When BTS ended Justin Bieber’s reign by winning the Billboard Awards’ Top Social Artist in 2017, a year that also marked “the first big moment for K-pop on American television,” K-pop fans dared to hope. Wonder Girls had become the first Korean act to break into the American Hot 100 almost a decade earlier.
Since then, American award shows have been catching up. The AMAs created the first K-pop category in a significant U.S. awards show in 2022. However, as talented as the artists are, American producers have never been able to fully showcase K-pop with the extravagance and creative camerawork their Korean counterparts are known for. And face it: What makes music awards shows (or any awards show, for that matter) worth watching are exciting performances and unscripted moments.
So when the MAMA Awards, Korea’s biggest music awards show in scale and influence, came to the Dolby Theater in Hollywood Thursday night, it was a big deal for fans of K-pop. The massive show, which has taken place in recent years in cities across Asia, would be hosted in the U.S. for the first time in its 25-year history and spread across three days. L.A. hosted the first event in a more intimate theater setting; on Nov. 22 and 23, it’s in Osaka, Japan’s Kyocera Dome.
“It was the early 2000s when I tried to have K-pop crossover to the States,” said Park Jin-Young, or J.Y.P., as the charismatic music executive and performing legend is known, at a press conference held the morning of the show.
J.Y.P., with Grammy winner Anderson .Paak, as a special guest, was announced as one of the show’s inaugural performers. “I thought it was possible but not probable,” he says. “Back then, I always ran into someone trying to do the same thing, who made CJ ENM what it is today, Miky Lee.” CJ ENM is one of Korea’s most influential entertainment companies and producers on both KCON and the MAMA Awards.
“She has a genuine dream,” Park continues. “Not because it’s lucrative, she wants Korean culture to be disseminated throughout the world. We used to share a glass of wine at night and talk about what she wants to do and what I was doing, and 20 years later, she’s winning Academy Awards and our artists are being No. 1 on Billboard.”
When asked about his upcoming performance with Anderson .Paak, J.Y.P. alluded to a deeper reason why increased representation in America is important: It goes both ways. .Paak’s mother, a biracial Korean adoptee, was brought to the States and raised by a black American family.
He was not exposed to Korean culture until he married a Korean woman. Later on, his son Soul Rasheed’s obsession with BTS led to .Paak’s collaboration with the group, and this year, he wrote, directed and starred with Soul in “K-Pops!,” about an American musician trying to revive his career in Korea.
That said, bringing a massive multiday Korean awards show to the U.S. is a tall order. Park Chan Uk, head of CJ ENM Convention Business, was careful not to commit to a return visit, but the expansion to the U.S., particularly Los Angeles, fits in many ways.
CJ ENM, which also puts on KCON, has emphasized global expansion. This makes sense as K-pop is big worldwide, almost every group has at least one international member, and all the major labels are launching groups explicitly aimed at global audiences (J.Y.P. used the press conference to officially announce the relaunch of his American-based girl group, Vcha, in 2025). They acknowledge and make efforts to localize experiences for American fans.
J.Y.P. also emphasized tailoring experiences for local fans. This effort on the MAMA Awards launch in L.A. worked very well in some ways but was perplexing in others.
For one, the American press is used to having more access to stars. CJ ENM’s livestreaming of the show included a red-carpet interview segment hosted by American musician and media mogul Eric Nam. While beloved K-drama star Park Bo-Gum was the official show host, the bilingual Nam did the heavy lifting; his popular L.A.-based “Daebak Show” podcast has prepared him well to alternate fluidly between Korean and English.
Although rookie superstars RIIZE were included in the day’s earlier media event, questions were limited to the show itself. Aside from a couple of on-camera moments with Billboard’s Tetris Kelly, American journalists who cover K-pop regularly could not interview artists or guests on a separate red carpet, which is crucial for generating excitement, buzz and candid moments.
And while Korean producers are experts at delivering clean, high-level production value, they are much more protective of their artists’ image. This is understandable, given that fans hold Korean pop stars to higher standards of conduct. American fans love to tear down their artists, but the threshold for acceptable screw-ups is culturally different.
These differences were on display as a group of American fans of RIIZE held a banner outside the Dolby in protest of SM’s Entertainment’s handling of a predebut photo leak of member Seunghan. (Press was explicitly asked not to ask the group about the situation, the leak and its subsequent fallout.)
Although surprises are fun, it would have been not only good publicity to announce award presenters Dustin Hoffman, NSYNC member Lance Bass and Da’Vine Joy Randolph ahead of time but also a chance to ask about their interest in and connection with Korean culture and K-pop.
Screen legend Hoffman, who was heckled by an audience member, did say he attended KCON this year with his wife.
But still, it was the performances that mattered most. New male artist winner TWS opened with a tribute to BTS, wowing later with a buoyant school theme featuring dancers from diverse backgrounds and an endearing appearance by honors band members from Los Angeles suburb Cerritos’ Tetzlaff Junior High.
Girl group Young Posse brought the throwback hip-hop vibes, while Illit brought a fantasy stage to life with unicorn themes and intricate expanded choreography to their hypnotic hit “Magnetic.” They were later sweetly and emotionally taken aback when announced as new female artist winners.
In another poignant moment, Lee Isaac Chung, director of “Minari” and “Twisters,” presented the dance performance male group award to TWS after talking about the significance of seeing his culture represented as a second-generation kid.
RIIZE, unfazed by controversy, flanked by local dancers, performed powerhouse choreography to their hit “Get a Guitar” (Co-written by American songwriter Ben Samama), whose music video was shot in L.A., to the night’s loudest screams.
The stand-out performance was global girl group sensation Katseye, co-managed by Geffen Records. Along with the Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders, they blew everyone away with their commanding stage presence and on-point, intricate and athletic prowess.
Finally, the best was saved for last: J.Y.P. received the Inspiring Achievement Award. Known for his sometimes campy escapades (he’s in on the joke), he showed why he’s considered a legend. The 52-year-old runs one of the most successful entertainment companies in the world, but you can tell his first love is performing.
With a full band, he danced, sang his butt off and tickled the ivories while performing a medley of his solo hits, including the retro “Easy Lover,” finally bringing out .Paak for a funky drum solo. It was a back-and-forth musical conversation that recalled how entwined our two countries have been since the 1950s, when the Kim Sisters absorbed black American R&B to entertain U.S. soldiers, then delighted American audiences on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
The launch of MAMA U.S. wasn’t perfect, but it was a good start. Still, both cultures crave a continuing musical conversation, and American K-pop fans deserve a night of celebration with the performance standards Korean production is known for, not just a one-off on American shows that don’t understand them. With its deep ties to Korean culture, Los Angeles is the perfect place for a permanent MAMA Awards show that better combines Korean know-how with American flair.
