Your guide to 2022 MAMA Awards
Awards season is here! But don’t worry, we have all the essential info about the iconic MAMAs, including the lineup, as well as where and when to watch.
The MAMA Awards 2022. Image: Mnet.
The MAMA lineup:
The MAMA Awards are arguably the biggest East-Asian music event of the year, a staple date in any K-Pop fan’s calendar.
With a whole host of K-Pop names scheduled to perform and be celebrated at this year's award ceremony, it's clear that the viewership will be high. Arguably the biggest name to perform at the MAMAs will be BTS' j-hope, who will likely be the show's closing act in order to draw in as many viewers as possible.
j-hope posted to Instagram with what appeared to be images of his MAMA recordings and rehearsals. Image: @uarmyhope
Fans have predicted (and hoped) that the 28-year-old will perform an assortment of hits from both his mixtape and studio album, Hope World and Jack in the Box respectively.
Another anticipated MAMA stage is that of the 4th generation K-Pop girl group collaboration. Consisting of IVE, Kep1er, NMIXX, LE SSERAFIM, and NewJeans, the excitement is high for what is to come. Whether this will be a medley of each group's respective songs, covers by the other groups, or something else entirely, is yet to be seen. But it is certainly something to wait for, particularly after the impressive performances seen by IVE, LE SSERAFIM, and NewJeans at this year’s Melon Music Awards on the 26th November.
A handful of other collaboration stages have been officially spoiled by Mnet, and many K-Pop fans are looking forward to that of Stray Kids’ rapping, writing, producing trio 3RACHA (Bang Chan, Changbin, and HAN) with the legendary rapper Tiger JK, and — surprisingly — classical composer Jung Jaeil.
Such an eclectic mix of production masterminds is sure to lead to a cinematic performance of high standards, perhaps with a storyline well suited to Stray Kids’ time on the competitive music survival show Kingdom: Legendary War, of which they took the crown thanks to their conceptual performances and wildly creative ideas. Stray Kids will also perform other tracks of their own as a group, and fans cannot wait! One source gave the following translated statement:
“[Stray Kids] will have an experimental stage more than ever. This time, they'll turn the venue into a bizarre laboratory that creates a non-ordinary group, to create 8 maniacs - and they're expected to show an impressive stage seen nowhere else!
J-Pop fans also have a lot to look forward to; Mnet announced on 24th November that Japanese-Korean girl group NiziU would be collaborating for a stage with Japanese boy group JO1. The latter delivered an impressive performance at the 2021 MAMA Awards, gaining a lot of attention and new fans, so it will be intriguing to see how they will up their game even more for this year amongst the girls of NiziU. As well as this, Japanese boy group INI will be there to perform, just as they did in 2021.
Japanese-Korean girl group NiziU will be performing their songs on 30th November. Image: NiziU Official Twitter.
Idols and artists scheduled to perform across the MAMAs also include: ITZY, ZICO, KANGDANIEL, Lim Young Woong, TEMPEST, HYOLYN, BIBI, ENHYPEN, (G)I-DLE, TREASURE, DKZ, and KARA.
When and where can I watch the MAMA Awards 2022?
Contrasting to previous years, the MAMAs will this time be spread over a period of two days: the 29th and 30th of November. Different artists are scheduled to perform on each day.
The red carpet event on Tuesday 29th will begin at 4pm in Korean Standard Time (7am on Tuesday morning in the UK’s Greenwich Mean Time). Following suit with the 2021 show, this means the main event will be scheduled to start around 6pm KST (9am in the UK’s GMT). According to the official Mnet website, these timings will be the same for the show the following day — a 4pm red carpet start, and a 6pm show start.
The worldwide streaming platform for the show has been provided, with YouTube links readily available for the Mnet K-pop, Mnet TV, M2, and KCON Official channels, all of which will be showing the ceremonies across both days.
Who are you most excited to see perform at the MAMA Awards? Who do you think will take home the prestigious daesang awards like ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Artist of the Year’?
