Mamamoo

Did You Know?

• Mamamoo's first collaboration, "Don't Be Happy" with Bumkey, was released on January 8, 2014.
• The music video for "Mr. Ambiguous" contained cameo appearances from many well-known K-pop industry figures.

History

The name Mamamoo comes from the idea of a baby’s first babbling, meant to evoke the universal word “mama” and suggest music that feels instinctive and familiar to listeners everywhere. Before their official debut, the group put out several collaborations: “Don’t Be Happy” with Bumkey on January 8, 2014; “Peppermint Chocolate” with K.Will and Wheesung on February 11, 2014, which entered the Gaon Digital Chart at number 10; and “HeeHeeHaHeHo” with the rap duo Geeks on May 30, 2014. Mamamoo officially debuted on June 18, 2014, with the lead single “Mr. Ambiguous” from their first EP Hello. The music video for that song featured cameos from CNBLUE’s Jonghyun, Baek Ji-young, Wheesung, Jung Joon-young, Bumkey, K.Will, and Rhymer of Brand New Music. The EP included the three earlier collaborations plus four new tracks. Their first live TV performance was on M Countdown on June 19, 2014. In July 2014, they released their first original soundtrack, “Love Lane,” for the drama Marriage, Not Dating. Their second EP, Piano Man, came out on November 21, 2014, with the title track peaking at number 41 on the Gaon Digital Chart. By the end of 2014, Gaon’s year-end rankings placed Mamamoo tenth among idol girl groups in digital sales, nineteenth in album sales, and eleventh overall. On January 10, 2015, they performed Joo Hyun-mi’s “Wait a Minute” on Immortal Songs 2, making it to the final round before losing to Kim Kyung-ho. On April 2, 2015, they released “Ahh Oop!,” the first single from their third EP Pink Funky, which was their second collaboration with label mate Esna. On June 13, 2015, the group performed in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, alongside Crayon Pop and K-Much at a concert sponsored by the South Korean Embassy to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Mongolia.