Vietnamese artists scoop MAMA 2020 awards

At South Korea's 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA 2020) online ceremony on Dec. 6, young singer Amee expressed her appreciation for her Best New Asian Artist award.

"I am happy as the efforts of my team and myself have been recognized in Vietnam and globally. I am a K-pop fan and the MAMAs have been a dream to me," the singer said in the video.

Amee, real name Tran Huyen My, 20, is the youngest Vietnamese artist to be honored at MAMA. Starting her career in 2018 and releasing her debut album "DreAMEE" in June, Amee has received several domestic awards, including Best New Artist of the Year at "Cong Hien 2020" (Dedicated Music Award 2020).

Quang Dang (L) and Amee pose with their MAMA trophies. Photo courtesy of Quang Dang and Amee.

Rapper Binz was named Best Asian Artist after a busy year. In 2020, his hit "Bigcityboi" has raked in over 67 million YouTube views and entered the video-sharing site’s Top Trending list in several countries within 12 hours of its July premiere.

"I am thrilled and really appreciate this music award," the rapper said during the MAMA ceremony.

Binz, real name Le Nguyen Trung Dan, 32, was born in Central Highlands' Gia Lai Province before relocating to the U.S. He has been part of the Vietnamese underground music community since 2007 and started earning popularity in 2017, after returning to Vietnam.

Binz during a performance. Photo courtesy of BinZ.

U.S. entertainment website Billboard once said the rapper has a very distinctive sound and "a husky rap style that seamlessly transforms into his signature vocal flow, which some consider romantic."

Best Choreographer of the Year went to Quang Dang, whose performance in the "LoveNote" music video impressed judges at the South Korean awards.

The choreographer, surprised at the award he earned, called it the greatest of his career and expressed his appreciation to audiences and his teammates at LifeDance dance studio.

In February, his gestures and dance steps based on the "Ghen Co Vy" song went viral on Chinese video-sharing social network TikTok.

Dang, 31, was a participant of TV dance competition "Thu Thach Cung Buoc Nhay" (Vietnamese version of "So You Think You Can Dance") in 2012. Since, he has collaborated with many artists and joined "Asia's Got Talent 2019".

As a major South Korean event, MAMA 2020 honors talented artists for their contribution to musical development across Asia. This year's ceremony was held with no live audience due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the 22nd in the show's history.