BTS declared first confirmed performer at Melon Music Awards, excited fans say they 'have a reason to tune in'
South Korea's major annual awards ceremony, the Melon Music Awards is set for 2020 and the first artiste/band to perform has been announced. Set to kick off during the first week of December, the Melon Music Awards (henceforth known as MMA 2020) is tapping in one of the world's biggest K-pop groups, BTS, as the first confirmed artiste/band to make an appearance. No other artistes have been revealed for the lineup as of yet.
BTS previously swept up four grand prizes (Daesangs), including 'Best Album', 'Best Artist', 'Best Song' and 'Best Record', at last year's ceremony. The band also won four other awards as well, totalling eight trophies. For this year's event, BTS fans are already predicting a similar outcome. "Everyone prepare for the best performance of mma," said a fan while another wrote, "BTS 2020 DAESANG SWEEP, LETS GET IT."
The Daesang award is one of the highest achievements a Korean group or artiste can achieve. Winning a Daesang focuses on the records released by artistes that year and how many copies they sold, both physically and digitally. "It's a bts concert now lol," said a fan.
One fan shared, "Yay I have a reason to tune in."
Another fan added, "PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR IS COMINGG."
Organized by Kakao M through its online music store, Melon, the South Korean entertainment company has dedicated the first week of December to its first-ever 'MMA Week', according to Soompi. This year's ceremony has made preparations for the social distancing guidelines and will be "intact" which means no face-to-face contact and online broadcasting. Notably, MMA 2020 isn't letting viewers go without a full experience and plans to take advantage of its online platform, presenting brand-new ways of connecting fans around the world to diverse artists and genres through a variety of new content. The MMA week will present a new style of concerts, a magazine featuring many artistes' stories, special videos and playlists that look back at this year's music industry and more.
A source from Kakao spoke of the upcoming ceremony, shared by Soompi. “Our first ‘MMA WEEK’ will be a time for various artists, music genres, and fans to meet, and it will be a festival fun for all that revitalizes the culture and arts industry," the source said, noting, "Although the physical distance has gotten larger due to the influences of COVID-19, people will be able to experience a music festival that brings fans and artists closer musically.”
When to watch
The Melon Music Awards will begin its MMA Week on December 2 and wrap up on December 5. A teaser for MMA 2020 will be also be shared on Friday, November 6.
Where to watch
The ceremony can be viewed on several online platforms such as the official MMA YouTube channel, or the Melon app, which you can download here.