Usagi's Playlist Feature: MAMA 2013

*Links to music videos are provided throughout the post - I recommend all of them.

    Last night was the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards hosted in Hong Kong! How exciting! This was my first time ever watching MAMA. So I'll just talk about a few of my impressions.
 
    G Dragon dominated! He won best male artist, best dance performance (Crooked) (does running count as dancing?), best music video (Coup d'etat), and artist of the year. This came as no surprise, he had an awesome year - he produced so many great songs and music videos. It seemed like the theme was introspection/reflection on being a super star. Or just trying to find who he is. That's the vibe I got, from One of a Kind to Who You?. Even back in 2009, he released A Boy (one of my personal favorites), which was about his childhood and his path into the music industry. I think he is one of the greatest song writers and producers of this generation.

The performances:
Collaboration stages included: Trouble Maker & Infinite, Icona pop & CL, Ylvis & Crayon Pop. I enjoyed all of them, especially Trouble Maker and Infinite, because I like both groups.
EXO performed Growl and Wolf.
Rain performed, and made all the ovaries explode. (He's before my time, but they hinted at a comeback in January - I'll be looking forward to it!)
Big Bang performed: TOP's Doom Dada, Taeyang's Ringa Linga, Seungri's Let's talk about Love, G Dragon's Crooked, and Daesung got his chance to sing finally in Fantastic Baby. They were so energetic, and it was cute how they went over and danced with the other artists, including Lee HyoRi.
    Lee HyoRi won best female artist - she totally deserves it with Bad Girls (the music video is definitely worth a watch), and Miss Korea's retro feel.

    I was really happy to see Infinite (my favorite boy band) win two awards: Best Male Group and World Wide Performer (they're on a world tour currently). I'm so happy for them <3 They performed Before the Dawn and Destiny. They're arguably some of the best dancers in kpop.

    Another group that is amazing at dancing: EXO. They were big stars tonight, winning Album of the Year! Their performances were spot on - Kai did one or two solo dances throughout the evening. What a bunch of eye candy!

    Another group I was excited about was Crayon Pop. They won Best New Female Artist. And good for them! Their song Bar Bar Bar is super catchy! (I might do a feature on them separately.) They also had an interview with Eat Your Kimchi.

    Stevie Wonder gave a very inspiring speech about the power of music to bring the world together. He mentioned how although there are songs about violence and hatred, the songs that change the world are those about love. And that's what I think we should take away from this. Music brings people together, and Kpop has touched people all over the world. If so many people from different cultures can enjoy it together, I think Kpop is a great thing.

And that's what mattered to me at the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards. You can catch the recorded show here.

Comment Question: Who is your favorite kpop artist?

Have a wonderful weekend mofus! ^^
~Usagi