“It took a long time for SEVENTEEN to win the grand prize. I was criticized a lot from the start. Everyone said in front of me that it would never be possible…”
Group SEVENTEEN (S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, The8, Mingyu, Dokyeom, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino) became the grand prize winners at the 2023 MAMA Awards eight years after their debut.
Seventeen won the first grand prize at the “MAMA Awards” by winning the “Album of the Year” category at the 2023 MAMA Awards, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Japan for two days from the 28th to the 29th. Along with the grand prize, Seventeen won a total of five awards, including “Worldwide Fan’s Choice,” “Best Male Group,” “Best Performance Male Group,” and “Bibigo Culture and Style,” shining a reputation as “the best K-pop group.”
This grand prize is all the more meaningful because it is the first grand prize of Seventeen’s “MAMA Awards,” which debuted in May 2015 and marks its ninth anniversary this year. Seventeen, who was named the winner of the ‘Album of the Year’ (Grand Prize) category, took the stage to express his feelings about the award. In particular, the general leader S.Coups, who is temporarily suspended due to injury, took the stage together and cheered in the audience.
S.Coups said, “While we were an idol under the name of SEVENTEEN, I thought a lot, ‘Can we get this award at least once?’ Thanks to CARATs, we re-sign and thank you for allowing us to receive this award. I want to give glory to CARATs,” he said, shedding tears and expressing his sincere acceptance speech.
Seventeen’s album producer Woozi took his mouth off with an overwhelming heart and added, “It’s already been 11 years since I made Seventeen’s music, and thank you so much for paying me back, and I’ll try to become a good team that presents better music until the end.” Lastly, SEVENTEEN expressed their feelings in English, Chinese, and Japanese for overseas fans, showing their extraordinary love for fans.
Seventeen was the main character of the second day of the 2023 MAMA Awards. When the performance began, the audience cheered and waved the cheering sticks to the music, and Seventeen performed a mega crew performance of “God of Music” and “Son Okong” with a total of 80 dancers, making the Tokyo Dome a “festival venue of Seventeen’s own.”
Seventeen heated up the Tokyo Dome by giving off intense energy with its overwhelming scale of “God of Music” and “Son Okong” performance with augmented reality (AR). Seventeen showed the true value of a “K-pop performance representative” by filling the stage with a colorful group dance break of 13 people in the middle of the stage and The8’s individual dance break, which seemed to control the choreography team. The audience, united by “Kungchi Pakchi,” responded to the stage with a shout that seemed to leave the venue, and the spectacular scenery unfolded with a wave of cheering sticks that filled the entire venue.
Since its debut, Seventeen has continued to grow without limits, showing every album “Career High.” With their recently released 11th mini album “SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN,” they won the first artist title to exceed 5 million records in a week after their release, becoming the first K-pop artist to reach the top spot in the history of K-pop artists. Seventeen broke various records in its ninth year of debut, becoming the main character of the “Album of the Year.”
Meanwhile, Seventeen will continue its biggest Japanese dome tour “SEVENTEEN TOUR ‘FOLLOW’ TO JAPAN” since its debut at Banterrin Dome Nagoya on December 2nd and 3rd, Kyocera Dome Osaka on December 7th and 9th and 10th, and Fukuoka Paypay Dome on December 16th and 17th.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
