SEVENTEEN was the top winner at the 2023 MAMA Awards, which were held over two nights, Nov. 28 and 29, at Tokyo Dome, Japan. The group won five awards – album of the year for FML; best male group and best dance performance male group, both for “Super”; bibigo culture & style and worldwide fans’ choice.
SEVENTEEN was one of 10 winners in the latter category, along with ATEEZ, BTS, ENHYPEN, Lim Young Woong, NCT DREAM, Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, TWICE and ZEROBASEONE.
NewJeans was a close runner-up in total number of awards, with four – artist of the year and three awards for their hit “Ditto” – song of the year, best female group and best dance performance female group.
BTS, JISOO and ZEROBASEONE each won three awards. ATEEZ, Jung Kook and TREASURE each won two.
Jung Kook won both of his awards – best dance performance male solo and best collaboration – for “Seven” featuring Latto. The track was a global hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Awards were presented in more than 20 categories. There are the usual five or six nominees in most categories, but in the big four categories – artist, song and album of the year and worldwide fans’ choice – there are dozens of entries. All artists who were nominated in one of the subordinate categories were automatically nominated there — an unusual approach for an award show to take.
In the worldwide fans’ choice category, winners were determined by global fan votes. There were two rounds of voting on the K-culture platform Mnet Plus and on Spotify, which is also one of the sponsors for this year’s awards.
Jimin and Tomorrow X Together were the leading nominees for the 2023 MAMA Awards, which were announced Oct. 19. Each received eight nominations.
Jimin won best male artist, beating two fellow members of BTS – Jung Kook and V. The other nominees in the category were Lim Young Woong, Parc Jae Jung and TAEYANG.
The nominees for album of the year included three albums that topped the Billboard 200 in 2023: Tomorrow X Together’s The Name Chapter: Temptation, Stray Kids’ 5-STAR and NewJeans’ Get Up.
While many Western awards shows are moving toward gender-neutral categories, fully half of the 20 categories here are gendered. There are separate male and female categories for best artist, best group, best new artist, best dance performance solo and best dance performance group.
First-night performers included &TEAM, Dynamicduo, ENHYPEN, INI, JO1, JUST B, Kep1er, Lee Young Ji, STREET WOMAN FIGHTER 2, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, TVXQ!, xikers and Yoshiki.
In addition, JAEHYUN of BOYNEXTDOOR, HONG EUNCHAE of LE SSERAFIM, ANTON of RIIZE, CHOI HYUN SUK, YOSHI, HARUTO of TREASURE and ZHANG HAO of ZEROBASEONE appeared for special collaborations.
Second-night performers included ATEEZ, BOYNEXTDOOR, EL7Z UP, (G)I-DLE, LE SSERAFIM, Monika, NiziU, RIIZE, SEVENTEEN, TREASURE and ZEROBASEONE.
Also, XIAOTING of Kep1er and Bada Lee from STREET WOMAN FIGHTER 2 appeared on stage.
Videos of the performance can be watched on the official YouTube channel, Mnet K-POP.
The MAMA Awards, which bills itself as the world’s foremost K-pop awards, is presented by entertainment company CJ ENM. This year’s eligibility period ran from Oct. 22, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023. The show aired live on various global platforms, including CJ ENM’s music channel Mnet.
Here’s the full list of nominations for the 2023 MAMA Awards, with winners marked.
Artist of the year
ADYA
aespa
BOYNEXTDOOR
Choi Ye Na
EL7Z UP
EVNNE
EXO
(G)I-DLE
Hwasa
IVE
Jeon Somi
Jihyo
Jimin
Jisoo
Jungkook
KISS OF LIFE
LE SSERAFIM
Lee Chae Yeon
Lim Young Woong
LIMELIGHT
NCT DREAM
WINNER: NewJeans
Parc Jae Jung
RIIZE
SEVENTEEN
Stray Kids
Taeyang
TREASURE
tripleS
TWICE
TXT
V
xikers
ZEROBASEONE
Song of the year
aespa – “Spicy”
Agust D (Suga) – “People Pt.2” (Feat. IU)
AKMU – “Love Lee”
Anne-Marie, Minnie – “Expectations”
ASH ISLAND – “Goodbye” (Feat. Paul Blanco)
BIG Naughty – “Hopeless Romantic” (Feat. Lee Suhyun)
BIG Naughty – “With me” (The Interest of Love OST)
BSS (SEVENTEEN) – “Fighting” (Feat. Lee Young Ji)
BTOB – “Wind and Wish”
BTS – “Take Two”
BTS – “The Planet” (BASTIONS OST)
DAWN – “Dear My Light”
(G)I-DLE – “Queencard”
Hwasa – “I Love My Body”
IVE – “I AM”
J-Hope – “on the street” (with J. Cole)
Jay Park – “Candy” (Feat. Zion.T)
Jeon Somi – “Fast Forward”
Jihyo – “Killin’ Me Good”
Jimin – “Like Crazy”
Jisoo – “FLOWER”
Jungkook – “Seven” (Feat. Latto)
Kai – “Rover”
LE SSERAFIM – “UNFORGIVEN” (Feat. Nile Rodgers)
Lee Chae Yeon – “KNOCK”
Lee Mujin – “Ordinary Confession”
Lim Jae Hyun – “Heaven (2023)” (It Was Spring OST)
Lim Young Woong – “London Boy”
M.C the MAX – “Eternity”
MeloMance – “A Shining Day”
NCT 127 – “Ay-Yo”
NCT DREAM – “Candy”
WINNER: NewJeans – “Ditto”
Parc Jae Jung – “Let’s Say Goodbye”
Paul Kim – “You Remember” (The Glory OST)
SEVENTEEN – “Super”
STAYC – “Teddy Bear”
Stray Kids – “S-Class”
Taeyang – “VIBE” (Feat. Jimin)
Taeyong – “SHALALA”
TXT – “Goodbye Now” (Love Revolution OST)
TXT – “Sugar Rush Ride”
V – “Love Me Again”
ZEROBASEONE – “In Bloom”
Zior Park – “CHRISTIAN”
Album of the year
(G)I-DLE — I Feel
aespa — MY WORLD
Agust D — D-DAY
Big Naughty — Hopeless Romantic
BTOB — WIND AND WISH
EL7Z UP — 7+UP
EVNNE — Target: ME
EXO — EXIST
IVE — I’ve IVE
JEON SOMI — GAME PLAN
JIHYO — ZONE
JIMIN — FACE
KAI — Rover
KISS OF LIFE — KISS OF LIFE
LE SSERAFIM — UNFORGIVEN
Lee Chae Yeon — Over the Moon
LIMELIGHT — LOVE & HAPPINESS
NCT DREAM — ISTJ
NewJeans — Get Up
Parc Jae Jung — Alone
WINNER: SEVENTEEN — FML
STAYC — TEENFRESH
Stray Kids — 5-STAR
TAEYANG — Down to Earth
TAEYONG — SHALALA
TXT — The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION
TREASURE — REBOOT
tripleS — ASSEMBLE
TWICE — READY TO BE
V — Layover
xikers — House of Tricky : How to Play
ZEROBASEONE — Youth in the Shade
Worldwide fans’ choice (10 winners)
aespa
AKMU
WINNER: ATEEZ
BOYNEXTDOOR
BTOB
WINNER: BTS
CIX
CRAVITY
WINNER: ENHYPEN
EVNNE
EXO
fromis_9
(G)I-DLE
H1-KEY
Highlight
ITZY
IVE
Jisoo
Jeon Somi
Kep1er
LE SSERAFIM
Lee Chae Yeon
Lee Mujin
WINNER: Lim Young Woong
MONSTA X
n.SSign
NCT 127
WINNER: NCT DREAM
NewJeans
NMIXX
ONEUS
P1Harmony
Parc Jae Jung
Red Velvet
RIIZE
WINNER: SEVENTEEN
SHINee
STAYC
WINNER: Stray Kids
Super Junior
Taeyang
TEMPEST
THE BOYZ
WINNER: TXT
TREASURE
WINNER: TWICE
Xdinary Heroes
xikers
WINNER: ZEROBASEONE
Zior Park
Best male artist
WINNER: Jimin
Jung Kook
Lim Young Woong
Parc Jae Jung
TAEYANG
V
Best female artist
Hwa Sa
JEON SOMI
JIHYO (TWICE)
WINNER: JISOO
LEE CHAE YEON
YENA
Best male group
EXO
NCT DREAM
WINNER: SEVENTEEN
Stray Kids
TOMORROW X TOGETHER
TREASURE
Best female group
(G)I-DLE
aespa
IVE
LE SSERAFIM
WINNER: NewJeans
TWICE
Best new male artist
BOYNEXTDOOR
EVNNE
RIIZE
xikers
WINNER: ZEROBASEONE
Best new female artist
ADYA
EL7Z UP
KISS OF LIFE
LIMELIGHT
WINNER: tripleS
Best vocal performance solo
DAWN – “Dear My Light”
LEE MU JIN – “Ordinary Confession”
Lim Young Woong – “London Boy”
WINNER: Parc Jae Jung – “Let’s Say Goodbye”
V – “Love Me Again”
Best vocal performance group
WINNER: AKMU – “Love Lee”
BTOB – “Wind and Wish”
BTS – “Take Two”
M.C the MAX – “Eternity”
MeloMance – “A Shining Day”
Best collaboration
Anne-Marie, MINNIE ((G)I-DLE) – “Expectations”
BIG Naughty – “Hopeless Romantic” (Feat. LEE SUHYUN)
BSS (SEVENTEEN) – “Fighting” (Feat. Lee Young Ji)
WINNER: Jung Kook – “Seven” (feat. Latto) – Clean Version
TAEYANG – “VIBE” (feat. Jimin of BTS)
Best dance performance male solo
Jimin – “Like Crazy”
WINNER: Jung Kook – “Seven” (feat. Latto) – Clean Version
KAI – “Rover”
TAEYANG – “VIBE” (feat. Jimin of BTS)
TAEYONG – “SHALALA”
Best dance performance female solo
Hwa Sa – “I Love My Body”
JEON SOMI – “Fast Forward”
JIHYO (TWICE) – “Killin’ Me Good”
WINNER: JISOO – “FLOWER”
LEE CHAE YEON – “KNOCK”
Best dance performance male group
NCT 127 – “Ay-Yo”
NCT DREAM – “Candy”
WINNER: SEVENTEEN – “Super”
Stray Kids – “S-Class”
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”
ZEROBASEONE – “In Bloom”
Best dance performance female group
(G)I-DLE – “Queencard”
aespa – “Spicy”
IVE – “I AM”
LE SSERAFIM – “UNFORGIVEN” (feat. Nile Rodgers)
WINNER: NewJeans – “Ditto”
STAYC – “Teddy Bear”
Best rap & hip-hop performance
WINNER: Agust D – “People Pt.2” (feat. IU)
ASH ISLAND – “Goodbye” (Feat. Paul Blanco)
j-hope – “on the street” (with J. Cole)
Jay Park – “Candy” (Feat. Zion.T)
Zior Park – “CHRISTIAN”
Best OST (original soundtrack)
BIG Naughty – With me (The Interest of Love OST)
WINNER: BTS – The Planet (BASTIONS OST)
Lim Jae Hyun – Heaven (2023) (It Was Spring OST)
Paul Kim – You Remember (The Glory OST)
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – Goodbye Now (Love Revolution OST)
Best music video
(G)I-DLE – “Queencard”
IVE – “I AM”
WINNER: JISOO – “FLOWER”
Jung Kook – “Seven” (feat. Latto) – Clean Version
SEVENTEEN – “Super”
Stray Kids – “S-Class”
Other Awards
Worldwide icon of the year: BTS
Favorite new artist: RIIZE, ZEROBASEONE
Inspiring achievement: TVXQ!
Favorite Asian male group: INI
Favorite Asian female group: Kep1er
Favorite international artist: Yoshiki
Galaxy Neo Flip artist: TREASURE
bibigo CULTURE & STYLE: STREET WOMAN FIGHTER 2, SEVENTEEN
Favorite dance performance male group: TREASURE
Favorite dance performance female group: LE SSERAFIM
Favorite global performer male group: ATEEZ
Favorite global performer female group: (G)I-DLE
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