Voting is now open for the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA). On October 30, CJ E&M opened polls for the upcoming award program, allowing fans to vote in 17 categories.
Nominees in the Best New Male Artist division include iKON, N.Flying, MONSTA X, SEVENTEEN, and UP10TION.
Female rookies rookie groups included in the Best New Female Artist category are CLC, TWICE, Lovelyz, Oh My Girl, and G-Friend.
The Best Male Artist division focuses on a solid list of singer-songwriters from idol groups and soloists. JYP Entertainment's founder J.Y. Park (Park Jin Young) is nominated alongside Jung Yong Hwa of CNBLUE, SHINee's Jonghyun, Super Junior's Kyuhyun, and Zion.T.
Solid vocalists dominate the Best Female Artist category, which includes BoA, Ailee, Taeyeon of Girls' Generation, singer-songwriter IU, and 4Minute's HyunA.
The Best Male Group division could be one of the strongest competitions MAMA audiences have witnessed, in recent years. Powerhouse groups nominated in the category include Big Bang, Super Junior, EXO, BTS, Shinhwa, and SHINee.
Girls' Generation, A Pink, SISTAR, miss A, and AOA are included in the Best Female Group category.
The Best Dance Performance Solo category reflects a combination of male and female artists, including J.Y. Park, 4Minute's HyunA, f(x) Amber, Teen Top's Niel, and Gain.
Big Bang, EXO, GOT7, VIXX, INFINITE, and SHINee face off in the highly contentious Best Dance Performance Male Group category.
Rookie girl group Red Velvet is included in the Best Dance Performance Female Group division, along with AOA, SISTAR, EXID, Girl's Day, and 4Minute.
The Best Male Vocal Performance category reflects solid balladeers and soulful crooners, including Super Junior's Kyuhyun, Zion.T, trio SG WANNABE, Lim Chang Jung, and Huh Gak.
Powerhouse songbirds in the Best Female Vocal Performance division are Mamamoo, DAVICHI, Baek A Yeon, Ailee, and Taeyeon of Girls' Generation.
Hip-hop continues to gain popularity as a rising musical genre in Korea. The Best Rap Performance category reflects leaders in hip-hop but continues to be dominated by male artists. Jay Park, San E, Mad Clown, Dok2, and LeeSsang's Gary are nominated.
Growing interest in pop-rock is reflected in the Best Band Performance division. Breakout artists Hyukoh are nominated alongside Jung Joon Young's JJY Band, CNBLUE, FTISLAND, and NELL.
The Best Collaboration & Unit category includes an eclectic mix of special projects. The division includes Soyou with Kwon Jeong Yeol, INFINITE H, VIXX LR, Block B's Bastarz, Zion.T and Crush.
The categories begin to wind down to high-stakes awards with Best Music Video.
Big Bang is nominated for their trippy, electropop release "Bae Bae," alongside the monster mash video, "Married to the Music," from SHINee. Wonder Girls returned with their '80s-inspired and Latin freestyle infused video for "I Feel You" and INFINITE embraced a new image for "Bad."
The UnionPay Artist of the Year category includes more than 30 top acts like Super Junior, Big Bang, EXO, Girls' Generation, and BTS. The equally coveted UnionPay Song of the Year division also reflects a packed playing field.
Fans can vote from October 30 through December 1 at midnight KST, through the official website for the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
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Adrienne Stanley is a contributing editor at KDramaStars. She is also a contributing music writer at KpopStarz, MTV Iggy and other publications. When she is not listening to "Rhythm Ta," she can be found on Twitter. (@retrogirladdy).
