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| Song Joong-ki will host the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) in Hong Kong on Dec. 14. Courtesy of Blossom Entertainment |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
"Descendents of the Sun" star Song Joong-ki has been confirmed to be the host of the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) in Hong Kong, according to Mnet. This will be the A-list actor's third time hosting the ceremony, following 2012 and 2017.
The announcement comes after the organizer revealed that actor Park Bo-gum will be hosting 2018 MAMA Fans' Choice in Japan and actor Jung Hae-in will host 2018 MAMA Premiere in Korea. Park, who rose to fame with "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds," performed the same role in 2017 MAMA in Japan. Jung, who rose to fame with "Something in the Rain," will be part of the event for the first time.
"MAMA Week," the largest-scale MAMA event, will kick off at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Dec. 10, then head to Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Dec. 12 and finally to AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong on Dec. 14.
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| Kim Ki-woong, head of the Mnet division, left, and Kim Hyun-soo, head of the convention business department at CJ ENM, speak during a press conference on Nov. 26 at CJ ENM Center in Sangam-dong, western Seoul. Courtesy of CJ ENM |
"Celebrating the 10th anniversary, the concept of 2018 MAMA is the reinterpretation of The Legend of Icarus, a story of bravery and unwavering passion that serves as an inspiration to all those hoping to fulfill their dreams," Kim Ki-woong, head of Mnet division, said during a press conference on Nov. 26 at CJ ENM Center in Sangam-dong, western Seoul.
"Our goal is to create a platform so that K-pop and Asian music can infiltrate the global mainstream music industry. To do so, we have signed a memorandum of understanding with major music charts across Asia like Japan's Oricon, China's Tencent Music and Vietnam's Zing MP3 with the goal of making MAMA Asia's greatest music festival," said Kim Hyun-soo, head of the convention business department at CJ ENM.
This year, MAMA will feature a star-studded lineup of entertainers, including BTS, Twice, Monsta X, Wanna One and IZ*One for the show in Japan; BTS, GOT7, MOMOLAND, SEVENTEEN, Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae for Hong Kong; and Wanna One, Stray Kids, The Boyz and (G)I-DLE for Korea.
Celebrities such as Kim Sa-rang, Seo Hyun-jin, Jung Ryeo-won, Han Ye-seul, Yang Se-jong, Cha Seung-won and Hwang Jung-min will also appear at the awards shows as presenters.
Janet Jackson from the U.S. will attend the ceremony as a "Special Artist" alongside a number of Asian stars including Dean Ting from China, HIRAGANA KEYAKIZAKA46 from Japan and Marion Jola from Indonesia. The superstar recently collaborated with Daddy Yankee for the hit track "Made for Now," which peaked at No.1 on Billboard's "Dance Club Songs" chart.
Dubbed "Asia's No.1 Music Festival" with the hottest Korean celebrities on board, MAMA is the flagship music awards ceremony hosted by entertainment mogul CJ ENM.
