Bruno Mars Attends 2024 MAMA Awards, Expresses Gratitude in Korean

American pop star Bruno Mars, who recently collaborated with BLACKPINK's Rosé on the duet track "APT.,” made a notable appearance at the 2024 MAMA Awards held on November 22. The event took place at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, starting at 6 PM local time. During the ceremony, Mars and Rosé were honored with the Global Sensation Award. The two artists celebrated their win on stage by clinking their trophies together in a toast.

Rosé shared her excitement, stating, "We started with my favorite drinking game and ended up creating a fun song. I didn’t expect to receive so many awards, and I’m incredibly grateful for all the love from everyone, especially to Bruno." Mars responded in Korean with a heartfelt "감사합니다" (thank you) and blew kisses to the audience.

In a light-hearted moment, Rosé mentioned she had something she wanted to do, leading to a playful exchange where she said, "지금까지" (up until now), to which Mars replied, "Bruno," and Rosé concluded with, "로제였습니다. 감사합니다" (This was Rosé. Thank you), eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Mars and Rosé were seen sitting together in the audience, eagerly awaiting the performances and applauding other award recipients, drawing attention from fans. Many Korean netizens expressed their disbelief at seeing both stars at a domestic awards show, with comments like, "I can’t believe Bruno Mars and Rosé attended a Korean awards ceremony together" and "I never thought I’d see Bruno Mars say ‘감사합니다’ at MAMA."

Rosé's solo pre-release track, "APT.," draws inspiration from traditional Korean drinking games. The catchy chorus featuring the repeated phrase "아파트 아파트" (Apartment Apartment) and its lively band sound have contributed to its global success, reaching number 2 on the UK Official Singles Chart and number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The MAMA Awards, which began in 1999 as the Mnet Video Music Awards, rebranded to MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards) in 2009. The ceremony expanded internationally in 2010 with its first overseas event in Macau, and last year, it became the first K-pop awards show to be held at the Tokyo Dome. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the 2024 MAMA Awards will take place in a relay format from November 22 to 23 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and the Kyocera Dome in Osaka.