MAMA Held as Scheduled, Donates Millions to Mourn Hong Kong Fire; ENHYPEN Wins Big on 5th Debut Anniversary and Breaks Down in Tears

The grand event of the Korean music scene, the “2025 MAMA AWARDS,” is being held today and tomorrow at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park. However, due to the fire at Hong Fook Court in Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, on the 26th which has resulted in over a hundred deaths so far, officials announced that the ceremony would proceed as scheduled. The event would, however, take “Support Hong Kong” as its theme, using music to provide positive energy to Hong Kong, and various aspects of the performances were adjusted. Stage fire effects were cancelled, and girl group MEOVV specifically changed the lyrics of their song “Burning Up” to “Turn It Up” during their performance.

The ceremony was conducted in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere, with almost all artists in attendance dressed in black attire. Every artist who took to the stage to present or receive awards expressed their condolences. Before the official start, the first day’s host Park Bo-gum wore a black memorial ribbon on his chest as he took the stage, first expressing sympathy to the victims of the fire and leading the audience in a 20-second moment of silence. aespa’s Ningning, (G)I-DLE’s Yuqi, ZEROBASEONE’s Ricky, and several other Chinese artists also gave remarks in Chinese, expressing deep condolences to the Hong Kong fire victims. In addition, the event organizer, Korea’s CJ Group, announced on Weibo the night before the ceremony that it would donate HK$20 million (about RM10.61 million) to the “Tai Po Hong Fook Court Relief Fund” for affected residents.

In the end, boy group ENHYPEN won one of the four grand prizes, the “VISA Fan Choice of the Year,” and also took home the “TELASA Most Popular Global Artist” and “Fan Choice Award,” becoming triple champions. When the seven members took the stage, they were so moved they broke down in tears thanking their fans. Another grand award, “VISA Song of the Year,” went to BLACKPINK member Rosé's ‘APT.’ She accepted the award remotely while touring in Singapore and happily shared the news with Bruno Mars, the “Martian” who sang the song with her. 

In addition, girl group IVE won Global Popular Song, Most Popular Global Performer, and Fan Choice Award, also becoming triple champions. The Best New Artist awards went to CORTIS and Hearts2Hearts. Super Junior, who debuted 20 years ago, received the Inspirational Achievement Award for taking K-POP global. Leader Leeteuk said: “In the past, we thought getting first place or winning big awards was important, but now we've realized that being able to walk alongside our fans for a long time is the most precious thing. We hope that together, in ‘love,’ we can create more miracles.”