Chapter 131 Behind-the-Scenes Stories of MAMA | The Public Is Cold-Hearted...
In 2015, Chow Yun-fat presented an award to Bigbang. Ten years later, in 2025, G-Dragon, the leader who single-handedly built Bigbang into the pinnacle of boy bands, returned to the MAMA in Hong Kong, and we saw this veteran of the Hong Kong entertainment industry again.
After a minute of silence and lights out, Chow Yun-fat smiled and began to announce: "The nominees for the 2025 MAMA Artist of the Year award are as follows—"
The large screen switched to a short video selection, with "VISA ARTIST OF THE YEAR" flashing briefly over the gleaming gold tiger head logo, followed immediately by—
"Seventeen!"
"Jennie!"
"Aespa!"
"Rose!"
"Lumera!"
"G-Dragon!"
To the upbeat and cheerful tune of "Featherweight," the video shows the Lumera members in sportswear, sweating it out on the court. The final shot focuses on Jiang Tinghan, who gently places his badminton racket on his shoulder, turns around, and stares directly at the camera with a carefree and unrestrained smile on his lips.
The next instant, the short film cut to the music video for "Too bad".
Kwon Ji-yong appeared in a McDonald's yellow outfit with a slightly hip-hop vibe, which was somewhat comical, but the audience didn't care about that at all. They only focused on Coldy and GD being linked together, and immediately screamed excitedly.
The next selection was met with thunderous cheers from the audience.
"—Coldy!"
Jiang Tinghan, dressed in a fluffy and adorable bunny outfit, emerged from under the camera's lens, chasing after a giant strawberry with legs. In the end, the snow-white bunny frantically slashed at the giant strawberry, her hands covered in strawberry juice, and even her face was stained with bright red.
Everyone knows that the strawberry is played by Mr. G-Dragon from the previous video.
No way, MAMA, you're such a pro at shipping couples! First Coldy, then GD, and finally their MV together, how are you so good at shipping?
The fans erupted in even more excited screams, not only because of the couple next door, but also because—Coldy had single-handedly made it into the list of nominees for Artist of the Year!
Although the nominations had been announced long ago, everyone was still incredibly excited when they actually saw Coldy's name. They were just as excited when Coldy was nominated for Album of the Year, as if they were recalling when Coldy and Lumera were nominated for the three major awards in 2023. In any year that Coldy has a solo performance, he will definitely be a strong contender for the awards!
Because the MAMA judging rules changed to include the C chart in the scoring, G-Dragon, who is known as the "Emperor of China," suddenly gained an advantage. This year, the most popular K-pop song in China is undoubtedly "Snow Nails," followed by the equally popular "Cold" and "7 Hours." Coldy, who owns the best-selling K-pop album "Snow Day Off" on QQ Music this year, also gained a significant advantage. In the scoring predictions, Coldy even surpassed Lumera by a considerable margin.
Based on this, it seems that this year's Artist of the Year award will be decided between G-Dragon and Coldy. Due to the significant weight of the judges' scores, no prediction chart can definitively determine who the real winner is, leaving fans of both sides extremely nervous.
The three major awards are G-Dragon's Song of the Year, Lumera's Album of the Year, and it's really hard to say who will win the last award, Pork of the Year. We'll just have to wait for the final announcement.
[I'm so nervous I could die! My sister's solo album is currently number one in sales, but annual album sales are judged by annual artist status, and annual artist status is judged by influence (screaming) (screaming). My sister doesn't have a world tour, so I feel her influence is a bit weaker in that aspect. Plus, she has a green card, which is a disadvantage (dizzying). Considering all this, my brother-in-law has a better chance of winning.]
[Even Lao Long only had his first world tour after seven years in the industry, while Xiao Han has only been in the industry for three years and is already leading the group on a comeback. There's nothing we can do without a world tour; we can only look forward to next year.]
[Do you want my sister to release a mini album this year and then release a full-length album and go on a world tour next year? My sister isn't some donkey from a production team!]
There's no need to be so biased. My sister participated in many European and American music festivals this year, all of which caused a sensation and went viral. I feel her influence is quite strong.
[Actually, I think it's already a huge honor for a mini-album to be nominated. Everyone is treating this year's transitional mini-album as a full-fledged album. My sister is competing with a full-fledged album that Lao Long has been planning for seven or eight years with just a mini-album, and nobody finds it amazing or shocking.]
[Old Long pitted "Power," "Snow Nails," "Home Sweet Home," "7 Hours," and "Too Bad" against my sister's "Cold" and "Crazy Kingdom," hmm...]
[Haha, there are so many songs! Stop fighting! Stop fighting! Go fight in the dance studio!]
[Let's make this clear first, no fighting no matter who wins, okay? Because the winners will fight for us in bed.]
[Hmm? (Her face turned pale)]
If I combined my Lumera and Solo scores, wouldn't I be invincible? Who could compete with me?
[Hilarious! That would be a historic step for MAMA! There's no such thing as a free lunch.]
That makes sense. We should pit "Always You & Me" against "Ubermensch," and "Kwonjiyong" against "Snow Day Off"—that would be more evenly distributed.
[Some couples from different time periods]
[I can't take it anymore. Mentioning "Kwonjiyong" reminds me of the sad story of losing the Best Male Solo award in 2017. After that, I selectively believed these prediction scores. It's all up to the organizers to decide who wins. I remain skeptical of everything until I see the actual winner.]
[Questionable!]
[Maybe it's an Aespa?]
Go home, kid, go home and play (waves hand)
Chow Yun-fat opened his cue card and announced in a resounding voice, "The winner is—"
"G-Dragon!"
Kwon Ji-yong put down his hand that was fiddling with the braid behind his head, took a few steps onto the stage, and bowed as he walked. The background music was the New Year's song "Snow Nails," specifically the part with GC's backing vocals.
Jiang Tinghan looked at Kwon Ji-yong from afar, who seemed a little nervous and shy. She thought of how MAMA and WK1 were both backed by CJ ENM, and wondered why they were both good at selling couple pairings. They did nothing but spread the crazy idea that "GC is a perfect couple and no one is allowed to object."
When Kwon Ji-yong approached the podium, Chow Yun-fat took his hand and they danced a bizarre ballroom dance.
He finally accepted the trophy: "Today is both a very happy and a very sad day, with all sorts of emotions mixed together. But to receive this award from my handsome idol, my forever idol Chow Yun-fat, on the 30th anniversary of MAMA is truly an honor. Thank you VIPs, FAMs..."
The fans in the audience had already started screaming, "We love you!"
"We love you?" Kwon Ji-yong repeated, then replied with a smile, "I love you."
The screams from the audience immediately became even more enthusiastic.
“Next year my group will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, and I won’t be standing on the stage alone anymore. I’ll be having a party with my friends,” Kwon Ji-yong suddenly changed the subject. “Actually, I’m not alone this year either. I thought I would have a chance to compete for the collaboration award, and we even released quite a few collaborative songs for that.”
[It really is G-Dragon! So, does Coldy finally get to release a full-length album next year? Let's redeem ourselves! Ideally, release ten identical songs at once, and we'll work hard to get at least five of them in the annual charts!]
[Haha, I could hear your scheme all over Xinjiang! Bro, you're bringing up your sister again, aren't you? Two collaborations this year, "Snow Nails" and "Crazy Kingdom," and you didn't even win a collaboration award!]
[MAMA, this is just you being childish. Aren't you usually a big fan of shipping couples? How come you missed this opportunity for a young couple to go on stage together?]
[MAMA, did you hear that? My oppa is calling on you!]
[This year's collaboration award goes to "APT"? Oh well, no problem, Bruno Mars will have to give them face.]
【I have a solution: how about the young couple collaborate on another song next year, and then get MAMA to present them with a collaboration award?】
[Great idea! I wholeheartedly support it!]
Oppa, was that "I love you" said only to me, or to everyone else?
[This is for the whole world; Oppa's heart is the pointed end of a durian.]
That's very inclusive.
[I still can't get the kids sorted out, what am I going to do? Our Lumera has won at least two awards every year since our debut! Damn MAMA, doesn't "Wildfire" really owe us a Song of the Year award?]
Last year, "Wildfire" was rejected just like this year's "Home Sweet Home," but in the end, "Spring Fever" and "Snow Nails" won awards. What's rightfully theirs can't be taken away by anyone.
[I'm out of ideas. Let's try some traditional Chinese medicine to regulate our bodies. If that doesn't work, try some loofah soup.]
Everyone dares to say that Coldy deserves half the credit, or even more than half, for the hit song "Snow Nails." Our little deer's captain has betrayed us (sadly!), he deserves a harsh judgment! I also want the same treatment as my brother-in-law...
[To be frank, my brother-in-law probably thinks so too.]
Kwon Ji-yong glanced at the trophy and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "Actually, I think there was a bit of 'cheating' involved in winning this award this year. Songs like 'Snow Nails' and '7 Hours' could never have been created so perfectly without Coldy. In the end, I beat this competitor with these songs... Well... All I want to say is thank you."
"Kang Sang Ha Gu, Kang Dong Ha Gu, and... Sa Lang He Yo." (Thank you, I'm touched, and... I love you)
After saying that, Kwon Ji-yong quickly added, "Thank you everyone."
He raised the trophy twice as if in celebration, and happily said in Chinese, "See you next year!"
His ears were already as red as if they had been boiled, but because Chow Yun-fat was standing next to him, he couldn't quickly slip off the stage and rush into his girlfriend's arms.
Other Korean-speaking audience members might not be able to understand, but the phrase "Saranghaeyo" was already at the level of automatic translation for K-pop fans. They understood it immediately, and the Chinese translator typing it out on the big screen didn't even bother to type it out.
Combined with the previously mentioned "Coldy," it's obvious who this "I love you" is for. Fans at the scene and non-fans alike were all screaming and shouting, and the internet exploded instantly. The comments in the live stream were like a battlefield of thousands of horses trampling through, causing the entire live stream to lag.
[Ugh, this man is such a jerk! He tells his fans "I love you" one minute, and then tells his wife "saranghae" the next. He's such a smooth talker!]
[Hehehe, hehehe, the sweetest "Saranghaeyo" in history has been born! (fly rubbing hands)]
[(Running around) (Up mountains and down to the sea) (Jumping off buildings and taking off) (Bravely venturing into the primeval forest) (Transforming into a wild monkey) Did you hear that? Did you hear that? Such a clear "Saranghaeyo!"]
[Guards! I wish to bestow upon G-Dragon the "Most Beloved Girlfriend of the Year" award!]
[Add another lifetime honor]
[Let's change it to "Most Beloved Girlfriend Award of the Year"! When it comes to loving his wife, G-Dragon oppa won't lose!]
[By bravely confessing his love to his wife in such a setting, the scales have already tipped in Coldy's favor. How awful!]
[I'm dying of laughter! Old Long's ears are all red. Confessing in public is still too much. Even someone with such thick skin can't hide it.]
[What's wrong with my oppa being a little shy around his girlfriend? It's so sweet!]
[Brother, I support you! I'd support you even if you proposed in public. And don't forget to invite us to your wedding!]
[Hahaha, the map of Yan is so short! Count me in, count me in! I've already prepared my gift money!]
[Old Long is truly understanding. It was already a bit upsetting that the Artist of the Year wasn't Coldy or a Lumera fan, but he couldn't openly criticize them. Now he's given a fan a perfectly legitimate reason to attack him. Who gave you permission to publicly profess your love for our unnie?!]
[Shameless! Trying to ride the coattails of someone's popularity! Do they even have the demeanor of a senior artist?!]
[That's a poor performance; DKJJ's attack power is much stronger than that.]
[Why is this happening? We can't let this scolding go unpunished! Long, you need to get Han to release another sweet and romantic collaboration song! I want it to be as sweet as "Take Me"!]
I will always follow GC sister; she always offers suggestions that I really like (heart) (heart)
Kwon Ji-yong and Chow Yun-fat stepped off the stage together, communicating in Chinese. Surprisingly, Kwon Ji-yong's Chinese pronunciation was more standard.
Turn the corner, look up, and you'll see the entrance to the passage. Jiang Tinghan stands at the end, arms crossed, calmly waiting for him. She looks clear and transparent, like an elf born from a magnificent emerald.
Kwon Ji-yong forced a smile and walked step by step toward Jiang Tinghan.
Chow Yun-fat, who was standing nearby, glanced at the two of them and wisely lowered his arm from Kwon Ji-yong's shoulder. The couple was well-known, and even he had heard of them.
Fans on one side of the railing were screaming, and Kwon Ji-yong snapped out of his daze and waved to them.
He saw a fan in the front row holding a daisy stick in her left hand and a bird and star stick in her right. Everyone else was taking pictures, but she was still persistently shaking her light stick.
Kwon Ji-yong couldn't resist in the end, a smile spreading across his face. He looked away, quickly walked to Jiang Tinghan's side, and took her hand.
It wasn't a romantic interlocking of fingers, but rather his palms opening and then suddenly closing, enveloping her entire hand in a protective gesture that left no room for argument. His slightly sweaty palms pressed against her cool hand, sticky and even closer together.
Jiang Tinghan glanced down at Kwon Ji-yong's Best Artist award, and listened as the other person introduced him: "This is Chow Yun-fat..."
She smiled and nodded: "I know, my childhood idol."
Kwon Ji-yong's eyes crinkled, then he turned to look at Chow Yun-fat and said exaggeratedly, "This is an artist whose popularity has now surpassed mine. He's quite amazing. Coldy, Jiang Tinghan."
He took the initiative to let go of Jiang Tinghan's hand, allowing Jiang Tinghan to politely shake hands and greet Chow Yun-fat.
She said in Cantonese: "Hello, senior. Actually, it's not as exaggerated as he made it out to be. I didn't expect you to actually come today."
"Hello, hello." Chow Yun-fat was slightly surprised: "You can speak Cantonese?"
Jiang Tinghan: "A little bit."
“Not bad. I watched the Bay Area gala before, and I liked your version of ‘I Like You’.” Chow Yun-fat laughed heartily twice. “I wish you both a long and happy marriage.”
Jiang Tinghan pursed her lips, glanced at Kwon Ji-yong who seemed to be listening to gibberish, and then her taut lips curved into a slight smile: "Thank you, thank you."
Kwon Ji-yong took several photos with Chow Yun-fat backstage, and then pulled Jiang Tinghan to take a three-person photo as well. After saying goodbye to the senior actor, he couldn't wait to ask, "Honey, were you speaking Cantonese just now? What did you say?"
"It's just that they said they liked the Cantonese song I adapted, watched the Mid-Autumn Festival gala I participated in before, and..." Jiang Tinghan said in a normal tone, "wishing that we would be together forever."
Kwon Ji-yong quietly pressed his hand against Jiang Tinghan's again, this time their fingers intertwined tightly.
He laughed, the marks of time still lingering at the corners of his eyes, a charm that had settled over the years. He spoke softly: "In our country, there's a saying that if you receive a blessing from an elder you haven't seen in a long time, that blessing will surely come true."
Jiang Tinghan blinked, her thick eyelashes trembling slightly, a glint of light flashing in her eyes: "Really? I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing in the years I've lived in Korea."
Kwon Ji-yong leaned closer and said with a smile, "That means you have to stay longer."
Jiang Tinghan was certain: "Oppa must have made it up, right?"
Kwon Ji-yong raised an eyebrow: "Oh, how did you find out?"
Jiang Tinghan's tone suddenly became lighter: "How could Oppa possibly lie to me? I've been by your side for a long time."
Kwon Ji-yong paused for a moment, then his smile deepened: "Oh dok, I'm a very greedy person."
He moved closer to Jiang Tinghan's face, just a little closer and he could kiss her. His deep voice made my eardrums tingle slightly: "Stay by my side a little longer."
"Listen to the cold."
Jiang Tinghan: "..."
"good."
*
Overnight, GC once again dominated the headlines, with articles like "Chow Yun-fat attends MAMA" and "Chow Yun-fat's first appearance at MAMA in ten years" appearing alongside negative and positive ones. A significant portion of the articles also criticized Kwon Ji-yong's performance, with classic comments like "His voice is no longer good," "Did he even sing?" "People have to accept getting old," and "Smoking ruined his voice" flooding the internet. It seemed like Korean netizens had forgotten their promise to "be tolerant of G-Dragon," and created numerous negative posts attacking him.
Although these people themselves are of questionable quality, bought at a bargain price with free shipping, and their brains are no bigger than walnuts, their performances, which sounded perfect live, received mixed reviews online. MAMA is also partly to blame. The camera work is not worth criticizing, but the sound recording is so bad that it is outrageous. The live performances that moved people with their full mics sounded like mosquitoes in the live broadcast.
Even so, MAMA still had the nerve to release Kwon Ji-yong's performance video of "Heartbreaker" and cut out all of Wing's scenes, which made the displeased young master leave a contemptuous thumbs-down comment.
Jiang Tinghan compared her stage performance with Kwon Ji-yong's, and surprisingly, her terrible stage sound recording seemed wonderful in comparison. They had a direct contract with CJ ENM and could be considered the crown prince and crown princess of the Mnet group. Kwon Ji-yong was having such bad luck for some reason.
When the official MAMA account tagged her, she politely replied with a very friendly "scratching head" emoji, which is often used to express speechlessness, confusion, and slight embarrassment. Fans interpreted it and guessed that Jiang Tinghan meant something like, "You still dare to tag me after doing this? How can you be so shameless? I really don't have time to mess with you."
Jiang Tinghan also addressed a question that fans were very concerned about: her health condition.
She posted a picture of cold medicine with the words "Byebye~" on it, indicating that her cold was completely cured. But when she swiped down, new medicines appeared with two crying emojis on them. Although her cold was gone, it seemed that a new little problem had arisen.
The efficacy description on the medicine label was clearly captured in the photograph: "For pain, hoarseness, tightness, and a feeling of something stuck in the throat after overuse of the voice..."
From the fans' perspective, this was the first time Coldy had ever confided in them about how badly she was feeling, and they immediately felt sorry for her, calling her "unnie" this and "unnie" that.
If we trace it back to the source, who's to blame for overusing your voice? Of course, it's MAMA's fault!
If the live music hadn't been so loud, like a deafening gong and drum, forcing their unnies to sing at the top of their lungs, this problem wouldn't have happened!
Unnie gave a perfect performance despite being weak from recovering from a serious illness. Instead of adding to her glory, MAMA dragged her down!
Even if the King of Heaven himself came, he couldn't stop MAMA from getting this scolding today. According to the law, she should be executed!
Some netizens realized that Jiang Tinghan was subtly expressing her dissatisfaction with MAMA. While praising Coldy for her ability to protect her husband, they also sighed that juniors are indeed juniors, and they have to restrain themselves in order to avoid being blacklisted by MAMA, unlike Kwon Ji-yong who directly pointed at MAMA's nose and cursed it in 2014.
Two weeks later, G-Dragon's channel updated with behind-the-scenes footage of MAMA.
Fans then realized that the final performance of "Too bad" in Seoul was actually designed and prepared for MAMA. They also saw that while Kwon Ji-yong was practicing hard in the practice room, a staff member (whose face was blurred) came in and said something to him.
His brows furrowed instantly, his face filled with worry. Without any hesitation, he strode toward the door, saying, "I'll take her to the hospital. That's all for today."
{November 24, 2025, 1:00 AM — Coldy was taken to the hospital after falling ill}
[I can't believe it! Brother-in-law, you really did! I'm so happy!]
My sister-in-law really went to the hospital the day before we left; she was exhausted.
[Upon hearing that he was sick, he stopped what he was doing and rushed over without any hesitation. One more good deed from him!]
There's no need to label him as a "good boyfriend" or "good man" anymore; it's simply a sign that GD loves Coldy exceptionally much.
They rehearsed so hard they ended up in the hospital, and in the end, the entire stage had to be completely redesigned. GD's carefully crafted stage was completely unusable. They were truly two bitter gourds.
[Lumera and GD are probably the only two people to sing a sad ballad mourning the disaster victims at MAMA. It seems that kindness is often taken advantage of.]
When GD took his private jet to Hong Kong, some sharp-eyed people noticed someone in the seat next to him, who was suspected to be Coldy. It was probably a 0.01% uncertainty and a 99.99% certainty. Although only one hand was visible, the huge diamond ring on it was dazzling enough to dazzle the audience.
This made them think of the diamond ring Coldy wore during his performance; wearing it on the middle finger signifies being deeply in love.
Tsk tsk tsk, you two are really...
Then the fire broke out. Kwon Ji-yong watched the news and felt that he shouldn't have performed. Jiang Tinghan briefly comforted him and then left in a hurry.
In the end, both of them changed the stage at the last minute. However, when they were actually put on stage, they encountered the problem of being too rushed. Kwon Ji-yong's design to show the audience the revised version of the missing daisy logo as a sign of mourning was shown, but the audience did not have time to see it, which was a waste of effort.
[Waaaaah, how can this young couple be so sweet?]
[This is infuriating! This MAMA deserves to die. One contempt isn't enough; I'm going to send her 8888 more!]
[So despicable, so despicable, so despicable! I'm going to sell MAMA!]
[Get out of here, you damn mother-in-law! If you can't do a stage, then don't do it. How do you even get paid?]
[The way my sister patted my brother's hand without saying much was so touching. True love and support don't need many words; it's so intimate...]
[Wow, this has a really high level of coldness! How can it not be considered an official couple vlog?]
[But why are other people's vlogs so sweet, while mine feel so bitter? It's really tragic.]
Look at the couple's trophies! They won so many awards in one night that they were practically overwhelmed. GC even swept all three major awards!
In the behind-the-scenes footage, Kwon Ji-yong uttered his classic line, "The masses are cold-hearted," which made fans feel heartbroken once again.
After MAMA, Coldy returned to Lumera and went back to South Korea with his teammates, while Kwon Ji-yong took Lee Soo-hyuk back on a private jet.
Unlike yesterday's cold face, she smiled more today, but her eye bags were swollen, clearly indicating she hadn't rested well, and her eyes looked like puppy eyes again.
"Fortunately, there were no mistakes, but that's all." Kwon Ji-yong said with a smile, but his expression was melancholy. However, as if he had thought of something, his smile gradually became genuine.
"Soo-hyuk, do you know what Ting-han told me yesterday?"
Lee Soo-hyuk replied skillfully, "Hmm?"
Kwon Ji-yong: "She said if MAMA contacts her next year, she will have to think carefully about whether to call the hospital first or the slaughterhouse."
Calling a hospital is because you're afraid of getting so angry that you end up in the hospital yourself; calling a slaughterhouse means you're being treated like a pig, or to put it more crudely, like an animal.
Jiang Tinghan requested to appear on camera, but unfortunately they didn't film their private meal, so this is the only way to convey the message. However, the effect is the same.
Lee Soo-hyuk didn't understand either, and gave a few vague replies, but the sharp-tongued netizens immediately got it.
[Ahhh, this is hilarious! How can Coldy be so sarcastic? Is this a mental hospital? Oh my god, your mental patient has escaped and wants to invite me to an awards ceremony!]
[Perhaps it means he might be so angry at MAMA that he'd have a heart attack and be hospitalized.]
[This Coldy is really funny, so sarcastic! The "slaughterhouse" part really cracked me up.]
[That's not wrong, is it? MAMA really is a pig, they're only giving out pork.]
[MAMA tricks people into coming, gets them scolded, and sends them away. Isn't that a kind of slaughterhouse that skins and sucks their blood?]
[This can actually be connected?! That's amazing, it makes perfect sense!]
[Great description (thumbs up) (thumbs up)]
Coldy was being very polite; he didn't use any foul language.
[I feel like we could go even harder with the criticism. If they keep making this mess of the stage next year, we should just take them to court for intentional defamation.]
Lee Soo-hyuk casually asked, "Did Coldyxi say anything to you?"
Kwon Ji-yong: "About me?"
Lee Soo-hyuk hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the situation: "Hmm."
Kwon Ji-yong pretended to ponder for a moment: "She didn't seem to say anything, just one sentence..."
"—Will you stay with me forever?"
Lee Soo-hyuk & fans: "???"
[Bush doves, who asked you???!!!]
-----------------------
Author's Note: Gyeong: Soohyuk asked that, huh?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com