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By Dong Sun-hwa

When members of K-pop juggernaut BTS said they would not show up for the 2021 Mnet ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS (MAMA) as they were quarantining after visiting the U.S. for their concerts, fans were anxious that the septet may not win all the trophies it deserved because of its absence. But it turned out they did not have to worry at all ― BTS's musical feats this year were so remarkable that it swept all four grand prizes at the awards ceremony held Saturday.

During the event that took place at CJ ENM Content Studio in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, BTS bagged nine awards including four grand prizes ― Singer of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Worldwide Icon of the Year awards. This is the third straight year that the HYBE stars have clinched all four grand prizes at MAMA.

"Thanks to our fans' love and support, we were honored with precious awards at the 2021 MAMA," member Jin said in a video message as he accepted the prizes.

"We are truly grateful," Jin added.

Frontman RM said, "We experimented a lot with our music this year to cheer people up amid this tough time… Thank you for empathizing with our heartful music and enjoying it together with us."

Jimin said, "We gained so much love from people with our songs Butter and Permission to Dance. We want to share this honor with everyone who worked with us to create great music and performances."

V added BTS will continue to come up with music and performances that many people can enjoy together.

In addition to the top four honors, the K-pop megastars also received awards for Best Male Group, Best Dance Performance (Male), Best Music Video, Favorite Moment and Worldwide Fans' Choice.

Undoubtedly, 2021 has been a glorious year for the seven-piece act. In November, BTS became the first Asian act to win the Artist of the Year award at the American Music Awards (AMA) and its summer banger wrote history by reigning atop the Billboard main singles chart for 10 weeks.

Rookie of the Year awards went to girl group aespa and boy band ENHYPEN.

"I feel so nervous that I have no idea of what to say," aespa's leader Karina said in her acceptance speech. "This is the first time that aespa has been featured in MAMA… We are truly thankful to our followers and our staff members."

ENHYPEN's Heeseung said, "When I was young, I always dreamed of performing at MAMA. I want to show my appreciation to the MAMA officials for giving me an opportunity to take part in the event. For our fans and supporters, ENHYPEN will spare no efforts to roll out a decent album next year."

A plethora of other big-name stars including IU, NCT, Stray Kids, EXO's Baekhyun and BLACKPINK's Rose were also honored during MAMA, which is one of the few awards ceremonies to be held live amid pandemic worries.

Hosted by K-pop superstar Lee Hyo-ri, MAMA also caught attention for featuring Wanna One, a now-defunct project boy band formed through the second season of Mnet's audition program "Produce" (2017), as well as eight female dance crews from Mnet's dance competition show "Street Woman Fighter" (2021). Held under the theme "Make Some Noise," the event, which was equipped with a slew of cutting-edge technologies, was livestreamed in more than 200 countries.