hear the girls deliver some live vocals, but their dance talent at the MAMA Awards was undeniable.
Following a couple of awards, HYBE continued to provide. ENHYPEN stepped onto a graveyard set for a prop-filled, dance-focused performance of “Blessed-Cursed”. Following a anarchy-themed “Walk the Line” interlude reminiscent of BTS’ “Dionysus”/”Mic Drop” and ATEEZ’s “Guerrilla”, the boys jumped into their hip-hop heavy song “Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)”. With MAMA being notorious for their poor camerawork, it was great to see some well-choreographed videography to capture the vibrant power of ENHYPEN’s stage.
Images: MAMA 2022.
The night’s ‘Best Female Artist’ IVE showcased (amongst some beautiful, intricate sets) a number of their award-winning hits. “ELEVEN”, “LOVE DIVE”, and “AFTER LIKE” highlighted the girls’ glamour and exuded delicate femininity in a way that can often be lost in the intensity of award shows. Their visually engaging stage was met with cheers throughout.
J-Pop fans were truly treated with a collaboration between Japanese-Korean girl group NiziU and Japanese boy group INI. Beginning with a beautiful, wintery, Beauty and the Beast-esque ballad, the two groups utilised their live vocals to break apart the intense performances of the night. They then transitioned into a surprise cover of SEVENTEEN’s iconic “CLAP”, bringing some much needed 3rd generation K-Pop to the night!
This led straight into NiziU’s “Clap Clap”, a bright, boppy track that delivered some classic bubblegum pop with a sharp, After School style of choreography for the dance break. Following this, INI brought a masculine energy and creative dance formations for the track “SPECTRA”. Here, they proclaimed “we the new bad boys in the block” and proved that the K-Pop industry should certainly be paying attention to their neighbours.
In true YG style, TREASURE refused to be overlooked by delivering one of the most powerful performances to hit the MAMA stage. Kicking it off with the strong rap track “VolKno” (members HARUTO, HYUNSUK, and YOSHI) the group pushed the bar high with incredible energy. Such a performance was clearly influenced by great idol rappers like iKON’s BOBBY and soloist B.I, as well as MONSTA X’s I.M and JOOHONEY.
The boys travelled far across the stage to get the audience engaged, before being the only performers to make their way to the VIP idol area where they had everyone from Stray Kids to IVE on their feet. A smooth transition into “JIKJIN” continued to build hype with powerful choreography and stable live vocals before the classic ‘YG Entertainment party ending’ came with their latest comeback “HELLO”. Complete with fireworks, an addictive EDM beat, and outrageous energy until the very end, TREASURE have planted themselves firmly in the minds of many.
After a couple more awards, ‘Favourite Female Group’ winners (G)I-DLE collaborated with Korean national treasures JAURIM. Everything from live vocals over a piano instrumental to the trot crowd favourite “Hahaha song” were presented to the audience. (G)I-DLE then segued into leader SOYEON’s powerful rap section before moving into the viral track “MY BAG”. Creative, rotating camera work made for an interesting watch before the girls treated the crowd to a rock star MAMA rendition of the iconic “TOMBOY”. JAURIM then re-joined them for a mashup with their track “Boxing Helena”, emphasising the power of stadium rock music with a live band.
(G)I-DLE and JAURIM created a powerful collaborative stage together. Images: MAMA 2022.
Following the ‘Album of the Year’ award, ITZY embodied the ‘Birth of a Queen’ theme of their stage fully, with a royal set and intricate choreography complete with props. Debuting their new comeback, the girls boldly presented “Cheshire” to the crowd whilst decked out in all black outfits. The Alice in Wonderland motifs were certainly apparent, with hand gestures to mimic the smile of the Cheshire Cat, and their iconic hand crowns to emulate the Queen of Hearts. After a short dance break, the girls dived into the polarising “SNEAKERS”, much to the delight of many fans and idols.
Towards the end of the show, MAMA presented dancer/choreographer MONIKA for a contemporary dance piece against Lim Young Woong’s honey vocals in “Clementine”. Utilising the LED screens, the piece told a beautiful story about the pain of missing someone. This was followed by a stunning rendition of “If We Ever Meet Again”, following the same theme. The simplicity of the celestial backdrop, the all white costumes, and the storytelling choreography from MONIKA allowed for all ears and eyes to be zeroed in on the stage whilst Lim impressed with his powerful high notes.
In a genre switch-up with “Freak”, rapper ZICO proved once again why he is such an iconic live performer, supported by a band of hip-hop dancers. The energy was truly palpable, with the audience eating out of the 30-year-old’s hand. Blending rap and K-Pop style choreographies to perfection, ZICO showed just why he is such a genre-crossing, musical trendsetter.
With a surprise feature, (G)I-DLE’s rapping leader SOYEON dropped into the end of ZICO’s piece to prove that girls can do it too! Rounding out the set was a performance of the Street Man Fighter track “New Thing”. Despite being embroiled in controversy since its release, the audience went wild for the viral song and its hip-hop dance break.
Bringing the MAMA Awards 2022 to a close was arguably the most anticipated performance of the night. J-hope rose to the stage to rapturous applause, starting his “MORE” performance in a pre-recorded VT, acting as his album’s titular Jack in the Box, surrounded by masked dancers. As the chorus kicked in, so did the powerful energy. J-hope is truly a rap force to be reckoned with, seemingly effortless as he growled his way through the track, dressed in all black.
Fireworks rained down, soundtracked by the intense electric guitar riffs that preceded his boom-bap beat and hypnotising flow. After a quick outfit change, the BTS rapper jumped into the fiery “ARSON”, all eyes on him even as he simply walked the catwalk. Pyrotechnics emphasised the passion of the performance as j-hope gave all he had in both rap and dance, before soaking in the cheers.
The stage ended with the b-side “Future”, slowly filling the stadium as he strutted in his heeled boots and no doubt thought of his loyal ARMY fans. As if straight out of a BTS concert, j-hope was joined onstage by a choir, and was decorated by falling confetti as the crowd — fans and idols alike — roared their praise for the global superstar.
And the winner is…
There was a varying abundance of award nominees and winners this year. Perhaps most notable was IVE, who took home their four MAMA awards; this included the prestigious ‘Song of the Year’ for “LOVE DIVE”, chosen out of 1,870,000 Korean tracks. Global icons BTS also had an incredible night, bagging five awards (two of which were daesangs). Many were pleased to see SEVENTEEN take home the ‘Best Dance Performance Male Group’ award for “HOT”, released earlier this year in May to praise, covers, and streams galore.
Rookie group IVE took home a whopping four MAMA trophies, including ‘Song of the Year’. Image: MAMA 2022.
Here are all the nominees and winners of the 2022 MAMA Awards Day 2:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR | Daesang: BTS
SONG OF THE YEAR | Daesang: IVE — “LOVE DIVE”
ALBUM OF THE YEAR | Daesang: BTS — PROOF
BEST MUSIC VIDEO: BLACKPINK — “Pink Venom”
BEST FEMALE GROUP: BLACKPINK
BEST MALE GROUP: BTS
BEST FEMALE ARTIST: NAYEON (from TWICE)
BEST MALE ARTIST: Lim Young Woong
BEST NEW FEMALE ARTIST: IVE
BEST NEW MALE ARTIST: Xdinary Heroes
BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE FEMALE GROUP: IVE — 'LOVE DIVE'
BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE MALE GROUP: SEVENTEEN — 'HOT'
BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE SOLO: PSY — 'That That (prod. & feat. SUGA of BTS)'
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE GROUP: BIGBANG — 'Still Life'
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE SOLO: TAEYEON (from Girls' Generation) — 'INVU'
BEST BAND PERFORMANCE: Xdinary Heroes — 'Happy Death Day'
BEST HIP-HOP AND URBAN MUSIC: Jay Park — 'GANADARA (feat. IU)'
BEST COLLABORATION: PSY — 'That That (prod. & feat. SUGA from BTS)
BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: MeloMance — 'Love, Maybe' (Business Proposal OST)
INSPIRING ACHIEVEMENT: JAURIM
GLOBAL MUSIC TREND LEADER: ZICO
BREAKOUT PRODUCER MUN KA YOUNG: Min Heejin (NewJeans producer)
MOST POPULAR MALE ARTIST: j-hope
FAVOURITE FEMALE GROUP: (G)I-DLE
MOST POPULAR GROUP: Stray Kids
MAMA PLATINUM AWARD: BTS
Congrats to every single nominee, winner, and performer! Did your favourite artist or track get the win you wanted them to? What was your favourite MAMA 2022 performance? Let us know below!
Edited by Chelsea Cheetham.
