On 14th October 2024 (Monday), the Mnet Asian Music Awards, known more fondly as MAMA, revealed the list of nominations for their 2024 event. Awards in over 20 categories will be handed out during the three-day ceremony, running from 21st to 23rd November 2024. Many of K-pop’s top artists received nominations for the award show, including IU, Seventeen, NewJeans and aespa.
However, with so many idols, there are bound to be some groups and soloists that are left out. The snubs have sparked criticism from fans, who believe their favourite artists were “robbed” and by Mnet. From ATEEZ to XG, here are six K-pop acts that fans say were robbed of their predicted nominations:
ATEEZ (에이티즈)
Many ATINYs were shocked that ATEEZ wasn’t nominated for several predicted categories, including “Best Male Group”. Instead, the group only received nominations for “Album Of The Year” and “Fans’ Choice Male” The fans argued that the seven-member boy band should’ve also been considered for the “Artist Of The Year” award, given that they had one of their most successful years in their career, including having performed at Coachella 2024.
BABYMONSTER (베이비몬스터)
Fans argued that YG Entertainment’s newbie girl group BabyMonster was also snubbed by the MAMA 2024. The group did receive a nomination for “Best New Female Artist” but some MONSTIEZ argued that they should’ve been nominated for “Best Music Video”. Many cited the success of their music video for “SHEESH”, which has received over 300 million views since its release, as the reason it should’ve been considered for the category.
DAY6 (데이식스)
DAY6 is another K-pop act that fans claimed was robbed of MAMA 2024 nominations. While the band was nominated for “Best Band Performance”, many MyDays were surprised that the band didn’t receive a nomination for “Artist of The Year”. Most argued that their success in the past year, especially with their “FOUREVER” album and world tour, was enough for Mnet to consider them for the prestigious main award category.
LE SSERAFIM (르세라핌)
Girl group LE SSERAFIM did receive nominations in all the predicted categories, including “Artist Of The Year”. However, fans said Mnet failed to consider another of the group’s hit songs. Many FEARNOTs said “Perfect Night” should’ve been considered for the “Song Of The Year” award over the quintet’s recent title track, “CRAZY”. Some argued that the song was much more successful than the recent release and, according to the nomination criteria, is still eligible despite being released in 2023.
Lisa (리사)
Despite a wildly successful solo comeback, BLACKPINK member Lisa failed to receive any nomination for MAMA 2024. Many said the Thai idol not being nominated for “Best Female Artist” or “Best Music Video” was surprising, given the success of “Rockstar” Unfortunately, there were claims that the lack of nominations was due to racial bias. Still, it’s worth noting that Lisa was nominated for a MAMA award when she made her solo debut in 2021.
XG
Global girl group XG also failed to receive any nominations from MAMA 2024, despite seeing success in the past year with their song “Woke Up”. However, there were arguments that the group didn’t receive a nomination because they’re not a K-Pop group. On the other hand, fans said they’ve performed on several Korean music shows, including Mnet’s M COUNTDOWN, which should’ve given the broadcast station a reason to consider them for at least one category.
