The 2011 ‘Mnet Asian Music Award (MAMA)’ which was held at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium on November 29th far exceeded the expectations of the viewers and audience of over 10,000 guests alike.
The stage was created to model the Chinese character for ‘Human‘, and appeared to be an enormous space station. The slogan for this year’s MAMA was ‘Music Makes One‘, meaning all the Asians in the world are able to become one through the medium of music.
The first performance was one by rockband YB, followed by hip hop group Dynamic Duo as well as Simon D, causing the audience to go wild from the get-go.
A collaboration performance of Chinese pianist Lang Lang and B2ST received an explosive response from the fans, and a sensual kiss performance by Trouble Maker, a unit made up of B2ST’s Jang Hyun Seung and 4Minute‘s HyunA, left the crowd surprised but thrilled.
miss A delivered a special performance of “Goodbye Baby Goodbye“, including folding fans and martial arts moves in their choreography. A performance of Kim Hyun Joong‘s “Lucky Guy“and 2NE1 with “I Am The Best” was enough to leave the audience members overwhelmed.
The performances by artists overseas was equally impressive. J-POP star Koda Kumi lived up to her title as ‘Performance queen’, captivating the audience with her vocals and followed it up with a sexy and powerful performance. Legendary west coast rappers Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg performed “The Next Episode” which got everyone putting their hands up to the beat.
Furthermore, the rousing cheers continued with will.i.am performing “The Hardest Ever” and apl.de.ap‘s performance of “We Can Do Anything“. The crowd went wild when the two continued to perform the Black Eyed Peas‘ hit song “Where is the Love” with 2NE1′s CL.
The ladies of SNSD hung from high swings on stage, a performance only seen at their previous independent concert, surprising the MAMA guests and fans alike. Super Junior easily drew the attention of the audience as they put on their performance, going back and forth from the audience members and the stage. 100 back dancers joined them in the end to put on a Blockbuster movie-like performance that was extremely well-synchronized.
But that wasn’t all. 2NE1, B2ST, miss A, Dynamic Duo, A Pink, and more showcased their individual charms and unique colors to continuously receive an explosive response from the fans. The Super Star K3 contestants also performed on stage including Christina, Two Months, Son Ye Rim and of course, the winners- Ooh La La Session. Various artists also collaborated to perform by genre and by group, an event that can only be seen at the MAMA.
With the increasing popularity of Korean movies and dramas, the top Hallyu actors and actresses were also in attendance. The line-up included international star Lee Byung Hun, as well as Kim Hee Sun, Song Seung Hun, Han Hyo Joo, Yoon Eun Hye, Han Chae Young, Go Soo, Song Joong Ki, Kim Soo Hyun, Nam Gyuri, Park Si Yeon, Gong Hyung Jin, Kim Sung Soo, Yoon Seung Ah, Oh Ji Ho, and more. These stars presented the awards during the actual ceremony, and their attendance alone was enough to once again drive the crowd wild.
This year’s MAMA proved that it was not just another award ceremony. It further emphasized the impact of popular idols today. The awards went to the top Hallyu stars, and different from last year’s show which only consisted of a few different entertainment labels, top management company SM Entertainment was in attendance to bring up the atmosphere.
SM Entertainment artists such as SNSD and Super Junior performed to further enrich the show. The SNSD ladies put on a re-made, faster version of “The Boys” while Super Junior performed “Mr. Simple” and “Sorry Sorry“, both phenomenal tracks with intense beats.
This was the second MAMA to be held overseas after last year’s event in Macau, and Mnet feels proud to have accomplished such a large and spectacular stage.
A representative from CJ E&M remarked, “We started planning for this project since early July. We are thrilled to receive such an explosive reaction from the fans“.
CJ E&M plans to put on a grammy-like award ceremony next year, and they are also pushing ahead for a performance overseas thanks to official sponsors like authentic Korean food brand, Bibigo, etc.
CJ E&M head representative Kim Sung Soo stated during a press conference, “We want to create a music festival that exceeds the standards of the Grammys in America. We will not stop at only Asian Music, but will continue to incorporate more and more American music as well“.
