The Mnet Asian Music Awards have come and gone for another year, and while one of the most prestigious music award shows in South Korea is always chock-full of exciting performances and plenty of idol worship, this latest event felt truly special. After the 2020 ceremony featured no live audience at all, it was obvious to all involved that the 2021 staging had to be bigger and more fantastic than ever… and thankfully, the show was everything it should have been.

BTS wrapped the evening as the biggest winners, as they claimed all four Daesangs — artist of the year, worldwide icon of the year, song of the year (for “Butter”) and album of the year (for Be) — as well as just as may other prizes, bringing their total claim to eight awards. IU came in second place with three trophies, while both Twice and Aespa ended up with a pair of honors.

More than 20 performances from many of the brightest stars in the South Korean music industry (and Ed Sheeran) made the four-and-a-half hour-long ceremony exciting and kept it moving. These segments ended up filling much more airtime than people actually accepting awards, and that made it a thrilling viewing for fans all around the world.

These were the eight best moments from the 2021 MAMAs.

The Opening Number: ‘Bloom the Sound’

Producers ensured the program kicked off with a bang thanks to the opening number, “Bloom The Sound,” a stop-and-start demonstration that highlighted the talents of some of the most beloved members of chart-topping bands. Featuring performers from Enhypen, Aespa, Stray Kids, Ateez, Itzy and Tomorrow X Together, the bit was intense and impossible to look away from, and those in the crowd loved it when the lights came on and they all got to see which idol was on stage.

The Animation!

Throughout the dozen-plus musical performances scattered throughout the night, a number of groups employed a neat visual trick which allowed computer animation to weave seamlessly into their show. Aespa was preceded on stage by a terrifying and considerably real-looking black mamba, while Jannabi used it to make the entire stadium twinkle like it was filled with fireflies. The special effect was well-executed, and it made the entire ceremony feel magical.

Brave Girls’ Teary Acceptance Speech

After a recording hiatus of several years, Brave Girls mounted a surprising and massive comeback in 2020 and 2021, and they were once again invited to the MAMAs. After making their singles “Chi Mat Ba Ram” and “Rollin’” feel Christmas-y (but somehow still summer-ready), the group finally won a trophy, a decade after they were first nominated. While accepting the KTO breakout artist award, the members were emotional, with one even crying during her time on stage.

Street Fighter Woman‘s Incredible Moves

In a night filled with excellent dancing and incredible choreography, nobody had the moves quite like the contestants from Mnet’s own dance survival program Street Woman Fighter. The talented artists hit the notes harder and pushed their bodies further than anyone else, and that’s saying a lot, because so many of the groups who took to the stage nailed it in this department.

Aespa’s MAMAs Debut

2021 was a breakout year for Aespa, and they made their presence at the latest MAMAs known. Nominated for five awards, the quartet’s Karina took part in the opening number, and that was to be just the beginning. They went on to snag a pair of prizes, with the audience going wild any time their name was called. Toward the end of the ceremony, the four women took to the main stage to perform their global smashes “Next Level” and “Savage,” and the production did not disappoint. From the inclusion of their own avatars to the sometimes-scary special effects to their general kick-ass attitude, it’s clear that in their first year at the show as a band, Aespa had finally arrived.

Wanna One’s Comeback

Two years ago, the members of Wanna One all went their separate ways, with the group disbanding after a short but highly successful run of EPs and albums. Ahead of the 2021 MAMAs, it was announced that most of the original performers from the band were to reunite for a one-off performance of some of their biggest hits, and immediately their showing became one of the most highly-anticipated segments of the evening. For a while, there were worries that this might not happen due to some COVID-19 fears, but all ended up going well, and the boy band nailed it.

Wanna One proved that while they may be returning to their solo ventures after this one show, they still rank as one of the best groups of the past several years.

NCT Dream’s Hot-Hot-Hot Show

Three of the NCT-branded groups performed at the 2021 MAMAs, and while both NCT 127 and NCT U put on an excellent show, NCT Dream’s “Hot Sauce” featured one of the most elaborate and expensive stages of the night. The boy band started, appropriately, with “Hello Future” before jumping into “Hot Sauce,” and the group made sure everything from their moves to the set design matched the tune. After singing inside a giant bottle of hot sauce, with flame-themed outfits and embers appearing on screen thanks to some clever animation, the members emerged from said structure and continued the show to thunderous applause.

Itzy Mixes Violence With Sex Appeal

One of the longest performances of the night, Itzy’s segment included a staged intro, Squid Game star Heo Sung-tae, violence, sex appeal and seemingly everything in between. The girl group topped off an incredible year by showcasing their hit singles “Loco” and “In the Morning,” and their performance saw them don black leather outfits while their backup dancers wore cat masks, swung on stripper poles and even staged shooting and killing a man in front of everyone. The theatrical performance was next-level, and it proved that Itzy is doing it like so few in the business.

Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed West Side Story sang off-key in its domestic debut with a subdued $10.5 million from 2,800 theaters, but the closing song has yet to be written regarding the musical’s box office fate.

Heading into the weekend, 20th Century and Disney had hoped the big-budget event pic — which hits the big screen 64 years after the iconic Broadway stage and 60 years after the first movie adaptation — would clear at least $13 million domestically. Some tracking services had first-weekend estimates as high as $15 million more.

The good news: West Side Story was able to claim the No. 1 spot on the weekend chart ahead of Disney Animation holdover Encanto.

Overseas, West Side Story debuted to an even more disappointing $4.4 million from 37 material markets for a global start of $14.9 million, well behind the $25 million Disney was predicting.

While there are many major markets yet to open, including South Korea and China, the film so far isn’t resonating in Latin America or Asia, according to box office analysts. That puts pressure on Europe, where the omicron variant is slowing down the box office recovery in certain key markets such as Germany, where West Side Story debuted to a paltry $300,000. Outside of the U.S., the U.K. led with $1.7 million.

Musicals face a huge challenge in the pandemic era, since they rely on older adults, and particularly older females. Yet moviegoers over the age of 35 are the most leery in terms of returning to theaters. According to PostTrak, the largest quadrant of the West Side Story audience was ticket buyers over the age of 55 (26 percent), while more than half of the audience was over the age of 35. The film performed best in big cities.

The hope now is that stellar reviews — the film boasts a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes — and glowing audience reviews, including an A CinemaScore, will help West Side Story build momentum throughout the year-end holidays and Oscar season. If not, Spielberg’s movie, which cost upwards of $90 million to make before marketing, could be facing major losses.

In late December 2017, musical The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman, was written off as a dud when opening to $8.8 million. The movie, however, quickly turned into a sleeper hit before topping out at $174 million domestically and $437 million globally.

In terms of recent musicals, West Side Story opened ahead of Dear Evan Hansen ($7.4 million) but slightly behind In the Heights ($11.5 million).

West Side Story was a huge draw in Imax and premium format screens, which turned in 33 percent of the gross.

Directed by Spielberg from a script by Tony Kushner, West Side Story was originally set to open in 2020. The film stars Ansel Elgort and newcomer Rachel Zegler as star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria. Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist and Rita Moreno — the first Latina to win an Oscar for her role as Anita in the 1961 film — also star in Spielberg’s film, which was a passion project for the filmmaker and is his first musical.

The weekend’s other new nationwide release, the college football drama National Champions, got sacked. The film, directed by Ric Roman Waugh, grossed $120,000 from 1,197 theaters on Friday for an estimated weekend opening of $300,000. STX, which is handling the film, is counting on a robust premium VOD run in January tied to the real-life national championship game.

Among holdovers, Encanto placed No. 2 with $9.4 million from 3,750 theaters for a domestic total of $71.3 million. Overseas, it took in $13.6 million from 47 markets for a foreign tally of $80.5 million and $151.8 million worldwide.

Sony’s family friendly Ghostbusters: Afterlife placed No. 3 in North America with $7.1 million from 7,815 locations to finish Sunday with a domestic cume of $112 million and $169.7 million globally.

MGM and United Artists’ House of Gucci — one of the few adult-skewing movies to prosper in COVID-19 times — earned another $4.1 million from 3,407 theaters to place No. 4 in its third outing for a domestic tally of $41 million. Overseas, it is also impressing, grossing another $10.1 million from 63 markets for a foreign total $52 million and $93 million worldwide.

As it prepares to clear the $400 million mark worldwide, Disney and Marvel’s Eternals rounded out the top five with $3.1 million for a domestic cume of $161.2 million and $395.3 million globally.

At the specialty box office, A24 opened Red Rocket in six locations, reporting a per location average of $16,158.

Among holdovers, MGM and United Artists’ Licorice Pizza continued to post impressive per screen averages in its third weekend, earning $176,349 from four locations in New York and Los Angeles for a theater average of $44,088, which is well above the norm in the pandemic era.

Focus Features’ Belfast, another awards hopeful, expanded into a total of 819 theaters for a cume through Sunday of $6.5 million.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.