MAMA 2023 Nomination Snubs: K-Pop Idols Fans Think Should Be Nominated

The nominees for the highly anticipated 2023 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) have finally been revealed. Though it should have been a momentous occasion for the K-Pop community, some fans are disappointed that many talented groups and artists got snubbed.

This year, several K-Pop groups and soloists released banger hits and had successful comebacks, which some fans think were worthy of receiving an award — or at least a nomination. Unfortunately, these artists have failed to make the cut, causing an uproar on social media. Below is the list of artists fans think should have been nominated.

1.

BTS’ RM and Jin

Only five members of BTS — Jimin, Jungkook, Suga, J-Hope and V — earned nominations for their solo releases for this year’s ceremony. This disappointed a lot of ARMYs, who claimed on X, formerly Twitter, that Mnet was “scared” of RM and Jin since the two failed to get nominated.

“Regarding the fact that Jin with just a single he managed to outsell the whole K-Pop industry, and Joon being the greatest human that he is ended the K-Pop with ‘INDIGO.’ I won’t be surprised that MAMA awards are scared of them, they should always be scared of the KIM brothers,” one user wrote.

Another commented, “I’m honestly sad [as f—k] because Namjoon wasn’t nominated on MAMA ‘Indigo’ is such [a] good album like be [f—king for real].”

2.

ATEEZ

Dubbed the “Performance Kings,” ATEEZ previously dominated the K-Pop industry with “Bouncy (K-Hot Chilli Peppers),” which took home five trophies from top music shows in South Korea and trended worldwide. Unfortunately, the group was also snubbed, as it failed to enter categories such as Song Of The Year, Best Male Group and Best Dance Performance (Male Group).

3.

ENHYPEN

Though ENHYPEN earned a nomination under the Worldwide Fans’ Choice category, fans — known as ENGENEs — claimed that the group was robbed of two other nominations, Best Dance Group Performance by [a] male group and Best Male Group.

“MAMA should make a new nomination for [ENHYPEN] which is [the] most robbed group [because] what the hell is happening,” one fan said on Twitter.

Another commented, “Huh?? I think everyone can tell that ENHYPEN is literally one of the strongest dancers in the whole K-Pop industry [right now]. The complex choreography and sharp synchronization. Being not nominated is a mystery for real. I can’t take this awards show that seriously.”

4.

ITZY

Fourth-generation “monster rookie” ITZY was also seemingly left out of the annual music awards, despite having a successful comeback with “KILL MY DOUBT” — which currently has the 8th highest first-week sales of an album by any girl group in South Korea’s Hanteo chart, earning a total sale of 823,742 copies.

Some fans seemed to think that MAMA allegedly had “beef” with ITZY since 2020 when its hit track “Wannabe” failed to take home the trophy for Best Performance; hence, why the nominations list could have been “rigged.”

The group, however, is nominated under Worldwide Fans’ Choice.

5.

NMIXX

Another JYP Entertainment artist who failed to secure other nominations — aside from Worldwide Fans’ Choice — is the vocal powerhouse NMIXX. Its fandom was in disbelief over the snub since the group’s latest comeback album, “A Midsummer NMIXX’s Dream,” charted well on major music charts in South Korea and accumulated over 800,000 sales.

6.

Xdinary Heroes

Unfortunately, Best Band Performance appeared to have been taken off the categories for the 2023 MAMAs; hence, Xdinary Heroes — one of the biggest rock bands in South Korea — became ineligible for a nomination.

“Wow, is this the way they treat JYP artists now?? @MnetMAMA [why is] best band performance removed?? Now we can see how greedy [Mnet’s MAMA is] now. Boycott Mnet MAMA. Villains,” one user tweeted.

Another commented, “Removing the Best Band Performance is just ridiculous…”

7.

FIFTY FIFTY

FIFTY FIFTY would have been a frontrunner for the Best New Female Artist category, but according to some music critics, its ongoing legal battle with Attrakt could have been the reason why it got snubbed this year. FIFTY FIFTY reached worldwide success with its track “Cupid,” which dominated the Spotify music charts and trended all over TikTok with about 2.5 million videos.

8.

SHINEE’s Key

SHINee member Key has been recognized as one of the most successful soloists to come out of a group, releasing hits with every comeback. But, unfortunately, he has been snubbed again for the third time, most notably the Best Dance Performance for a male soloist.