ATEEZ, the legendary pirates of K-pop, conquered the 2023 MAMA Awards on Nov. 28-29, winning the Worldwide Fans’ Choice and Favorite Global Performer Male Group awards. The awards show came at the perfect time to debut their newest song, “Crazy Form,” for Day Two on the MAMA stage, filling the arena with crazed screams of delight.
This year, the Mnet Asian Music Awards was held in Tokyo Dome, Japan for two days of explosive performances. The MCs — Jeon Somi and Park Bo-Gum — engaged a grand arena of fans by hosting performances from world-favorite music groups, solo artists and dance groups. Some of the most anticipated artists at this year’s MAMA awards who performed and/or received awards included SEVENTEEN, LE SSERAFIM, the cast of “Street Woman Fighter,” ATEEZ and many more beloved artists.
In their 10-minute-long performance, ATEEZ presented a meticulous theatrical video and iconic choreography, captivating the eyes and ears of everyone in the arena. The group opened their stage with the three members shown in the introduction video — San, Hongjoong and Wooyoung — jumping out of a white van and running to join other members — Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, Mingi and Jongho — on the main stage. They first hyped up the crowd with their hit title track, “BOUNCY,” delivering a fiery production with powerful vocals and an unmatchable energy.
After demolishing the stage with “BOUNCY,” the group showed off their theatrical skills, having San act in a two-minute skit with the famous South Korean actor, Ryu Seung-Ryong. The short performance emphasized the electrifying spice of ATEEZ’s comeback with an “eye-opening” Cheongyang chili pepper. Biting this very chili pepper, Seung-Ryong’s character screams out in triumph, “Let’s live in a crazy form!” With loud support from the audience, “Crazy Form” successfully debuted and shook the crowd with its heated energy, stunning visuals and powerful choreography.
Vocals from the members elevated the performance with satisfying vocals, melodic belting and intricate raps. The powerful choreography and attention to detail in their performance, down to the tiniest facial expressions, undoubtedly “broke the wall” of the arena. The song included mixtures of rhythmic Latin beats and EDM trap, with a choreographic theme of hip thrusts and large group dance segments that energized the crowd.
KQ Entertainment and ATEEZ have worked hard to promote their new album, “THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL,” and their efforts surely paid off, winning two global awards: Worldwide Fans’ Choice and Favorite Global Performer Male Group. Every intricate detail of their promotion was entirely intentional, going so far as placing QR codes in local hamburger shops, covering subway lines in Seoul with chili pepper posters, and glitching in and out of city jumbotrons with the comeback’s bunny logo. The promotion tactics were no joke, as the company and members used every trick up their sleeves to hype fans up for “Crazy Form.”
The two awards the group won are especially significant in influencing the trends of the K-pop industry, as the Worldwide Fans’ Choice represents the resilience and loyalty of fanbases around the world. This award brings fans from anywhere and everywhere together to support their most cherished artists. It shows that the artists’ durability and passion to produce music, choreography and content for the enjoyment of their fans’ entertainment deserves a titled award.
The Favorite Global Performer Male Group is also an extremely competitive category, as almost all of the Asian music groups related to K-Pop implement vocals, choreography and visuals in their music. Although it is exceptionally challenging for artists to differentiate themselves from their competitors’ performances, ATEEZ has shown great authenticity of character and adaptability to setting new standards in the performance aspect of the K-Pop industry, giving their all to every stage.
ATEEZ last received a MAMA award in 2020 for Discovery of the Year and Worldwide Fans’ Choice. Since then, the boy band has been working hard to produce fresh sounds and newfangled concepts to bring features to the K-Pop industry that have never been explored before.
Although their music is categorized in the K-pop genre, ATEEZ has played around with various genres in individual songs, ranging from love ballads to psychedelic rock. The versatility of their musical capabilities is one of the many reasons why their music has touched the hearts of a wide range of audiences, gaining fans from many different walks of life.
However, musical capabilities aren’t the only talents that ATEEZ has to offer. The octet started their careers traveling around the world doing concerts for international fans and giving their all, no matter where they were. From a very early stage, ATEEZ has stolen the hearts of K-pop lovers from around the world, showing them powerful stages and a great appreciation to those who are even willing to listen to K-Pop, exemplified by the two awards won at the Worldwide Fans’ Choice.
ATEEZ will continue to take the K-Pop industry to a new level in the upcoming year with their recently announced fifth world tour. Although they just ended their fourth world tour on Sept. 16 in the Philippines, the group is already preparing to perform their new album for their dedicated fans around the world. As ATEEZ continues to live in a crazy form, their music will carry on having a significant influence on the K-Pop industry and fans alike.
Cameryn Nguyen is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at camerynn@uci.edu.
