Taemin serves as the main dancer of SM Entertainment boy group SHINee, working with Onew, Key, and Minho to continue the group and their late member Jonghyun's legacies.
Since the group's debut in 2008, SHINee has been performing with their title "Princes of K-pop." Through its debut song, Replay, the K-pop group immediately garnered people's attention and created one of the biggest fandoms in the K-pop industry – SHAWOL.
Although they are only a five-member (now four) group, the band successfully established a positive impression that they always create the hardest K-pop choreographies in the industry. Taemin, as the main dancer of the group, carries that legacy as a soloist.
This year, fans expected to see him garner acknowledgments from the biggest music awards ceremony, MAMA. However, when Mnet named the official nominees, fans were left surprised and frustrated due to Taemin's absence on the list.
Where Is Taemin On 2021 MAMA Nominations List?
With Taemin's Advice comeback earlier this year, fans expected to see his name again under Best Dance Performance Solo and Best Male Artist. Surprisingly, he did not make it to both groups.
The artists who have been nominated under Best Dance Performance Solo are EXO's Baekhyun (Bambi), HyunA (I'm Not Cool), BLACKPINK's Lisa (LALISA), BLACKPINK's Rose (On The Ground), Jeon Somi (Dumb Dumb), and Girls' Generation's Taeyeon (Weekend).
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Meanwhile, Best Male Artist only welcomed EXO's Baekhyun, EXO's DO, EXO's Kai, Kang Daniel, and Lee Mujin to the list.
Fans quickly questioned Mnet's choices and decisions this year, asking the channel why Taemin's name is nowhere to be found. As Mnet is yet to address the recent issue, fans continue to trend the Move hitmaker's name on Twitter.
Taemin Still Holds Record On MAMA
Amid the public's disappointment, some fans suggested that Taemin is just too good to be at the 2021 MAMA. As a result, Mnet probably removed him to reportedly prevent him from outshining other artists again, just like what he did last year.
Still, other SHAWOLs calmed down the other fandom members by mentioning how Taemin already won three MAMA awards out of 11 nominations in his past 13 years as a soloist.
These honors led him to reach what the global heartthrob, Rain, grasped so far. The two artists are currently tied for being the most nominated male soloists in the Best Dance Solo Performance category.
While this year is not Taemin's year in MAMA, fans assured him that he deserves more than what Mnet could offer him.
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