We’re less than two weeks away from what could arguably be called the biggest Kpop award ceremony of the year, the 2019 MAMA.
However, this year, it’s different. The award show and the organizers behind it were faced with immense backlash and scrutiny as soon as the location of the award ceremony was announced. This year, MAMA will be held in Japan, and as previously reported by various news outlets around the globe, there are current tensions between Japan and South Korea. As a result, both countries are boycotting each other goods, tourism in Japan is also down due to Koreans boycott.
But that’s not the only issues it’s facing right now, Mnet has been embroiled in controversy over the vote-rigging manipulation, due to that, both X1 and IZ*ONE are currently on hiatus as Mnet awaits police investigation results and this is where the second issue is.
X1 and IZ*ONE were supposed to be part of the lineup for the award ceremony, they were also set to perform, however, the status of their appearance is up in the air. It is unknown if the groups will even be present at the ceremony.
Related: 2019 MAMA Releases FULL Nomination List, Did Your Fav Make It?
2019 MAMA will carry on as intended but since award ceremonies take months of preparations, the staff is currently in a predicament. According to an insider, the atmosphere at 2019 MAMA is at its lowest point ever, the staff must consider the possibility of replacing both groups and finding performers in such a short notice which is a difficult task.
What do you think of this situation?
Take bigbang and 2nE1 to perform .it will be a big hit like before for sure