The nominees for the 40th Golden Disc Awards were announced on November 25, 2025. This year’s ceremony will be held on January 10, 2026, at the Taipei Dome in Taiwan.
This edition is especially meaningful, as the event celebrates its 40th anniversary by introducing a brand-new grand prize. In addition to the traditional Album Daesang and Digital Song Daesang, the Golden Disc Awards will now include an Artist Grand Prize.
The nominees reflect the biggest musical achievements from November 2024 to October 2025. The Digital Song Division features 20 strong contenders, including IU with “Never Ending Story,” BLACKPINK with “JUMP,” and LE SSERAFIM with “HOT.”
Several major soloists also made the list, such as Rosé with “toxic till the end,” Jennie with “like JENNIE,” and G-Dragon with “HOME SWEET HOME.” Other popular names, including aespa, IVE, and SEVENTEEN, round out the competitive lineup.
The Album Division is dominated by chart-topping physical sellers. SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, TWICE, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER lead the nominations, joined by acts like ENHYPEN, aespa, and NCT DREAM. Solo artists including Baekhyun, Jennie, and BTS’s Jin are also nominated.
Meanwhile, the Rookie Artist of the Year race features twelve new acts who made a notable impact in a short time. Among them are KiiiKiii, Hearts2Hearts, CORTIS, AHOF, ALLDAY PROJECT, NouerA, and more.
40th Golden Disc Awards Nominees
Here is a complete list of Golden Disc Awards 2026 nominees
Rookie Artist
- KickFlip
- KiiiKiii
- NouerA
- ZO ZAZZ
- IDID
- Hearts2Hearts
- idntt
- izna
- AHOF
- ALLDAY PROJECT
- CORTIS
- CLOSE YOUR EYES
Best Album
- “Unexpected” (THE BOYZ)
- “The Star Chapter: TOGETHER” (TXT)
- “Strategy” (TWICE)
- “Never Say Never” (ZEROBASEONE)
- “Color” (NCT WISH)
- “Odyssey” (RIIZE)
- “Happy Burstday” (SEVENTEEN)
- “Karma” (Stray Kids)
- “IVE Empathy” (IVE)
- “Ruby” (Jennie of BLACKPINK)
- “Happy” (Jin of BTS)
- “Dreamscape” (NCT DREAM)
- “Hype Vibes” (SEVENTEEN’s CxM)
- “Desire : Unleash” (ENHYPEN)
- Übermensch” (G-Dragon)
- i-dle (“We Are”)
- “Back to Life” (&TEAM)
- “Rich Man” (aespa)
- “GOLDEN HOUR : Part 2” (ATEEZ)
- “Essence of Reverie” (Baekhyun of EXO)
Best Digital Song
- “toxic till the end” (Rosé of BLACKPINK)
- “Thunder” (SEVENTEEN)
- “Sadder Than Yesterday” (Woody)
- “Don’t You Know” (ZO ZAZZ)
- “Starting with You” (MAKTUB)
- “Hands Up” (MEOVV)
- “Flower” (Ovan)
- “Dash” (PLAVE)
- “Rebel Heart” (IVE)
- “like JENNIE” (Jennie of BLACKPINK)
- “I Do Me” (KiiiKiii)
- “HOT” (LE SSERAFIM)
- “Home Sweet Home” (G-Dragon ft. Taeyang and Daesung)
- “The Chase” (Hearts2Hearts)
- “I Miss You So Much” (Hwang Karam)
- “Never Ending Story” (IU)
- “Dirty Work” (aespa)
- “FAMOUS” (ALLDAY PROJECT)
- “JUMP” (BLACKPINK)
- “If I Say, I Love You” (BOYNEXTDOOR)
The awards ceremony will take place at the 40,000-seat Taipei Dome, with Singer Sung Si Kyung and actress Mun Ka Young as hosts. Top K-drama stars Song Joong Ki, Byeon Woo Seok, and Ahn Hyo Seop have been confirmed as presenters. The first lineup of performers will be announced on November 26 following the nominee reveal.
One of the most talked-about additions this year is the Artist Grand Prize. It will use a scoring system that is 60 percent based on quantitative data including global chart results, and 40 percent based on qualitative reviews from the judging committee.
Winners will be selected through a combination of numerical data such as streaming and album sales, along with evaluations from an expert committee.
