K-pop idols to perform as Saja Boys and Huntrix from ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ at this year’s event, bringing characters to life on stage
Despite Korean fans’ calls for the Mnet Asian Music Awards to return to Seoul, South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM plans to expand its global reach by holding its annual event overseas.
“At Mnet, our guiding vision, ‘music makes one,’ reflects our commitment to uniting the world through music. In line with that vision, we began hosting MAMA overseas in 2010 and have since continued to lead the globalization of K-pop by staging the event in cities such as Macao, Singapore and Hong Kong, bringing together K-pop artists and fans from across the globe,” Park Chan-uk, head of Live Entertainment at CJ ENM, told reporters during a press premier event for this year’s MAMA in Seoul on Tuesday.
The 2025 MAMA will be held Nov. 28-29 at the newly opened 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, featuring spectacular stage productions and world-class performances from 27 singers.
Now in its 26th year, the awards ceremony has adopted the theme “uh-heung,” a Korean expression meaning fun or excitement, to symbolize K-pop’s ambition to spread positive energy globally and to evolve the annual event into a global K-pop festival.
Park added that the company has no plans to host the event in Seoul for the time being, despite some K-pop fans’ wishes for the event to be held in Korea more frequently, as it is where K-pop originated.
Mnet, the country’s leading music channel, launched the K-pop awards in 1999, known then as the Mnet Music Video Festival. It has been held in various Asian countries and cities since 2010. The festival was held in Seoul in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted performance schedules and flights.
A special “KPop Demon Hunters” performance will take place in Hong Kong, with K-pop idols bringing the Saja Boys and Huntrix to life on stage, according to Lee Young-joo, the event’s producer. Lee did not elaborate on who the idols are and which songs they will perform.
Adding excitement to this year’s MAMAs is a performance featuring boy bands Treasure, Cortis and BoyNextDoor; a performance by actor Kim Hye-soo, who will host the second day of the festival, and Felix of Stray Kids; and an exclusive performance featuring Sung Han-bin of Zerobaseone and Kyoka, a Japanese street dancer who won “World of Street Woman Fighter.”
“MAMA performances stand out because we offer experiences that fans can’t see elsewhere. We prioritize what the audience wants, such as special collaborations between artists or unique performances between actors and K-pop musicians,” producer Lee said.
“We plan to continue producing many more such one-of-a-kind shows in the future,” he added.
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