Mnet officially announced its nominees for MAMA 2021! Amidst the well-deserved names that will fight for various categories, K-pop group EXO drew attention for having three members nominated for the 'Best Male Artist,' including Baekhyun, D.O., and Kai.

Will one of them be hailed as 2021's "Artist of the Year"? Who's your pick?

At 11 p.m. KST on the 3rd, the "2021 MAMA Nomination" was broadcast on Mnet's channel hosted by Oh Sangjin and Jang Yewon.

During the broadcast, female artists Taeyeon, IU, Heize, BLACKPINK Lisa, and Rose were mentioned as candidates for the 2021 MAMA "Best Female Artist" award.

For the male category, candidates for the "Best Male Artist" award are EXO Baekhyun, D.O., and Kai, as well as Kang Daniel and Lee Mujin.

While most fans rejoiced with the amazing lineup of nominees, EXO fandom, EXO-Ls, expressed mixed emotions instead, following three EXO members being nominated for the same award.

EXO Baekhyun, D.O. and Kai to Fight Against Each Other for the 'Best Male Artist' Award

(Photo : Baekhyun (Twitter))

The struggle is real for EXO-Ls! On the 3rd, the fandom once again faced a situation where they have to make a hard decision if whom to vote for the "Best Male Artist" award.

In particular, three members of EXO were all candidates for the same award for solo artists.

Although fans can divide their votes for the respective members, it will be a crucial move, given that they will be battling against K-pop singers with extremely strong fandoms in terms of voting, such as Kang Daniel and Lee Mujin.

(Photo : D.O. (Twitter) )

In response, K-pop fans expressed their confused hearts on SNS. "This is tough," "I'll just vote for them all," "These choices are harder than my exams," "I don't know what to do," internet users say, conveying their mixed feelings.

Nevertheless, EXO-Ls sincerely congratulated all members that were nominated and said, "We are extremely proud of you EXO," "We have three soloists nominated for the same award, I'm so proud," and "You all deserve to win."

(Photo : Kai (Twitter))

On the other hand, candidates can be voted on the 2021 MAMA official website, Apple Music (playlist vote), and Twitter from 18:00 on the 4th after the 2021 MAMA nomination broadcast.

The 2021 MAMA will be held on Saturday, December 11, with the red carpet scheduled to be held at 4 p.m. and the awards ceremony scheduled to be held at 6 p.m.

ALSO READ: 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards Nominees Revealed

Here Are the Times When EXO Faced Off Against Each Other

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that EXO has fought against each other. Although fans were put into tough decision-making, some internet users created a light atmosphere by sharing memes and bringing back the times when EXO faced off with their co-members.

Back in 2020's "Golden Disc Award," Suho, Sehun & Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Kai, were also nominated for "Best Physical Album (Bonsang)." In the end, the sub-unit Sechan (Sehun and Chanyeol) and Baekhyun won.

Aside from the awards ceremony in 2019, EXO also hilariously competed against themselves when "Tempo" and "Love Shot" were both nominated in the music show "Music Bank." In the end, "Tempo" wins against "Love Shot," giving EXO the last laugh nevertheless.

Well, can we even act surprised? Even EXO faced off against their evil counterpart, X-EXO. Seems like the group is truly sticking with their concept!

READ MORE: EXO Fans Are Angry + #MAMAapologizetoEXO Trends Worldwide

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Written by Eunice Dawson