This year’s MMA is just around the corner, and if you’re thinking about where to watch 2026 Melon Music Awards ceremony, then sit back and relax, as we’ve got you covered. The annual award show organised by Kakao Entertainment and Melon started celebrating the accomplishments of South Korean performers with its first offline edition in Seoul in 2009. Now being held in the 18th edition, the 2026 멜론 뮤직어워드 promises to host something extra special, because this is going to be the first time that the award show will be hosted over two days.
Scheduled to be held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, this year’s ceremony will be centred on the theme of “Connect,” with the slogan “K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse.” The objective here is to connect both the artists and the fans of K-pop all over the world by bringing them together through the medium of music and creating one common experience regardless of the geographical distances. With a host of big names on the list of performers such as aespa, IVE, NCT 127, NCT DREAM, ATEEZ, and I.O.I, in addition to the artists, the two-day extravaganza promises to be one of the biggest events ever.
In addition, the Global-K chart will also be introduced as part of selected award categories, thereby recognising the global reach of K-pop. Here’s everything we know about the 18th Melon Music Awards so far!
2026 Melon Music Awards Lineup
2026 Melon Music Awards Lineup of Performers
The Melon Music Awards 2026 performer lineup brings together artists from different generations of K-pop, making this year’s ceremony particularly exciting for fans.
The 2026 Melon Music Awards Day 1 includes 14 performers: I.O.I, aespa, ATEEZ, NCT DREAM, RIIZE, TWS, Yena, RESCENE, and Hearts2Hearts. In addition to the mentioned artists, Dragon Pony, IDID, AEN, TUIDE, and HANA will also be there to entertain the viewers on this day. The most interesting thing about the opening day is that I.O.I is going to make its comeback at the MMA event after 10 long years. It is surely going to be very special and entertaining for all the K-pop fans because of the performances by aespa, ATEEZ, and NCT DREAM.
Day 2 of 2026 Melon Music Awards will see performances from 12 artists, who include IVE, NCT 127, NCT WISH, PLAVE, ILLIT, CORTIS, KiiiKiii, 82MAJOR, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, LNGSHOT, AND2BLE, and hrtz.wav. Featuring a combination of popular and up-and-coming artists, the final day of the event is bound to host yet another amazing lineup of performances that will include IVE, NCT 127, PLAVE, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, and LNGSHOT.
Melon Music Awards 2026 Presenters Lineup
In addition to the stellar performers’ lineup, there will also be many recognisable figures from Korea’s entertainment world who will be appearing at the 2026 MMA as presenters. There are 37 presenters in all who come from various industries and include actors, singers, comedians, models, and even online influencers.
Day one, November 14th, will have Lee Young-ae, Jang Keun-suk, Lee Do-hyun, Yoo Seung-ho, Kang Hoon, Roh Yoon-seo, Ryeoun, Shin Ye-eun, Lee Si-woo, Kim Tae-young, Park Si-woo, Lee Yeon, Han Ye-ri, Oh Na-ra, Yoon Eun-hye, and Kang So-ra as the stars participating that day. Also joining the lineup as presenters on the first day will be comedian Kim Shin-young and chef Kwon Sung-jun.
On the other hand, the following day, on November 15, actors such as Lee Se-young, Moon Sang-min, Choi Daniel, Lee Joo-bin, Roh Jeong-eui, Kim Shin-rock, Kim Jae-young, Hong Jong-hyun, Ahn Jae-hyun, and Lee Joon are set to perform. Singers Lee Seung-chul, comedians Jang Do-yeon, Kwak Beom, and Lee Chang-ho, model Lee Hyun-yi, entertainer Jonathan, and YouTube personality Gamst will be awarding prizes.
Moreover, YouTube creator Mimiminu will be an exclusive messenger for both days, connecting the artists and the audience at the venue with those watching the event from their computer screens.
When and Where to Watch 2026 Melon Music Awards
For the very first time in the history of the Melon Music Awards, this music event will be taking place over two days. These two days will occur on November 14 and 15, 2026, at Gocheok Sky Dome, South Korea. The red carpet events will commence at 5 PM, after which the awards ceremony will begin at 6 PM KST.
South Korean audiences will be able to catch the ceremony live on Melon and Wavve. There will be multiple options for international audiences based on where they are. The ceremony will be live-streamed via the 1theK YouTube channel, while the Melon YouTube channel will stream the ceremony for overseas audiences, although availability may differ by country. Fans in Japan will be able to watch the ceremony via U-NEXT while audiences from Taiwan can follow the ceremony via TVBS42 and CATCHPLAY+.
2026 Melon Music Awards Nominations and Award Categories
The 2026 Melon Music Awards will feature several major award categories, with the nominees having some of the most popular music and musicians during the qualifying period. This year’s nomination period was from November 20, 2025, to October 14, 2026.
The voting method uses the performance of digital media, panel review, and fan vote in several categories. The categories, such as TOP10, Global TOP10, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Best Solo, Best Group, Best OST, and Best Pop Artist, will be chosen using a voting method with 60% digital performance, 20% panel review, and 20% votes. On the other hand, the TrackZero Choice category will use the following percentages to choose the winners: 20% digital performance, 60% panel review, and 20% votes. Record of the Year and Global-K of the Year awards will use only panel reviews to choose their winners.
The TOP10 voting was held from October 15 to 29, and the winners from this poll were automatically nominated for the Artist of the Year title. Category voting is ongoing and will continue till November 13.
Here are the 2026 Melon Music Awards nominees for the major categories:
MMA 2026 TOP10 Artists (Winners) – The same ten artists are nominated for Artist of the Year.
AKMU
BTS
CORTIS
Hearts2Hearts
I.O.I
ILLIT
IVE
KiiiKiii
NCT WISH
PLAVE
Album of the Year
ARIRANG by BTS
GREENGREEN by CORTIS
LEMONADE by aespa
MAMIHLAPINATAPAI by ILLIT
REVIVE+ by IVE
Delulu Pack by KiiiKiii
LOVE CATCHER by Yena
FLOWERING by AKMU
ALLDAY PROJECT by ALLDAY PROJECT
I.O.I : LOOP by I.O.I
Song of the Year
SWIM by BTS
Paradise of Rumors by AKMU
REDRED by CORTIS
RUDE! by Hearts2Hearts
Suddenly by I.O.I
It’s Me by ILLIT
LEMONADE by aespa
404 (New Era) by KiiiKiii
Catch Catch by Yena
Global TOP10
BTS
CORTIS
ENHYPEN
aespa
BLACKPINK
BOYNEXTDOOR
EXO
G-DRAGON
BABYMONSTER
BIGBANG
Hearts2Hearts
LE SSERAFIM
NCT DREAM
NCT WISH
NewJeans
NMIXX
RESCENE
RIIZE
i-dle
ILLIT
IU
IVE
Jennie
Rosé
SEVENTEEN
Stray Kids
TWS
TXT
Yena
TWICE
New Artist of the Year
ALPHA DRIVE ONE
HADES
LNGSHOT
SYSTEM SEOUL
TUIDE
Best Solo (Female)
Yena
Jennie
BOL4
IU
Taeyeon
Best Solo (Male)
Young K
BIG Naughty
Lee Changsub
Lim Young Woong
SoonSoonHee (Jihwan)
Best Group (Female)
Hearts2Hearts
ILLIT
Aespa
IVE
KiiiKiii
Best Group (Male)
BTS
CORTIS
BOYNEXTDOOR
NCT WISH
PLAVE
Best OST
Anytime anyhow by Sung Si-kyung (Surely Tomorrow OST)
Love Language by Kim Min-seok (MeloMance) (Can This Love Be Translated? OST)
Love Is Enough by PLAVE (Sold Out On You OST)
Love is by TRIANGLE (Wild Sing OST)
EVERGLOW by WOODZ (Perfect Crown OST)
Best Pop Artist
KATSEYE
Bruno Mars
Charlie Puth
Ariana Grande
Tame Impala
TrackZero Choice
BIG VOID by Silica Gel
Tricyle by DeVita
Model Citizen by Haepa
lemon by Kangziwon
+82 by SUMIN
courage by wave to earth
BATHTUB by youra
Kids Return by Electron Sheep
Goat’s Horn, Dog’s Heart by Goat’s Horn, Dog’s Heart
Summer Break by NokeNok
Other award categories at this year’s ceremony include Record of the Year, Global-K of the Year, Stage of the Year, Best Music Video, Songwriter of the Year, Best Music Style, Global Impact Artist, Global Rising Artist, J-POP Favorite Artist, Best Performance (Female and Male), Hot Trend, Best Producer, 1theK Icon, Japan Favorite Artist by U-NEXT, and KakaoBank Everyone’s Star.
Are you guys excited for the 18th Melon Music Awards 2026? Who do you think will take home the Daesang (Grand Prize) this year?
