The 2026 Melon Music Awards are underway in Seoul, bringing the Korean music industry together for a two-day celebration of the artists, songs and albums that defined the past year. The 18th edition marks the first time the ceremony has expanded to two nights, with the event taking place at Gocheok Sky Dome on November 14 and 15.
Organized around the theme “K-Pop Connect: The New Pulse,” this year’s ceremony features a wider program of performances and award presentations. The first day, branded Global Day, brings together 14 performers, including aespa, ATEEZ, I.O.I, NCT DREAM, RIIZE, TWS and YENA. The lineup also features AEN, Dragon Pony, HANA, Hearts2Hearts, IDID, RESCENE and TUIDE.
The two-day format gives the Melon Music Awards more room to recognize achievements across the industry, with the four major Daesang prizes — Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year — among the most closely watched honors. Other categories include Best New Artist, Top 10, Global Top 10, Best Group, Best Solo, Best OST and Best Pop Artist.
The Top 10 selections are determined through a combination of digital performance, expert panel evaluations and fan voting. Global Top 10, meanwhile, draws on the Global-K Chart, which combines data from Melon, Tencent Music and LINE MUSIC to reflect artists’ performance across several major music markets.
The Artist of the Year shortlist is made up of AKMU, BTS, CORTIS, Hearts2Hearts, I.O.I, ILLIT, IVE, KiiiKiii, NCT WISH and PLAVE. Seven acts — BTS, AKMU, I.O.I, IVE, ILLIT, KiiiKiii and CORTIS — also earned nominations across all three major categories: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
Winners will be added below as the results become available.
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MMA 2026 Winners
Artist of the Year (TOP10 winners)
AKMU
BTS
CORTIS
Hearts2Hearts
I.O.I
ILLIT
IVE
KiiiKiii
NCT WISH
PLAVE
Album of the Year
“LEMONADE” – aespa
“FLOWERING” – AKMU
“ALLDAY PROJECT” – ALLDAY PROJECT
“ARIRANG” – BTS
“GREENGREEN” – CORTIS
“I.O.I : LOOP” – I.O.I
“MAMIHLAPINATAPAI” – ILLIT
“REVIVE+” – IVE
“Delulu Pack” – KiiiKiii
“LOVE CATCHER” – Yena
Song of the Year
“LEMONADE” – aespa
“Paradise of Rumors” – AKMU
“SWIM” – BTS
“REDRED” – CORTIS
“RUDE!” – Hearts2Hearts
“Suddenly” – I.O.I
“It’s Me” – ILLIT
“404 (New Era)” – KiiiKiii
“Catch Catch” – Yena
Global TOP10
aespa *WINNER*
BABYMONSTER
BIGBANG
BLACKPINK
BOYNEXTDOOR
BTS *WINNER*
CORTIS
ENHYPEN
EXO
G-DRAGON *WINNER*
Hearts2Hearts
i-dle
ILLIT
IU
IVE
Jennie
LE SSERAFIM
NCT DREAM
NCT WISH
NewJeans
NMIXX
RESCENE *WINNER*
RIIZE*WINNER*
Rosé
SEVENTEEN
Stray Kids
TWICE
TWS
TXT
Yena
New Artist of the Year
ALPHA DRIVE ONE
HADES
LNGSHOT
SYSTEM SEOUL
TUIDE
Best Solo – Female
BOL4
IU
Jennie
Taeyeon
Yena
Best Solo – Male
BIG Naughty
Lee Changsub
Lim Young Woong
SoonSoonHee (Jihwan)
Young K
Best Group – Female
aespa
Hearts2Hearts
ILLIT
IVE
KiiiKiii
Best Group – Male
BOYNEXTDOOR
BTS
CORTIS
NCT WISH
PLAVE
Best OST
“Love Language” (“Can This Love Be Translated?” OST) – Kim Min Seok (MeloMance)
“Love Is Enough (Original)” (“Sold Out On You” OST) – PLAVE
“Anytime anyhow” (“Surely Tomorrow” OST) – Sung Si Kyung
“Love is” (“Wild Sing” OST) – TRIANGLE
“EVERGLOW” (“Perfect Crown” OST) – WOODZ
Best Pop Artist
Ariana Grande
Bruno Mars
Charlie Puth
KATSEYE
Tame Impala
Stage of the Year
BTS
Best Male Performance
ATEEZ
Kakao Bank Everyone’s Star
RESCENE
Best Music Style
I.O.I
J-Pop Favorite Artist
HANA
TrackZero Choice
“Tricyle” – DeVita –
“Kids Return” – Electron Sheep
“Goat’s Horn, Dog’s Heart” – Goat’s Horn, Dog’s Heart
“Model Citizen” – Haepa
“lemon” – Kangziwon
“Summer Break” – NokeNok
“BIG VOID” – Silica Gel
“+82” – SUMIN
“courage” – wave to earth
“BATHTUB” – youra
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