The recent announcement of the 2023 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) nominations has left ENHYPEN fans puzzled and disappointed
The controversy centers around the absence of ENHYPEN from most of the major award categories.
While ENHYPEN secured a nomination in the “Worldwide Fan’s Choice” category, they are missing from crucial categories like “Best Male Group,” “Best Male Group Dance Performance,” “Artist of the Year,” and “Album of the Year.”
This omission has raised eyebrows among fans, given ENHYPEN’s remarkable achievements in 2023. Their mini-album “Dark Blood” recorded 1.32 million copies sold in its first week. It also claimed the top spot on Japan’s Oricon chart and ranked No.1 on iTunes charts in 30 countries. The stream count also surpassed 100 million within just 90 days on Spotify.
This issue is raising questions about the fairness of MAMA’s selection process. Speculation has arisen that this exclusion may be linked to CJ ENM’s decision to divest its shares in Belift Lab, ENHYPE’s management label. This has effectively removed ENHYPEN from the CJ-HYBE joint project.
CJ Entertainment has defended its selection process, citing data from album and song releases between October 2022 and September 2023 and the evaluation of a judging panel consisting of industry experts.
An industry official commented, “From CJ’s perspective, they may have the prerogative to exclude ENHYPEN due to the share divestment. Nevertheless, this decision appears to disregard the significance of the fans. In K-pop that revolves around fandoms, it’s the fans who hold the majority stake, not a minority. An awards show that fails to consider the impact of fandoms may face consequences.”
