MAMA Awards

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