The organizers of the MAMA Awards 2024 have received criticisms from netizens worldwide following the first day of the much-awaited K-pop award show. Social media users and event attendees shared their disappointments online through various social networking platforms.
According to the netizens, the first day of the annual award ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday (November 21), was a small event. Some viewers shared the size of the venue, and the scale of production was small compared to a big award show. A few others noticed the performers of the LA event were rookie band members. They claimed that all major events and big idols were booked for the Japanese edition of the award ceremony.
The MAMA Awards 2024 is taking place as a three-day event at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, from Thursday (November 21) to Saturday (November 23). K-pop fans and music lovers from various parts of the globe, including the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Peru, Denmark, Europe, France, South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Indonesia, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UK, can watch the annual award ceremony live online for free on the official page of Mnet. The annual award ceremony will be streamed live exclusively on Samsung TV Plus in multiple locations.
Netizens' Reactions
I feel like half of the audience wasn't there to watch K-pop but was recruited by the organizer from local talent agencies to fill the venue. Some are older, don't seem interested in what's happening, and wear dresses and suits.
I feel bad for idols attending the US stage because we all know the Japan stage is the main stage.
It felt weirdly small, and usually I'd like concerts that small but this one did feel off!
It's just Chapter One in the USA—but MAMA has always been known for its magnitude and huge, elaborate stages. This feels so...miniature. And not like MAMA at all. (This has nothing to do with the artists themselves. They're doing so well with what they have to work with.) The energy in the audience even seems more muted than what we've seen in MAMA's past. Maybe I'm just showing my age as a 3rd gen stan, but I hope tomorrow's Japan stages bring back the MAMA we've known for years.
From a business standpoint, I get what they're trying to do by capitalizing on Western captivation with K-pop music by having the awards there, but it was poorly executed and quite lackluster for most of it. All the presenters were boasting about themselves and the vibe was awkward and staged. Plus it became the JYP show for, like ten minutes - I get it, I love the man in ways too, but he ain't all THAT. (Edit- now that I think about it, NONE of his groups were there or will be there today!). I got the sense groups there felt left out from the main festivities because their company asked them to be there instead (specifically thinking of the Japanese members wanting to be on home turf but just my thoughts).
The crowd was so dead. The venue looked super weird too. Had like a workplace year-end party vibe. I think the one they used in the Oscar ceremony.
It felt like an end-of-the-year school concert show. The performances for the most part felt kind of boring to me too. Katseye was the only one who made me feel excited for the stage from start to finish.
This was the same venue Dreamcatcher performed at! But yeah I agree, didn't really get that grand feeling but I hope Japan will make up for it!
It felt weirdly small, and usually I'd like concerts that small but this one did feel off!
