The second day of the 2024 MAMA, held at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, brought together some of the biggest stars in K-pop. Among them, the appearance of Rosé (BLACKPINK) and Bruno Mars caused a sensation, capturing the spotlight of the awards ceremony. Their performance “APT.” drew attention not only from millions of global viewers but also from the idols present at the event.
However, the excitement of the audience at the venue quickly turned into disappointment when it was revealed that the highly anticipated performance by Rosé and Bruno Mars was pre-recorded rather than performed live at MAMA.
For Korean fans watching the event via live stream, the absence of a live performance was a significant letdown. For Japanese fans, who had spent thousands of yen to attend the event in person, it felt like a “deception”.
Many voiced their frustration, saying they had paid a considerable amount of money to watch the awards show and looked forward to seeing a live performance by the “king of funk” and the “Australian rose”. Instead, they endured over five hours of waiting, only to be shown a pre-recorded clip during the ceremony.
On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Japanese viewers expressed their anger, noting that when the pre-recorded video of “APT.” was played on the big screen, the audience was mostly silent and unenthusiastic. This subdued atmosphere sharply contrasted with the cheers and applause the duo received earlier when accepting the Global Sensation award.
Nevertheless, some viewers expressed their excitement about witnessing a “dream stage” and praised the live rendition by Bruno Mars and Rosé as even better than the studio version.
Here are some reactions from netizens:
- I bought a ticket to the awards show, spending thousands of yen just to see them perform…
- People are starting to feel like this was a scam.
- I feel like I’ve been deceived. I expected a live performance, and that’s why I bought a ticket.
- I understand how people feel, but they shouldn’t have spent so much money buying tickets from resellers. Anyway, Rosé and Bruno Mars were amazing, even in a pre-recorded performance.
- I was really looking forward to the live performance, but it’s funny how they just played a pre-recorded video. Still, I want to say Rosé and Bruno Mars aren’t at fault.
- It feels like we’re just sitting in front of a TV.
- I was genuinely shocked when they played the pre-recorded clip.
- What? I thought I read somewhere that this was going to be the first live performance of “APT.” in Osaka. Was that a lie? I guess we had too high expectations when they teased the first performance of this global hit in Japan.
Source: K14
