2025 MAMA Awards Held Amid Memorials for Hong Kong Fire Tragedy; ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ ‘APT.’ Win Song of the Year

The 2025 MAMA Awards were held on a scaled-down scale as a sign of respect for the Hong Kong fire tragedy, with ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ collaborative song “APT.” winning the Song of the Year Daesang award. At this ceremony, which took place on November 28 and 29 at the Hong Kong Kai Tak Sports Park, flame effects were canceled and memorial services were conducted to honor those affected by the fire at the Wang Fuk Court apartment in Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Following the tragic wildfire in Hong Kong, the K-pop industry stepped in immediately to provide support. CJ ENM became the first Korean entertainment company to pledge 20 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 2.5 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief efforts in Hong Kong. The Big 4 entertainment companies also contributed; SM Entertainment donated 1 million Hong Kong dollars to the Hong Kong Red Cross, while YG Entertainment gave an equal amount for emergency relief and reconstruction. JYP Entertainment contributed 2 million Hong Kong dollars to Vision Hong Kong, and the six labels under HYBE Music Group’s APAC division pooled together 2.66 million Hong Kong dollars in donations. Individual K-pop groups also participated in relief activities, with SUPER JUNIOR donating 1 million Hong Kong dollars and Stray Kids contributing an equal amount to World Vision Hong Kong. Ningning of aespa donated 500,000 Hong Kong dollars, and RIIZE contributed 250,000 Hong Kong dollars, resulting in a total industry donation of approximately 8.55 million U.S. dollars. ROSÉ, who won the Song of the Year Daesang award, achieved an outstanding result by winning 4 out of the 5 categories she was nominated for. In the group category, Stray Kids won the Album of the Year Daesang award with their album “KARMA,” which set a new record as the K-pop album with the fastest stream count of 18.26 million on Spotify. This marked their first Grand Prize since their debut in 2018. ENHYPEN won the Fan’s Choice of the Year award, while G-DRAGON claimed the Artist of the Year award along with titles for Best Male Artist and Best Male Dance Performance Solo. Meanwhile, some fans advocated for delaying the event due to the tragic disaster in Hong Kong, but industry officials emphasized the difficulty of advancing or postponing an internationally significant event and highlighted the significance of holding the ceremony in Hong Kong for the first time in 7 years.