Some of the most exciting times of the year come from gayo season in K-Pop. I can’t lie, the 2022 season has been so disappointing after being a K-Pop fan for many years. In generations past, a lot of the fun of year-end shows was seeing all our favorite groups interact and collaborate, bringing the audience to life. The worst thing about this fourth generation is that we never get interactions between boy and girl groups, since it seems their agencies are terrified of dating rumors getting out of control. Watching clips of boy groups looking down as girl groups perform is so disheartening and frankly ridiculous, and it sucks the joy out of true human interaction. Maybe I’m getting old, but these shows don’t hit like they used to. So today, we’re going to look back at some of the most memorable, as well as my personal favorite, moments from awards seasons past. 

2NE1’s Surprise Performance at the 2015 MAMAs

This stage began originally as a solo performance from CL, as at the time, 2NE1 was still inactive after the scandal with Park Bom. The future was very uncertain for 2NE1 at that point, especially since the three other members had not been seen while CL had solo performances. As “Hello Bitches” concluded and CL dropped below the stage with her backup dancers, the crowd went wild as Dara appeared from below the stage, followed by Minzy, Park Bom, and finally CL in a new costume. It was truly an epic moment as they performed their debut track “FIRE.” The girls pulled it off again this year at Coachella, but before that, this was the most legendary return for a legendary group.

Trouble Maker at the 2011 MAMAs

Hop back in your time machine, back to a time when BEAST was at their prime and HyunA had her career breakthrough. Trouble Maker remains a legendary tale to this day for their provocative performances, which at the time were criticized by the Korean media. Probably the most memorable moment from this duo was their on-stage kiss at the 2011 MAMAs, which they replicated two years later at the 2013 show as well. The 2011 performance was simply a taste of the duo, as their album would be released later in December.

GOT7 x BTS at the 2015 MAMAs

Admittedly, this is a self-indulgent one. Back in 2015, GOT7 and BTS were my favorite groups, and seeing them interact and perform together was a dream come true. At that time, many were commenting on the chemistry between the two groups, as they showed a great friendship off-stage. I wish we had gotten more of them together before BTS blew up. 

2PM x Girls’ Generation at the 2009 Korean Music Festival

The second generation was the heyday of boy and girl group interactions and performance, despite any dating rumors that would surface from them (looking at you, Taecyeon and Yoona). At the time, 2PM and Girls’ Generation were at the peak of their popularity and were collaborating quite often, and it's unfortunate we haven’t gotten that same kind of collaboration since that time. Even now, more than 10 years later, it’s so fun to see this performance, and I wish we could bring this type of energy back without all the toxic rumors surrounding it.

SEVENTEEN x GFRIEND at the 2016 MAMAs

The style of this collab was so adorable that it was impossible not to fall in love with it. In 2016, we saw SEVENTEEN and GFRIEND come together to create an old timey-themed collaboration stage full of cute and sweet interactions between the members, which had definitely become more scarce even back then. This was also a point where both groups were hitting their prime in popularity.

J.Y. Park  x Hwasa (feat. Jackson) at the 2019 MAMAs

Let’s be honest, this was everyone’s favorite moment thanks to Jackson Wang, who absolutely conveyed all of our collective feelings on the performance in his viral facial expression. Regardless of your feelings on J.Y. Park as an artist, the plastic outfits were something else. And despite being in what many would consider a very strange and frankly unfavorable position, Hwasa killed it as a true artist would. But really, what is with the plastic outfits?

TAEMIN x Sunmi at the 2017 MAMAs

What could be better than two legendary performers coming together? TAEMIN and Sunmi came together on stage to perform their smash hits of the year. Each soloist performed the majority of their tracks, “MOVE” and “Gashina” respectively, but there were dance break moments where they came together to perform their songs. Something hits differently seeing Sunmi perform “MOVE” and TAEMIN perform “Gashina.”

BTS First Daesang at the 2016 Melon Music Awards

Newer fans of BTS won’t truly understand how huge it was for BTS to finally win their first Daesang back in 2016. They fought for many years to get airtime even just on music shows, and early on in their career, their company was dead broke. There’s always been controversy over favoritism for artists from big labels, and at the time BigHit Entertainment had yet to hit their strike in revenue. The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever won the group “Best Album of the Year,” which felt warranted given that The Most Beautiful Moment in Life series was a huge turning point in success for the septet. The shock on their faces when they were announced the winner tells the entire story better than I ever could, and even to this day it elicits so much pride and joy in the group that helped give meaning to me and my life when I was at my lowest.

Edited by Vivian N.