Singer G-Dragon aimed to redeem his live performance at the 2025 Melon Music Awards.
The 2025 Melon Music Awards (The 17th Melon Music Awards, hereafter ‘MMA2025’) was held on December 20 at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome.
G-Dragon swept three of the four grand prizes that day, including ‘Album of the Year,’ ‘Artist of the Year,’ and ‘Best Song.’ He also secured seven awards in total, including ‘TOP10,’ ‘Best Solo Male,’ ‘Millions TOP10,’ and ‘Best Songwriter,’ continuing his dominant run.
He performed a total of five songs on stage: ‘Drama,’ ‘Power,’ ‘Home Sweet Home,’ ‘Too Bad,’ and ‘Crooked.’
Previously, G-Dragon faced criticism for relying on AR during his performance at the 2025 MAMA Awards, held on November 29 at Hong Kong Kai Tak Stadium. To address this, he significantly increased the live portions of his MMA performance, delivering a stable yet intense rap and focusing on clear lyric delivery over ad-libs. This focus was notably impressive.
However, during the ‘Home Sweet Home’ stage, Taeyang and Daesung’s parts were replaced by video footage on the big screen, indicating a continued reliance on AR rather than a fully live performance. The ‘Too Bad’ stage showcased performances by dancers Liahata and RH Tokyo.
For the final song, G-Dragon’s hit track ‘Crooked,’ artists across generations joined in the festivities. G-Dragon left the stage to dance briefly with Allday Project and handed the microphone to BOYNEXTDOOR, generating enthusiastic responses. NCT WISH members stood and bowed in return.
G-Dragon then passed the microphone to Zico. Despite a moment of surprise, Zico performed a live section of the song, including the lyrics ‘Tonight I’m Crooked / Tonight for Me / Could You Say Nothing / I Didn’t Know Being Alone Was So Tough.’ G-Dragon then reclaimed the microphone, continuing with a performance that leaned more towards ad-libs than a full live rendition, an effort to redeem his live skills that ultimately left some wanting more.
The moment sparked online debate, with some netizens commenting, “Zico did the best today,” “Did he ask Zico to sing live for him?” and “He owes Zico a fancy meal.” Others, however, appreciated the atmosphere, remarking, “It was nice that everyone enjoyed the ending together” and “It was a free-spirited ending performance.”
G-Dragon recently addressed the ‘MAMA’ live controversy on his YouTube channel, stating, “The public is harsh. That’s why I have to do well. There’s nothing wrong; it just wasn’t right. I have to make up for it somehow.”
While his live performance showed marked improvement compared to ‘MAMA’ and his sincerity was evident, high expectations for G-Dragon still led to some lingering disappointment.
