BTS sweeps top awards at MAMA 2020

BTS is making a remark during MAMA 2020 on Sunday. [NEWS1]

BTS has swept the Mnet Asian Music Awards, more widely known as MAMA, winning eight awards including all four top honors on Sunday.

It's the second year the boy group won all of top four awards: Artist of the Year; Song of the Year, with its first all-English song “Dynamite”; Album of the Year, with “Map of the Soul: 7”; and Worldwide Icon of the Year.

The other four honors the group won include the Worldwide Fans’ Choice award, Best Male Group, Dance Performance Male Group and Best Music Video — the latter two also being for the song "Dynamite."

The award ceremony, organized by entertainment company CJ ENM every year since 1999, was renamed MAMA in 2009 and has become one of the most globally recognizable K-pop events. The events were held in many different cities worldwide to include more K-pop fans for the festivities before, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, they took place solely in Korea this year.

Artists gathered to perform, receive their awards and make speeches without any audience present. The entire event was streamed live online.

BTS member RM said after the group’s “Dynamite” was named as Song of the Year that the group sometimes feels a heavy burden to lift people's spirits as they struggle during the pandemic.

“We are so sorry and thankful that fans accept our message that tomorrow will come again,” he said.

Besides BTS, many other K-pop stars were honored during the event. Blackpink, NCT, Ateez, Tomorrow X Together, Mamamoo, Treasure, Seventeen, GOT7 and Twice also won Worldwide Fans’ Choice awards. Blackpink won Best Female Group and Dance Performance — Female Group, while IU took home the Best Female Artist, Vocal Performance — Solo and Best Collaboration awards.

BoA, who is celebrating her 20th year since her debut, received the Worldwide Inspiration Award.

BY LEE SUN-MIN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]