The EXO-BTS war largely ended by middle of 2018, so every single major award worth its salt put BTS as the marquee act.
However,
those running the Melon Music Awards decided to schedule the ceremony on Dec 3
When BTS is performing at the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles.
And Melon was audacious to announce that the Signature Act of the 2021 MMA was not BTS, but, lo and behold,
Lee Jieun.
Although IU is more Senior than BTS , since she is not someone the world fans want to see, announcing her name first was kinda strange.
It might have been NCT, txt, Seventeen or Twice,
but MMA made the decision to make the effective owner of Edam Entertainment as its marquee act,
the first time a nonKpopper was the marquee act in an award ceremony since 2014 MMA where Lee Jieun had been groomed to fight against EXO in 2014 MAMA which ended with she receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award and becoming the laughing stock of the world instead.
So this year's MMA will be the first award ceremony since around 2018 to not feature BTS as the signature act.
