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The Melon Music Awards, aka MMA, is a major year-end award show in South Korea that is held by Kakao Entertainment, who own the music platform Melon.
Melon is the second most used streaming platform in South Korea, right behind YouTube Music. Melon Music Awards have been held online annually since 2005, however, the offline award shows only started in 2009. The award show uses digital data from Melon and votes received online from Korean citizens to compile their list of winners.
The line-up every year for the Melon Music Awards has been extraordinary, with every K-pop group putting on an extravagant performance on-stage to impress the audience.
In 2021, Melon Music Awards announced a special award called 'Legend Stage' to acknowledge the legendary performances on its stage. Out of the nominees, BTS’ 2018 MMA performance was honored with the award.
Five legendary Melon Music Awards performances that are still the talk of the town
1) Girls’ Generation’s Genie performance
The Melon Music Awards started their offline shows in 2009 and to open the show that very year, Girls’ Generation performed their songs Chocolate Love and Genie. The performance was special because it was the first time an artist physically graced the stage of this major award show with such a powerful performance.
The song and choreography of Genie is considered one of the most iconic performances from a girl group and despite it being more than a decade old, many dancers still cover the song till date.
2) IU’s Dear Name performance
IU’s stage performances are always creative and touching, but her Dear Name performance at the 2017 Melon Music Awards has been one of the most iconic performances from the soloist.
IU performed by singing the songs Through The Night and Dear Name with other singers who have not had the opportunity or support to make it in the music industry. She did this to grant them the exposure and limelight they all needed as the idol deemed it worth spreading their names out in the world.
3) BTS’ IDOL performance
After a thrilling performance of their songs FAKE LOVE and Airplane Pt. 2, BTS presented a celebration of Korean culture at the 2018 Melon Music Awards. Various traditional Korean dance forms were displayed by j-hope, Jimin, and Jung Kook, who performed the Samgo-Mu (drum dance), Buchaechum (fan dance), and Talchum (mask dance) respectively.
The septet then took to the stage to perform the traditional Korean instrumental version of their song IDOL donned in Hanboks, which is a traditional outfit of the Koreans.
The exciting performance was also the winner of the Legend Stage at MMAs and later, BTS member Jimin was also awarded an appreciation plaque by the Kim Baek Bong Fan Dance Conservation Society for his wonderful portrayal of the fan dance.
4) BTS’ Dionysus performance
BTS made history with their 2019 MMA performance by putting on a show of around 40 minutes. The septet gave viewers an intriguing cinematic experience through their performances and VCRs.
In the first half of the show, the boy group performed their hits such as Intro: Persona, where RM performed in a box-like set, followed by Boy In Luv and Boy With Luv. For Mikrokosmos, the set-up resembled that of a galaxy and BTS seemed to be floating in the air surrounded by multiple stars.
However, the show stealer was their grand introduction performance of Dionysus. Each member performed solo to the instrumentals of various hits from their discography, from which they moved on to a Greek-themed set to perform Dionysus that also included an EDM-inspired dance break that had the audience's jaws on the floor.
5) Lim Young-woong’s Hero performance
Although the 2020 MMAs were a virtual affair due to the Covid-19 pandemic, trot singer Lim Young-woong managed to put on a grand performance of his songs Trust In Me and Hero.
The addition of colorful chandeliers and the 360 degree stage where he was playing the piano while singing live made the entire performance so captivating that one could not take his eyes off him.
The 2022 Melon Music Awards are to be held on November 26, 2022 at the Gocheok Sky Dome. With newer generations of K-pop groups mostly making up the line-up this year, it would be interesting to see if they can replicate the grand stage performances produced by their predecessors.
