The Fact Music Awards (TMA) made its Macau debut on Saturday, marking a milestone for one of South Korea’s major K-pop award ceremonies. Held at the Macao Outdoor Performance Venue, the event drew more than 50,000 fans, featuring a lineup that spanned the present and future of K-pop, from established global stars to rising fifth-generation acts.
Stray Kids, IVE, and aespa headlined the night, joined by groups including ENHYPEN, NMIXX, ZEROBASEONE, NCT WISH, Boynextdoor, Miyaw, and rookies Ahop, Close Your Eyes, KIKI, TWS, DESIRE4, and Hearts2Hearts. Jun Hyun-moo and Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun returned as co-hosts, cementing their status as the faces of TMA.
The ceremony opened with a tribute to K-pop’s past: four rookie groups reinterpreted classics from BTS, SEVENTEEN, BLACKPINK, and Red Velvet in their own styles. Collaborative duets followed, with IVE’s Leeseo and NMIXX’s Gyujin delivering Taeyeon’s To. X, while ZEROBASEONE’s Janghao and Riki performed 特的人 (Special Person), setting a more intimate tone against Macau’s autumn backdrop.
Exclusive stages gave the event its edge. Stray Kids premiered “CEREMONY” from their fourth studio album, alongside their fan-favorite hits. NCT WISH unveiled “COLOR”, and ZEROBASEONE introduced their full-length album’s title track “ICONIK” along with Lovesick Game. Other one-off performances included Ahop and Close Your Eyes’ collaboration, Miyaw’s EDM-styled remixes, and Hearts2Hearts’ shuffle dance spectacle.
This year’s TMA marked several firsts: not only was it the ceremony’s Macau debut, but also the first time the awards were staged outdoors. The Macao Outdoor Performance Venue, the region’s largest with a 50,000-seat capacity, underscored the global scale of K-pop’s reach. Last year’s edition filled Osaka’s Kyocera Dome; this year’s expansion reinforced TMA’s ambition to position itself as a cross-cultural hub.
Adding to that theme, Hong Kong–born action star and director Donnie Yen made a high-profile appearance, symbolizing the blending of Eastern and Western entertainment industries.
The red carpet began at 5 p.m. Korea time, with the main ceremony following at 8 p.m. Broadcasts were made available via Naver CH+ in Korea, Nico Nico in Japan, and Mifashow for global audiences.
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