# 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards

The 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place on December 2, 2015, at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. The ceremony was the sixth consecutive Mnet Asian Music Awards to be hosted outside of South Korea.
Nominees were announced on October 30, 2015. Leading the nominees and awards was Big Bang with six. By the end of the ceremony the group received four wins alongside Exo, the most received awards of the night.

## Background

This event marked the seventeenth Mnet Asian Music Awards. It was simultaneously broadcast live in Korea, Japan, America, Southeast Asia through various channels as well as via online live streaming.
The event took place in the same country and the same venue for the third consecutive time. This year MAMA's theme/concept included "...fantastic stages through 'State of TechArt', a concept that combines cutting-edge technology and art." About 10,000 fans and 2,000 staff members attended the awards show.

## Performers

List of performances at 2015 MAMA :
| Artist(s) | Song(s) | Notes |
| Pre-show |||
| Seventeen | "Adore U" | |
| Monsta X | "Trespass", "Hero" | |
| Vivian Koo | "Listen to the Sea" | |
| Got7 | "Girls, Girls, Girls" | |
| Main show |||
| The Koxx | "Trojan Horse" | "TechArt" (opening act) |
| Echae Kang and Choi Soojin | "Butterfly" | "TechArt" (opening act) |
| Taeyeon | "I" | "TechArt" (opening act) |
| Got7 | "If You Do" | "Virtual Boys" |
| BTS | "Run" | "Virtual Boys" |
| Zion.T and Kim Seol-jin | "Yanghwa BRDG" | "Bridge of Memories" |
| iKon | "Apology", "Anthem", "Rhythm Ta" | "iKon is Coming" |
| Superstar K7's Kevin Oh | "Fix You" | "Brighter Future" |
| Basick, Lil Boi, Truedy, Yezi | "Watch Your Mouth", "Picked", "Bandz Up", "GXNZI", "Don't Stop" | "Show Me The Rapstar" |
| Jessi | "Ssenunni" | "Tough Enough" |
| Hyuna | "Roll Deep", "Red" | "Tough Enough" |
| San E | "Do It For Fun" | "Tough Enough" |
| Jolin Tsai | "Play" | "Queen of the Night" |
| Monsta X and Seventeen ft. Kim So-hyun | "Trespass", "Mansae" | "The Boys" |
| Park Jin-young | "24 Hours", "Who's Your Mama?", "Elevator" & "Honey" | "Sense of Swings" |
| CL | "The Baddest Female", "Hello Bitches" | "The Baddest Female" |
| 2NE1 | "Fire", "I Am the Best" | "The Baddest Female" |
| Exo | "Call Me Baby", "Lightsaber", "Drop That", "Love Me Right" | "Light of Planet" |
| Shinee | "Savior", "View" | "Marvelous" |
| Big Bang | "Loser", "Bae Bae", "Bang Bang Bang" | "Truth + Dare" |
| f(x) | "4 Walls" | "Electric Harmony" |
| Pet Shop Boys | "Vocal Intro", "Go West", "Always on My Mind" | "Electric Harmony" |
| f(x) and Pet Shop Boys | "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", "Vocal" | "Electric Harmony" |
| Psy | "Napal Baji", "Daddy", "Gangnam Style" | "2015 Psy Returns" |

## Judging criteria

Eligible nominees included songs or albums released from October 26, 2014, until October 30 the next year. Winners will be selected based on six categories including online voting and evaluation from MAMA professional panel.
| Division | Online Voting | Research | MAMA Professional Panel (Local + Foreign) | Music Sales | Record Sales | MAMA Selection Committee |
| Artist of the Year Award Category by Artist* | 20% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 10% | 10% |
| Song of the Year Award Category by Genre** | 10% | 20% | 20% | 30% | 10% | 10% |
| Album of the Year | — | — | 30% | — | 50% | 20% |
| Special Prize*** | 30% | — | 50% | — | — | 20% |
| *UnionPay Artist of the Year, Best New (M)ale/(F)emale Artist, Best M/F Artist, Best M/F Group (7 total) **UnionPay Song of the Year, Best Dance Performance (Solo/M/F Group), Best Vocal Performance (M/F), Best Rap Performance, Best Band Performance, Best Collaboration (9 total) ***Best Music Video |||||||

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
| Artist of the Year (Daesang) | Album of the Year (Daesang) |
| Big Bang Exo Zion.T Shinee Girls' Generation | Exo – Exodus Big Bang – Made BTS – The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1 Shinee – Odd Super Junior – Devil |
| Song of the Year (Daesang) | Best Music Video |
| Big Bang – "Bang Bang Bang" Exo – "Call Me Baby" Zion.T – "Eat" Park Jin-young – "Who's Your Mama?" Taeyeon – "I" | Big Bang – "Bae Bae" f(x) – "4 Walls" Shinee – "Married to the Music" Wonder Girls – "I Feel You" Infinite – "Bad" |
| Best Male Artist | Best Female Artist |
| Park Jin-young Zion.T Kyuhyun Jung Yong-hwa Jonghyun | Taeyeon BoA IU Ailee Hyuna |
| Best Male Group | Best Female Group |
| Exo Big Bang BTS Shinee Super Junior Shinhwa | Girls' Generation AOA Apink Miss A Sistar Wonder Girls |
| Best Dance Performance – Male Group | Best Dance Performance – Female Group |
| Shinee – "View" Big Bang – "Bang Bang Bang" Exo – "Call Me Baby" Got7 – "If You Do" VIXX – "Love Equation" Infinite – "Bad" | Red Velvet – "Ice Cream Cake" AOA – "Heart Attack" EXID – "Ah Yeah" Girl's Day – "Ring My Bell" Sistar – "Shake It" 4Minute – "Crazy" |
| Best Dance Performance – Solo | Best Collaboration and Unit |
| Hyuna – "Roll Deep" Gain – "Paradise Lost" Niel – "Lovekiller" Park Jin-young – "Who's Your Mama?" Amber – "Shake that Brass" | Zion.T & Crush – "Just" Bastarz – "Zero for Conduct" VIXX LR – "Beautiful Liar" Soyou & Kwon Jung-yeol – "Lean on Me" Infinite H – "Pretty" |
| Best Vocal Performance – Male | Best Vocal Performance – Female |
| Zion.T – "Eat" SG Wannabe – "Love You" Kyuhyun – "At Gwanghwamun" Im Chang-jung – "Love Again" Huh Gak – "Snow of April" | Ailee – "Mind Your Own Business" Davichi – "Cry Again" Mamamoo – "Um Oh Ah Yeh" Baek A-yeon – "Shouldn't Have" Taeyeon – "I" |
| Best Band Performance | Best Rap Performance |
| CNBLUE – "Cinderella" F.T. Island – "Pray" Nell – "Green Nocturne" JJY Band – "OMG" Hyukoh – "Comes and Goes" | San E – "Me You" (ft. Baek Ye-rin) Gary – "Get Some Air" Dok2 – "I Will" Mad Clown – "Fire" Jay Park – "Mommae" |
| Best New Artist – Male | Best New Artist – Female |
| iKon N.Flying Monsta X Seventeen UP10TION | Twice CLC Lovelyz GFriend Oh My Girl |

### Special Awards

* Next Generation Asian Artist – Monsta X
* Best Asian Style – Exo
* iQiYi Worldwide Favourite Artist – Big Bang
* Best Asian Artist: Potato; Dong Nhi; RAN; Stefanie Sun; AKB48; Jolin Tsai
* Sina Weibo Global Fan's Choice – Female: f(x)
* Sina Weibo Global Fan's Choice – Male: Exo
* Best Producer: Park Jin-young; Phuc Bo; Gao Xiaosong
* Best Engineer: Ko Hyun-jong; Lupo Groinig; Yoshinori Nakayama
* Best Live Entertainment: In Jae-jin; Wu Qun Da; Vit Suthitnavil
* Worldwide Inspiration Award – Pet Shop Boys
* Best World Performer – BTS

### Multiple wins

The following artist(s) received two or more wins (excluding the special awards):
| Awards | Artist(s) |
| 3 | Big Bang |
| 2 | Exo |
| 2 | Zion.T |

### Multiple nominations

The following artist(s) received two or more nominations (excluding the special awards):
| Nominations | Artist(s) |
| 6 | Big Bang |
| 5 | Shinee |
| 5 | Exo |
| 5 | Zion.T |
| 3 | Park Jin-young |
| 3 | Taeyeon |
| 3 | Infinite |
| 2 | Girls' Generation |
| 2 | BTS |
| 2 | AOA |
| 2 | Sistar |
| 2 | Kyuhyun |
| 2 | VIXX |
| 2 | Ailee |
| 2 | Super Junior |
| 2 | Wonder Girls |
| 2 | Hyuna |

## 2NE1's performance

2NE1's surprise performance at the award ceremony was met with considerable media attention. Following the conclusion of CL's "Hello Bitches", the rest of the group suddenly appeared onstage and reunited to perform "Fire" and "I Am the Best". Because of Park Bom's hiatus following her scandal from 2014, it was the group's first performance in a year and would be ultimately their last before their disbandment in 2016.
Although the group's performance was met with generally negative reactions from netizens in South Korea, it was well-received internationally, with Fuse naming it as one of the best performances of 2015 worldwide alongside those of Beyoncé and Madonna. Cosmopolitan Philippines and SBS PopAsia named it one of the most unforgettable performances in MAMA history.