KB News Desk
The MAMA AWARDS has returned for another year!
On October 12, the nominations were announced for the 2026 MAMA AWARDS.
This year’s ceremony will take place in Osaka on November 21 and 22.
The criteria for the final winners are as follows:
- Artist of the Year and Artist Category Awards – 40% jury evaluation, 30% streaming/downloads (15% Korea + 15% global), 30% physical album sales
- Song of the Year and Genre Category Awards – 50% jury evaluation, 50% streaming/downloads (25% Korea + 25% global)
- Album of the Year – 40% jury evaluation, 60% physical album sales (of albums that sold at least 1 million copies)
- Best Music Video and Best Choreography – 100% jury evaluation
- Best Song Top 10 – 100% streaming/downloads (50% Korea + 50% global)
- Fans’ Choice Male/Female
- Round 1: 90% Mnet Plus votes, 10% X votes
- Round 2: 90% Mnet Plus votes, 10% X votes
- Fans’ Choice of the Year
- 90% Mnet Plus votes, 10% X votes
- additional 10% live Mnet Plus votes
The first round of voting for the Fans’ Choice nominees will take place through October 22 at 11:59 p.m. KST. The 20 artists selected each from the pre-vote for each of the Fans’ Choice Male and Fans’ Choice Female categories will move onto the second round of voting, which will take place from October 28 at 6 p.m. KST through November 18 at 11:59 p.m. KST.
In order to be eligible, the music must have been released between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026.
The nominees for the 2026 MAMA AWARDS are as follows:
Best New Artist
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE
- AND2BLE
- EVAN
- H//PE Princess
- hrtz.wav
- LNGSHOT
- MODYSSEY
- OURBIRTHDAY
- TUIDE
- UNCHILD
Best Male Artist
- Doh Kyung Soo
- Taeyang
- Taeyong
- Yeonjun
- Young K
Best Female Artist
- Hwasa
- Irene
- Soyeon
- Taeyeon
- Yena
Best Male Group
- ATEEZ
- BIGBANG
- BTS
- CORTIS
- ENHYPEN
- NCT WISH
- Stray Kids
- TXT
Best Female Group
- aespa
- BABYMONSTER
- BLACKPINK
- Hearts2Hearts
- ILLIT
- IVE
- LE SSERAFIM
- NMIXX
Best Vocal Performance Solo
- Hwasa – “Good Goodbye”
- IU – “Unknown Planet”
- Jennie – “Less than a Lover”
- Roy Kim – “No Words Can Say”
- WOODZ – “CINEMA”
Best Vocal Performance Group
- AKMU – “Paradise of Rumors”
- BTS – “SWIM”
- Davichi – “TIME CAPSULE”
- DxS (SEVENTEEN) – “Blue”
- MAMAMOO – “4 Flowers”
Best Rap & Hip Hop Performance
- BIG Naughty – “Nostalgia”
- HAON – “Yarrr”
- NOWIMYOUNG – “KOLOK COLOK”
- TREASURE – “IF I”
- Zico, Lilas – “DUET
Best OST
- Kim Min Seok (MeloMance) – “Love Language” (“Can This Love Be Translated?” OST)
- Migak Boys – “My Flavor” (“The Legend of Kitchen Soldier” OST)
- Sung Si Kyung – “Anytime anyhow” (“Surely Tomorrow” OST)
- Suzy – “A Day” (“EXchange 4” OST)
- Young K (DAY6) – “Season of Us” (“My Royal Nemesis” OST)
Best Music Video
- BIGBANG – “BiiiG”
- BTS – “2.0:
- Hwasa – “Good Goodbye”
- i-dle – “Mono (Feat. skaiwater)”
- MEOVV – “DDI RO RI”
Best Collaboration
- aespa – “WDA (Whole Different Animal) (Feat. G-Dragon)”
- Dayoung X Jay Park – “FLIRTY”
- LE SSERAFIM – “SPAGHETTI (Feat. j-hope)”
- Parc Jae Jung & Sullyoon (NMIXX) – “Always”
Best Band Performance
- Silica Gel – “BIG VOID”
- JANNABI – “Just Kids”
- LUCY – “All Ages”
- QWER – “CEREMONY”
- Xdinary Heroes – “Voyager”
Best Choreography
- ATEEZ – “BAD”
- CORTIS – “REDRED”
- ILLIT – “It’s Me”
- IVE – “BANG BANG”
- Yena – “Catch Catch”
Best Dance Performance Male Solo
- Onew – “TOUGH LOVE”
- Taemin – “FLOAT
- Taeyang – “LIVE FAST DIE SLOW”
- Taeyong – “WYLD”
- Yeonjun – “Ice Cream”
Best Dance Performance Female Solo
- BIBI – “BUMPA”
- Dayoung – “What’s a girl to do”
- Soyeon – I’m gonna toesa
- Yena – “Catch Catch”
- Yuna – “Ice Cream”
Best Dance Performance Male Group
- ATEEZ – “BAD”
- BIGBANG – “BiiiG”
- BOYNEXTDOOR – “Hollywood Action”
- CORTIS – “REDRED”
- RIIZE – “Do your dance”
- Stray Kids – “This & That”
- TWS – “OVERDRIVE”
- ZEROBASEONE – “TOP 5”
Best Dance Performance Female Group
- aespa – “LEMONADE”
- Hearts2Hearts – “RUDE!”
- I.O.I – “Suddenly”
- ILLIT – “It’s Me”
- IVE – “BANG BANG”
- KiiiKiii – “404 (New Era)”
- LE SSERAFIM – “SPAGHETTI (Feat. j-hope)”
- NMIXX – “Blue Valentine”
Artist of the Year
(Nominees for the artist categories are automatically nominated)
- aespa
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE
- AND2BLE
- ATEEZ
- BABYMONSTER
- BIGBANG
- BLACKPINK
- BTS
- CORTIS
- Doh Kyung Soo
- ENHYPEN
- EVAN
- H//PE Princess
- Hearts2Hearts
- hrtz.wav
- Hwasa
- ILLIT
- Irene
- IVE
- LE SSERAFIM
- LNGSHOT
- MODYSSEY
- NCT WISH
- NMIXX
- OURBIRTHDAY
- Soyeon
- Stray Kids
- Taeyang
- Taeyeon
- Taeyong
- TUIDE
- TXT
- UNCHILD
- Yena
- Yeonjun
- Young K
Song of the Year
(The Best Song Top 10 will be the Song of the Year nominees)
Album of the Year
(Only albums that sold over 1 million copies are eligible)
- &TEAM – “Mark on Me”
- aespa – “LEMONADE”
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE – “EUPHORIA”
- ATEEZ – “GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5”
- BLACKPINK – “DEADLINE”
- BOYNEXTDOOR – “The Action”
- BTS – “ARIRANG”
- CORTIS – “GREENGREEN”
- ENHYPEN – “THE SIN : VANISH”
- EXO – “REVERXE”
- IVE – “REVIVE+”
- NCT DREAM – “Beat It Up”
- NCT WISH – “Ode to Love”
- PLAVE – “Caligo Pt.2”
- RIIZE – “II”
- Stray Kids – “THIS & THAT”
- TWS – “NO TRAGEDY”
- TXT – “7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns”
Fans’ Choice Male
- &TEAM
- 82MAJOR
- 8TURN
- AEN
- AHOF
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE
- AND2BLE
- ATEEZ
- AxMxP
- B1A4
- BIGBANG
- BOYNEXTDOOR
- BTS
- CLOSE YOUR EYES
- CNBLUE
- CORTIS
- CRAVITY
- DAY6
- ENHYPEN
- EVAN
- EVNNE
- EXO
- FLARE U
- hrtz.wav
- Hui
- IDID
- JANNABI
- Jay Park
- KickFlip
- LNGSHOT
- NCT 127
- NCT DREAM
- NCT WISH
- NEXZ
- NouerA
- Park Ji Hoon
- PLAVE
- RIIZE
- SEVENTEEN
- SHINee
- Stray Kids
- Super Junior
- TREASURE
- TWS
- TXT
- WOODZ
- XLOV
- XODIAC
- ZEROBASEONE
- Zico
Fans’ Choice Female
- aespa
- AKMU
- ALLDAY PROJECT
- Apink
- APOKI
- ARTMS
- AtHeart
- Baby DONT Cry
- BABYMONSTER
- BIBI
- Billlie
- BLACKPINK
- Chuu
- CSR
- DAVICHI
- Dayoung
- dodree
- EJel
- FIFTY FIFTY
- fromis_9
- HANRORO
- Hearts2Hearts
- i-dle
- I.O.I
- ILLIT
- ITZY
- IVE
- izna
- Kep1er
- KiiiKiii
- KISS OF LIFE
- LE SSERAFIM
- Lee Young Ji
- MAMAMOO
- MEOVV
- Mimi
- NMIXX
- Red Velvet
- RESCENE
- Taeyeon
- TUIDE
- TWICE
- UNIS
- VVUP
- X:IN
- Yena
- Yoon Mirae
- Yoona
- Younha
- Yuju
