The race for the 18th Melon Music Awards (MMA 2026) is officially on. On October 30, Melon announced the nominees for 12 categories that will be decided in part by fan votes — with the ceremony set for November 14-15 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
(Credits: Melon)
Melon Music Awards 2026 Nominees: BTS, IVE, AKMU and I.O.I Lead Grand Prize Races
The TOP10 voting, which ran from October 15 through October 29, determined the Artist of the Year nominees: AKMU, BTS, CORTIS, Hearts2Hearts, I.O.I, ILLIT, IVE, KiiiKiii, NCT WISH and PLAVE. These ten finalists are now in the running for the biggest prize of the night.
Seven acts earned nominations across all three grand prizes — Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year: BTS, AKMU, I.O.I, IVE, ILLIT, KiiiKiii and CORTIS. aespa also scored a major showing with Album of the Year and Song of the Year nominations.
MMA 2026 Voting Rules, Categories and Eligibility
To be eligible, music must have been released between November 20, 2025 and October 14, 2026. Most categories — including TOP10, Artist, Album and Song of the Year, Best Solo, Best Group, Best OST and Best Pop Artist — are determined by 60% digital score, 20% panel review and 20% fan votes. The TrackZero Choice award weighs the panel more heavily at 60%, while honors like Record of the Year are decided entirely by the panel.
The newly established Global TOP10 picked 30 candidate teams based on Melon’s Global-K Chart, combining K-pop charts from Korea, China and Japan. Category voting runs from October 30 through November 13 on Melon, with the newly announced two-day format promising one of the biggest editions of MMA yet.
Also Read: 2026 K-Pop Year-End Shows Guide: MAMA AWARDS, Gayo Daejeon Schedules, Lineups and Nominees
Source: Soompi — read the full story there.
