This year, the representative K-pop awards ceremony ‘2025 MAMA AWARDS’ is set to begin.
The event will be held today (28th) at Hong Kong Kai Tak Stadium, with the theme ‘Hear My Roar: UH-HEUN’. It is a concept that compresses the explosive energy of freely singing and dancing moments into the keyword ‘UH-HEUN’.
The ‘MAMA Awards’ started in 1999 as a music video-centered awards ceremony and has since expanded its scope to focus on music and artist performances. It made its overseas debut in Macau in 2009 and has now established itself as a global K-pop awards ceremony that tours various regions in Asia.
However, this year’s ceremony will take place in a heavy atmosphere as much as the festive excitement. Just before the event, a large fire tragedy occurred in a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong, resulting in dozens of deaths and many missing persons, with casualties continuing to rise. Naturally, attention has been drawn to whether the ‘2025 MAMA Awards’ will proceed.
After discussions, the organizing company CJ ENM decided to go ahead with the ceremony and expressed its condolences through an official statement. The secretariat stated, “We will add the message ‘Support Hong Kong’ at the awards to create a time for sharing sorrow and mourning together, and we will also participate in donations to support the victims.” They continued, “Believing in the healing and solidarity power of music, we will carefully prepare the stage composition and overall proceedings to convey comfort and hope rather than just a glamorous production.”
The ‘MAMA Awards’ is characterized by building narratives by dividing performances into two chapters each year. This year, attention is focused on how the existing main concept of ‘UH-HEUN’ will harmonize with the ‘Support Hong Kong’ message on stage. It will be interesting to see how this special stage, where the emotions of celebration and mourning coexist, resonates not only with K-pop fans but also with viewers around the world.
