Melon Music Awards will be virtual again this year

MMA [MMA 2021]

The Melon Music Awards (MMA) will be held online starting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 4, according to Kakao, which runs Melon, one of Korea’s major music streaming services.

As with last year, the annual music awards ceremony will be streamed live through various social media channels such as KakaoTV and YouTube due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The festival began in 2005 and used to be held live, although streamed online.

The MMA uses data from Melon to base its awards to artists who have had exceptional performances during the year.

Last year, BTS won all three major categories including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for their fourth album “Map of the Soul: 7” and Song of the Year for “Dynamite.”

“MMA 2021 will be a global festival that anyone who loves K-pop can enjoy,” Kakao said. “We will endeavor for the music festival to be a hopeful one marking the beginning of the post-covid-19 era.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]