The 2026 Melon Music Awards (MMA) has wrapped its two-day run at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome. The ceremony expanded to a two-day format for the first time, with the slogan “K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse.” BTS, IVE, aespa, and CORTIS took home major awards. The ceremony also recognized rising artists, including ILLIT, KiiiKiii, LNGSHOT, and ALPHA DRIVE ONE.
BTS was among the biggest winners of the Melon Music Awards 2026. The seven-member boygroup received Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for “ARIRANG.” All 14 tracks from the albums charted on Melon Top 100 upon release. Although the group was absent due to their world tour schedule, they still managed to sweep major trophies, including Stage of the Year, Best Male Group, and more.
IVE claimed the coveted Song of the Year for their hit “BANG BANG. aespa became the first-ever recipient of the newly created Global K-Artist of the Year Daesang. The Record of the Year Daesang went to the rookie group CORTIS. Other notable winners include LNGSHOT and ALPHA DRIVE ONE, who shared the New Artist of the Year honor.
ATEEZ and RIIZE tied for Best Performance – Male, and ATEEZ also took Hot Trend. ATEEZ’s performance of “UP,” “Drip,” and “BAD” became one of the night’s most viral moments. Member San’s “chest-shaking” move from the song had already gone viral earlier in the year. TWS reimagined “OVERDRIVE” with a youthful, theatrical concept, complete with a magic show.
I.O.I returned to the MMA stage after 10 years. They performed a medley, opening with “Whatta Man” and moving into their new song “Suddenly.” Other performers on Day 1 included Dragon Pony, RIIZE, aespa, and Choi Yena, among others.
Melon Music Awards 2026 Winners
Here is a complete list of MMA 2026 winners:
Artist of the Year (Daesang)
- BTS
Album of the Year (Daesang)
- “ARIRANG” by BTS
Song of the Year (Daesang)
- “BANG BANG” by IVE
Record of the Year (Daesang)
- CORTIS
Global K-Artist of the Year (Daesang)
- aespa
Stage of the Hear
- BTS
New Artist of the Year
- LNGSHOT, ALPHA DRIVE ONE
Best Performance – Male
- ATEEZ
- RIIZE
Best Performance – Female
- ILLIT
- KiiiKiii
Best Solo – Male
- YENA
- Lim Young Woong
TOP 10 (Bonsang)
- BTS
- CORTIS
- ILLIT
- IVE
- Hearts2Hearts
- I.O.I
- KiiiKiii
- NCT WISH
- PLAVE
- AKMU
Global TOP10
- BTS
- G-Dragon
- aespa
- RIIZE
- RESCENE
- IVE
- CORTIS
- Hearts2Hearts
- NCT WISH
- ILLIT
Best Male Group
- BTS
Best Female Group
- IVE
Best Music Video
- “BANG BANG” by IVE
Best Songwriter
- Lee Chan Hyuk
Best OST
- Kim Min Seok (“Love Language” from “Can This Love Be Translated?”)
Best Music Style
- I.O.I
- KiiiKiii
Best Pop Artist
- Bruno Mars
Best Producer
- Nicole Kim (BIGHIT)
J-pop Favorite Artist
- HANA
Hot Trend
- ATEEZ
- RESCENE
Global Impact Artist
- Hearts2Hearts
- TWS
- NCT WISH
- ILLIT
Global Rising Artist
- TUIDE
- AND2BLE
1thK Icon
- hrtz.wav
Track Zero Choice
- “+82” by Sumin
KakaoBank Everyone’s Star
- RESCENE
Congratulations to all MMA 2026 winners!
