Mnet Asian Music Awards

The Mnet Asian Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as MAMA) is one of the major K-pop music awarding ceremonies held annually by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, involving the participation of some of the most well-known actors and celebrities, not only in South Korea, but also in other countries such as China, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada and United States as well.

History

The Awards began in 1999 under the name "Mnet Km Music Festival" (MKMF). At that time, it was the first and only Korean music video awards ceremony. After its 10th year anniversary in 2008, the award-giving body was renamed to "M.net Asian Music Awards" or simply "MAMA" in 2009. This marked a change in concept and the way they will handle how people may vote for which artists win the awards. It started its broadcast live in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia through Channel V International.

In 2010, the event was held outside of South Korea for the first time. The 12th annual event was held at the Venetian Resort Macao in Macao, China and aired live in many countries. BoA, who won the "Best Female Solo Award", was not present in the ceremony due to her music agency's, S.M. Entertainment, controversies with Mnet Media. In addition, CNBLUE, 2AM, Jo Kwon, Ga-In who all won awards were not broadcast due to lack of attendance.