It was great—that's my simplest response to people who asked me about the 2024 MAMA Awards—but let's be real: it was way more than that. There's a lot to say, but at the same time, it has left me speechless in so many ways.
It took me days to wrap my head around the fact that I went to the MAMA Awards. If you're a K-pop fan (especially if you're a multi-fan), you'll know how big of a deal it is to be able to attend MAMA, one of the biggest year-end award shows in South Korea. It celebrates K-pop music and honors artists who have shown immense growth and prominence throughout the year. What's more exciting about MAMA is the fact that they would invite several other celebrities to present and announce the awards! South Korean actors and actresses have also graced the event which makes it a double treat for K-pop and K-drama fans. Case in point: yours truly.
Below, allow me to show you what went down during the iconic event of the year. In a way, this is me wrapping up my feelings for the biggest K-pop event I have ever attended in my life.
2024 MAMA Awards in Osaka Day 1 Highlights
The first thing you'd notice in Osaka during the 2024 MAMA Awards was the weather. After half a day of trying to explore the city on our own on November 22, 2024, we arrived at Kyocera Dome at around 5-ish in the afternoon, trying to battle the 13-degree weather outside. The only thing keeping us warm outside was a sea of fans dressed in their comfiest winter clothes with various K-pop lightsticks and cutesy photocard holders attached to their bags. It was super cute that the MAMA Awards also has its own lightstick for all the attendees.
Thankfully, the inside of Kyocera Dome was heated. We were seated in the 13th row of the C9 section which offered us a full center view of the main stage. We were about 300 meters from the artists' section. ICYDK, the awards show's stage actually includes a section where artists sit and interact with each other—giving fans a peek into the artists' interactions with one another.
At exactly 6 p.m., the program began with TXT's Yeonjun highlighting the 2024 MAMA Awards' theme, "Big Blur: What is Real?" before he rocked the stage with his song, "GGUM." The stage set-up (not just for Yeonjun) was insane! Everything was top-notch—from the lights, sound system, and even the moving stage. So for the first 10 minutes of the show, I. Was. Floored.
Lee Ji Ah x Lee Young Ji's explosive stage
The first one and a half hours went by so fast because I was having so much fun. It was during South Korean actress Lee Ji Ah and Lee Young Ji's performance that I felt the urge to slow down the time. I only knew Lee Ji Ah from the hit TV series, Penthouse: The War in Life and had no idea that she could rap like that.
Lee Ji Ah began singing a rendition of South Korean singer Kik5o's "CTL (Cross the Line)." Even if I'm not much of a hiphop lover, her performance was to die for and even more so when our girl, Lee Young Ji joined the fun. In the latter part, she joined in and everybody just went crazy—especially me. I loved seeing two powerful women give us the performance of a lifetime!
IVE never disappoints
It was my first time watching them live, but hey(a), IVE's performance felt like it was made for me. As a casual listener of some K-pop groups, I'd say IVE's discography caught my attention ever since they released "ELEVEN." Dressed in red, Yujin, Wonyoung, Rei, Gaeul, Liz, and Leeseo performed their 2024 hit songs "Accendio" and "HEYA." It was such a treat for everyone and I don't think the uploaded IVE MAMA stage on YouTube does justice to just how incredible and stable their vocals were—especially Yujin's. She's been strong on my bias list and the 2024 MAMA Awards just solidified it even more.
ENHYPEN's bloody heavenly stage
ENHYPEN's performance was one of those performances throughout the night that made me say, "Ah, now I get the hype." The seven-member group consisting of Sunghoon, Heeseung, Jake, Sunoo, Jungwon, Jay, and Niki wowed me to the core with their 1) visuals, 2) powerful dance breaks, and 3) their visuals again, lol.
The boys performed "XO," and a mashup of "Brought the Heat Back," and "Daydream." It has to be said: they literally brought the heat to Kyocera Dome and pulled us out of our daydreams. I can't get over how Jay and Niki slayed so hard and had us in a chokehold with their (ultra) defined jawlines.
More than that, what had my jaw on the floor was when Sunghoon went inside a coffin-like box for their stage. Oh, the things they do to give a 200% performance—it was crazy good.
TREASURE's adorable stage (got us wanting to go to their solo con)
Hyunsuk, Doyoung, Jihoon, Yoshi, Jeongwoo, Jaehyuk, Junghwan, Haruto, Asahi, and Junkyu looked like a complete vision in their white ensemble during the night. It was one of the stages that I genuinely enjoyed the most because of how fun they performed "Run." It felt like the crowd actually went to a TREASURE concert—the boys even ran around the dome and even interacted with some of the audience seated in the aisle sections. My eyes were glued to that one member who left me in awe as he belted out a line from the song. It was Junghwan. He was a revelation to me—meaning to say, I am now delving into the TREASURE world as we speak.
Byeon Woo Seok presenting the award like it's for me
Byeon Woo Seok is one of my ultimate favorite actors and is probably the top reason why I was so stoked about attending the MAMA Awards this year. The guy swept South Korea by storm after starring in the global phenomenon K-drama Lovely Runner together with actress Kim Hye Yoon, which then led to him bagging back-to-back brand endorsements. He's been attending the MAMA Awards show since 2022 to promote upcoming projects. This time around though, he attended without any next project to share (yet!).
ALSO READ: Byeon Woo Seok Donated Over P12 Million To Charity
When the MC said, "The actor known for the global phenomenon..." I just knew it was Woo Seok, and so I stood up from my seat and shouted. He came out onstage with a chic suit and tie, and an ear cuff that got me melting on the spot. Until the end, I was screaming as if I was the one who won, LOL!
2024 MAMA Awards in Osaka Day 2 Highlights
Everything went extremely well for Day 1 in Osaka—except for the fact that it was almost freezing (for us) at 9 degrees when the show ended at around 9 p.m. (and that many were disappointed over the "APT" performance). But fast forward to Day 2 when I thought my heart would literally burst!
On November 23, 2024, we headed to Kyocera Dome before lunchtime. We were ushered to the parking lot area where the red carpet was set up. Yes, you read that right. We had the exclusive chance to witness the 2024 MAMA Awards Red Carpet event for a day! Everyone was really excited about it. It's one thing to see K-celebs onstage, but it's another when it's on the red carpet—it was a much closer view.
True enough, and perhaps, it was another lucky day for me, I managed to secure a spot at the barricade area. I was around ten steps away from where the artists were instructed to stand on the red carpet. At this point, the 11-degree cold at noon time in Osaka didn't bother me at all. All I could feel and hear was my heart beating so loud because of how excited I was.
The Red Carpet Revelations: Yim Siwan, Kim Tae Ri, aespa, SEVENTEEN
When the Red Carpet event started, everyone was looking at all the celebrities with much gusto. Whether they knew the artists or not, everyone was trying to get the best shots and look at how gorgeous they all looked! As for me, well I do have my favorite moments as well on the red carpet.
Yim Siwan
And the first thing on my list was Yim Siwan—another one of my favorite actors. The 2024 MAMA Awards became an avenue for me to see him for the very first time. You see, Siwan is one of those celebs who hasn't visited the Philippines yet. So when the lady beside me was kind enough to lend me some pen and paper where I could write a banner, I grabbed the chance to get my yes-or-no moment with my fave.
As I was trembling, I wrote, "Siwan! Love you from Manila," before the red carpet event began. When it was Siwan's time, I wasn't thinking straight and just started waving the banner for him, hoping he would spot me from the crowd—and he did! The guy, who looked like a real prince, said hi to me during the live broadcast. Oh, what an experience! *still crying happy tears as we speak*
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Kim Tae Ri
I knew Kim Tae Ri was pretty, but seeing her on the red carpet gave me all the feels. She was more than pretty—she was a vision in her white gown. Add to that the fact that her short hair really suits her! Matched with her contagious smile and sparkling eyes, no one wanted to get their eyes off of the actress.
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aespa
aespa's Karina, Winter, and Ningning walked down the red carpet with their gorgeous looks. The three were totally glowing. I thought they'd give off the super baddie vibe that they flaunt when they're onstage, but up close, the award-winning girl group were so lovely and cute. Most of the fanboys from the red carpet crowd couldn't help but shout for their names hoping they'd look into their fan cams, LOL.
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SEVENTEEN
And then there was SEVENTEEN. I've been a fan since ages ago and I've been to some of their Manila concerts, but seeing them on the red carpet still gave me the butterflies! S.Coups, Woozi, Hoshi, Joshua, Wonwoo, The8, Mingyu, DK, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino strutted the red carpet with their charming and cheeky vibes. One thing I'd like to say also is that they really tried to interact with the crowd, saying hi here and there. They didn't feel distant at all.
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The red carpet event took one and a half hours but we had to quickly move inside the dome as the program proper was about to begin. This time, we were seated at the C5 section which was a lot closer to the artists section. To be honest, being seated closer to them was kind of distracting for the most part, as you would just want to look at them and see if any of them were interacting with each other. (And yes, of course, they all did!)
Byeon Woo Seok's "Sudden Shower"
Now onto the highlights of the second day, to be honest, there was a lot to unpack. But let's start off with the actor Byeon Woo Seok performing his famous OST from Lovely Runner, "Sudden Shower." It was the song performed by his character, Ryu Sun Jae, and now, he performed it in front of a crowd just like in the drama! ICYDK, the song became a staple for Koreans this year as it continued to take a spot in Korean music charts.
ALSO READ: Byeon Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon Dazzle In 'Lovely Runner'
Looking like the angel he is, Woo Seok sang "Sudden Shower" with all his heart. He was dashing (as always) as he gave a remarkable performance. I'm betting that he made everyone curious about Lovely Runner that day, and definitely interested in him because of his heavenly visuals and vocals.
BIGBANG's big comeback
It's been almost nine years since the King of K-pop, G-Dragon set foot on the MAMA stage. This year, he shifted things up to the core. He owned the stage with his songs "Untitled, 2014," and "Power." Everyone was jumping up and down to G-Dragon, especially the K-pop idols!
As if having G-Dragon wasn't earth-shattering enough, two more legendary K-pop idols graced the 2024 MAMA Awards. There was no time to think and to breathe as his fellow BIGBANG members, Taeyang and Daesung joined him in making the crowd go wild! It was truly an unforgettable moment especially for those who literally grew up listening to BIGBANG's hits!
The BIGBANG trio performed and made everyone dance to their songs, "Bang Bang Bang," and "Fantastic Baby." Even the idols must've felt they were in pure luck after witnessing BIGBANG's surprise comeback stage—and boy, we want more!
SEVENTEEN's emotional daesang speech
After all the performances that made us all jump and wave our lightsticks in the air, one moment made us all sentimental. It was when SEVENTEEN received their Grand Prize award or the Daesang as they call it. They were honored as the Artist of the Year, and the members, especially Woozi, just couldn't hide their tears.
For some, perhaps, SEVENTEEN was just a 13-member boy group that's one of the many third-generation K-pop groups that made it big. But for their fans called Carats, SEVENTEEN is that boy group who gives their all from writing their songs to curating their own music, and even formulating their choreographies, and so much more.
They were once a group from a company that almost went bankrupt, had literal mobile earphones as their in-ear, and had to endure a lot of setbacks before and even after their debut. But this 2024, they are standing strong as the award-winning group that a lot of younger groups now look up to. We made it, SEVENTEEN and Carats :)
2024 MAMA Awards in Osaka recap
I feel like I've yapped enough for this recap, basically pouring out my thoughts and just about everything nice that I had to say about the 2024 MAMA Awards in Osaka. In a nutshell, attending this awards show wasn't really how I expected it to be.
I thought I was only going to be thrilled about seeing my faves. But now I want to see more of the artists I met during the two-day MAMA Awards. Ultimately, as well, I gained new perspectives on how these idols give out their very best for every performance they have.
There are a lot of K-pop groups and artists these days, debuting one after another, and it's so easy to dismiss their efforts and performances these days because most people are too focused on their faves. That's why watching an awards show like MAMA helps one realize that every one of them still has their own unique charm to offer the public. After all, it's just a matter of time and the right impact for those groups, especially the rookie ones, to have their own shining moments as well in the future. :)
Of course, there were ups and downs during the 2024 MAMA Awards but it will always be that one core memory that I'd always look back to. (Special thanks to Metrobank and Visa for this amazing experience!)
