Mama Awards: Hong Kong rolls out red carpet for K-pop royalty at Asia’s biggest music awards

K-Pop hysteria swept across Hong Kong with the industry’s biggest award ceremony wrapping up in explosive style on Friday night to the tune of 10,000 screaming fans.

On the final night of the Mnet Asian Music Awards (Mama) in Hong Kong, K-pop superstars BTS cleaned up, winning three awards, including Artist of the Year for the second year running, Best Music Video for their song Spring Day and Best Asian Style. A very emotional Exo took home Album of the Year with “The War”, while Wanna One and Red Velvet won Best Male Group and Female Group, respectively.

During BTS’ final acceptance speech, Rap Monster exclaimed to the ecstatic crowd, “I love you!”

“We have been welcomed everywhere. I was so curious of the Hong Kong fans. Without the fans we would not be able to come here. It is so good. We are so confident and so proud now.”

This is the fifth time the K-pop extravaganza has been held in Hong Kong. But in a Mama first, the ceremony was spread over four nights in three different Asian cities. (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on November 25; Yokohama, Japan on November 29; Hong Kong on November 30 and December 1).