BTS, aespa take grand prizes on MMA2026 opening night
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0 K-pop girl group aespa accepts Global-K Artist of the Year, a grand prize introduced this year, during the 2026 Melon Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Melon
K-pop juggernauts BTS and aespa took home the two grand prizes on the opening night of the 2026 Melon Music Awards (MMA2026) on Saturday, with the former recognized for its blockbuster comeback album and the latter becoming the first winner of a new honor measuring K-pop’s reach across Asia.
Organized by Melon, Kakao Entertainment’s music streaming platform and the largest in Korea, the MMA is one of the country’s major year-end music ceremonies.
This year’s 18th edition, held at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, expanded to two nights for the first time and introduced awards tied to the Global-K Chart, which launched in June to combine official data from leading music platforms in Korea, China and Japan.
BTS won KakaoBank Album of the Year, one of the ceremony’s grand prizes, for its fifth studio album “ARIRANG,” along with Stage of the Year and a Global Top 10 award. “ARIRANG” came out in March as the septet’s first album since all seven members completed their mandatory military service.
Kim Hyun-jung, vice president of BigHit Music, accepts the Best Producer award during the 2026 Melon Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Melon
Kim Hyun-jung, vice president of the group’s agency BigHit Music, was named Best Producer.
BTS did not attend the ceremony, as the group is currently on its world tour.
Aespa, the SM Entertainment quartet, received the inaugural Global-K Artist of the Year, awarded on the basis of performance on the new chart, and also collected a Global Top 10 award.
“We will keep working to become artists who can repay love that is never a given,” member Winter said, days ahead of the group’s sixth debut anniversary.
K-pop boy group ATEEZ performs during the 2026 Melon Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Saturday. The group won Best Performance Male and Hot Trend. Courtesy of Melon
Girl groups RESCENE and Hearts2Hearts each earned three awards, while RIIZE, ATEEZ and I.O.I, which reunited in May for its 10th anniversary, took two apiece.
About 18,000 people attended the first night, according to Melon. The ceremony continues at 6 p.m. Sunday at the same venue, where the remaining major prizes, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year and New Artist of the Year, will be announced. IVE, NCT 127 and CORTIS are among 12 acts set to perform.
