The 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards were not a time to focus on all of the negative baggage that has hit K-Pop in the past year. Instead, it provided fans with the chance to root for their favorite artists whether they were in Hong Kong or watching a live stream in New Jersey,

The Mnet Music Asian Awards are one of my favorite K-Pop events of the year. It is difficult for me to get out of bed at three in the morning for Black Friday shopping but I had no qualms about waking up to take on the six hour, star-spangled pageant that is MAMA.

MAMA 2014 provided thrilling stages from the start of the show and delivered surprises in terms of the key awards. As someone who has been following the online voting results since the nominees were initially announced, it was wonderful to see a few upsets from the fan votes.

The Best Female Group win by SISTAR was one of the most surprising. Prior to the start of MAMA, it appeared as though fans had spoken loudly about their desire for the award to go to either Girls’ Generation or 2NE1. However, neither group was present at MAMA and SISTAR had a fantastic year in 2014.The Soyou and Junggigo collaboration provided an opportunity for fans to explore the rest of SISTAR’s music. Hyolyn has previously demonstrated her vocal capabilities but “SOME” helped shine a spotlight on Soyou and Starship.

The 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards experienced one of the highest levels of fan participation, particularly in the voting process. Dating scandals and rumors which may be relevant to Korean fans may prove to have less of an impact on international fans.

In the case of Song Of The Year, EXO had the award on lockdown, according to the fan vote. However, the award was given to Taeyang. EXO didn’t appear to be upset. Instead, they won the Album of the Year award.

One of the most unusual aspects of the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards was that the artists present were a reflection of the tumultuous, scandal-laden year that has plagued K-Pop. Tiffany represented the entirety of Girls’ Generation and was clearly apologetic to fans during her acceptance of the K-Pop Fan award for TaeTiSeo. Girls’ Generation has made public appearances since the departure of Jessica but MAMA would have placed them on a world stage.

EXO were placed in a similar situation but handled their award acceptances, with grace and glee. Interestingly, Hong Kong placed them within the proximity of their Chinese fans. Luhan and Kris may have departed from the Mandarin unit of EXO but the group displayed love for all EXO-L, especially those who are Chinese fans.

Ailee was equally resplendent as she took to the stage. It was clear as the audience cheered on that they were not concerned about her nude photo scandal.

K-Pop fans throughout the world were responsible for most of the award results at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Scandals and rumors did not necessarily reflect in votes but fans are speaking loudly for acts like EXO, Big Bang’s Taeyang, INFINITE, Ailee, and IU.

 What has changed with Korean music awards shows and what is the impact on the results?

As the love of Korean music spreads throughout the world, the results of fan driven award shows like the Mnet Asian Music Awards and the Golden Disk Awards may differ from when they were closed to fans with Korean identification numbers.

MAMA 2014 received more than 68.4 million fan votes. 61% of these votes came from Chinese fans equaling 41.8 million votes. For the purposes of clarification, this includes fans in mainland China but also those in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau (Macao). Southeast Asia which is comprised of countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia was responsible for more than 14 million votes or 20% of those that were cast by fans.

By contrast, voters in Korea were responsible for 5.5 million votes or 8.1% of the total.

End of the year award shows for K-Pop used to be very closed off to international fans.The websites and social media for the programs were predominantly in Korean. Fans unfamiliar with the voting process would endure lengthy tutorials that were distributed by online by fan clubs. While the voting procedure was taxing, it was even more difficult to watch the award ceremonies. Fans in the United States and throughout the globe used to be reliant on pirated feeds which would allow for streaming but often infected their electronics with viruses.

2013 marked a significant change by Korean award shows to become more inclusive of international fans. Two of the major ceremonies, Mnet Asian Music Awards and the Golden Disk Awards,started to provide detailed updates for fans in English, Mandarin Chinese, and several other recognized languages.

The voting process for the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) was simplified, along with the Golden Disk Awards (GDA). Whereas both MAMA and the GDA created easier processes for global K-Pop fans, the MelOn Music Awards continued to main its site in Korean but started to stream the awards via 1theK on YouTube. 1theK is one of the leading sources for subtitled K-Pop music videos and variety shorts.

In 2014, the Mnet Asian Music Awards received a record number of fan votes. The overwhelming participation of fans throughout the world was largely in part to Mnet’s ubiquitous marketing of MAMA 2014 and the ability to easily place votes through a central website that was available in numerous languages.

The 2015 Golden Disk Awards will be held from January 14 through 15 at the MasterCard Center in Beijing, China. The program hosts and nominee list have yet to be officially announced.

On December 2, a list of the possible nominees for the upcoming 29th Golden Disk Awards leaked through the internet. After numerous screen caps and prediction rundowns were made, the site for the Golden Disk Awards nominees shut down until its official launch. But in the the wisdom of Big Bang’s Seungri, once a Tweet or an internet post goes out, it will remain on the internet. English publication Koreaboo published the list and it continues to make its way through Tumblr.

The funniest aspect of the Golden Disk Award situation is that people are upset about the nominations even though they have yet to be officially announced. How could Super Junior and TVXQ be left off of a list that has yet to be released?

The outrage by fans over omissions like this from hypothetical lists is very telling. The Golden Disk Awards, like the Mnet Asian Music Awards, have become a significant event for fans outside of Korea.

If the nominee list for the Golden Disk Awards can generate that level of interest prior to the Mnet Asian Music Awards, it will definitely cause a stir once it is released.

As the voting processes for both awards become more welcoming to foreign fans, the results may continue to skew differently from what would be seen through domestic votes in Korea.

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The views expressed above are those of the writer and do not reflet the opinions of KpopStarz.