Entertainment company CJ ENM announced that the K-Pop music awards ceremony, Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) will welcome global superstar Ed Sheeran at the 2021 performance on December 11. Sheeran has sat atop international charts with his hit “Bad Habits” and is known to Korean fans for his collaborating with BTS on “Permission to Dance.”
CJ ENM also announced MAMA is set to be hosted in the United States in the coming years. This plan was revealed during the 2021 MAMA Global Press Conference today where they shared their vision of the future for the awards show.
Head of CJ ENM Entertainment Kim Hyun-soo said, “MAMA has been hosted mainly in Asia such as Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Korea. As K-pop continues to grow in influence globally, we plan on expanding our presence to regions bordering Asia and beyond. In a few years, we plan to host MAMA in the US, the world’s biggest music market.”
To solidify MAMA’s position as a global awards ceremony, a gradual reorganization is set to take place over the next two years, increasing the influence of MAMA as the world’s number 1 K-pop music awards ceremony.
MAMA, which turns 13 this year, stands tall as a global K-pop awards ceremony. Hyun-soo continued, “This is an important year for MAMA to really solidify its presence as a global K-pop music awards ceremony. We plan to include global indicators and judging criterias to reflect K-POP’s global status, which will further heighten MAMA as one of the top tier global awards shows.”
Apple Music’s Global Creative Director, Zane Lowe, added at the press conference, “Expanding its footprints across the globe, MAMA continues to make history as a pioneer in the K-pop industry: Our partnership with MAMA was a natural choice given the scale and credibility of the show. With subscribers hailing from 167 country around the world, Apple Music is excited to give K-Pop fans worldwide the opportunity to celebrate K-Pop music and vote for their favorite artists on our platform. Utilizing Apple Music to stream and vote for Worldwide Fans choice top 10 and integrating Apple Music streaming data to the judging criteria will further solidify MAMA’s influence as a global music awards show.”
The 2021 MAMA show will be broadcasted worldwide on December 11, 6:00 p.m. KST (4 a.m. EST/1 a.m. PST).
