Those curious about the question of where to watch the 35th Seoul Music Awards need not worry anymore because preparation time has arrived for what is set to be one of the biggest evenings in K-pop entertainment history. To mark its 35th anniversary edition, the 2026 Seoul Music Awards is set to welcome the attendance of some of the most prominent names in the K-pop industry, along with rising talents, popular actors, and passionate fans, for an evening that will see the awards go to the best works in Korean music this year.
Conducted by Sports Seoul and sponsored by the Seoul Music Awards Association, the yearly award show has been among the most prestigious events for music lovers in South Korea since it began in 1990. While some categories rely on judging panels’ assessment, there are other categories in which the judges are fans’ votes, performance scores, and sales records of albums involved in determining the winner. Here is everything that we know about 제35회 서울가요대상 2026.
All That We Know About the 35th Seoul Music Awards 2026 So Far
Set to take place on June 20 at Inspire Arena in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, in its 35th edition, Seoul Music Awards continues to uphold its practice of acknowledging the people behind Korea’s finest achievements in the field of music in any genre. There will be awards given for all different categories, ranging from the grand prize, best music, best album, rookie award, trot award, OST award, rock/ballad award, R&B hip-hop award, and more fan-voted categories.
One of the largest additions to the show this year is the addition of the SMA Best Artist award. While most of the other awards will be decided through various methods, the SMA Best Artist award will be decided entirely by fan vote, with the winner announced at the end of the live broadcast portion of the show.
35th Seoul Music Awards 2026 Host
Taking centre stage in the hosting role this year is the team of MCs who balance experience and youthful talent. One of the veteran MCs who will grace the Seoul Music Awards is Leeteuk from SUPER JUNIOR. As a seasoned MC, he will grace the event with his wealth of knowledge, given his decade-long experience as a respected presenter within the Korean music industry. Other MCs to join him on stage include Park Gun-wook from ZEROBASEONE and Leeseol from KiiiKiii.
35th Seoul Music Awards Performance Lineup
The 35th Seoul Music Awards 2026 lineup will comprise both veterans in the industry and some up-and-coming talents who will be making their mark. Some of the confirmed acts to grace the stage include Kwon Eun-bi, Dayoung, ATEEZ, Lee Chan-won, Hanroro, LE SSERAFIM, xikers, BOYNEXTDOOR, ZEROBASEONE, Dragon Pony, SAY MY NAME, izna, KiiiKiii, Hearts2Hearts, CLOSE YOUR EYES, AHOF, IDENTITY, IDID, AlphaDriveOne, and Modyssey.
35th Seoul Music Awards Presenters
Like past editions of the award ceremony, many celebrities will be seen at the ceremony as presenters. This year’s list of confirmed presenters of the Seoul Music Awards 2026 consists of Song Joong-ki, Shim Eun-kyung, Kwon Nara, Park Ji-hwan, Ryu Kyung-soo, Lee Yu-bi, Arin, Ha Yoon-kyung, Kim Do-hoon, Jo Yuri, Kim Jae-won, Go Youn-jung, and Heo Nam-jun.
Where to Watch the 35th Seoul Music Awards
Fans around the world will be able to watch the 35th Seoul Music Awards 2026 live on June 20, 2026, from Inspire Arena in Yeongjongdo, Incheon via HelloLive. The site will broadcast both the red carpet event and the main event live so that international viewers will be able to catch everything live as it happens.
The schedule of the 35th Seoul Music Awards red carpet event is set for 4 PM KST, while the main awards ceremony will start at 6 PM KST. Fans all around the world will be able to buy tickets to view the event live on HelloLive.
35th Seoul Music Awards Nominees
SMA Best Artist
Lee Chan-won
ZEROBASEONE
AHOF
izna
ATEEZ
The Rookie Award
ALPHA DRIVE ONE
CORTIS
AHOF
LNGSHOT
CLOSE YOUR EYES
The Rock/Ballad Award
Lee Mu-jin
Roy Kim
Hwasa
Jung Seung-hwan
FTISLAND
The R&B Hip-Hop Award
G-Dragon
TNX
TREASURE
Stray Kids
BOYNEXTDOOR
Original Sound Track Award
“You Are Spring” by Sung Han-bin (Spring Fever)
“Updraft” by Han (Typhoon Family)
“Just Like the First Time” by Jongho (The Nice Guy)
“Run Run” by ECLIPSE (Lovely Runner)
“Loving You” by Ha Sung-woon (To My Beloved Thief)
The Trot Award
Lee Chan-won
Lim Young-woong
Young Tak
Park Seo-jin
JD1
35th Seoul Music Awards Nominations for various important categories, such as The Best Music, The Best Album, Band Award, Best Performance Award, Discovery Award, and K-POP Special Award, have yet to be announced because they are chosen only based on the decision of the jury members, so they are likely to be revealed on the day of the event.
35th Seoul Music Awards Winners Confirmed So Far
Since these categories are determined entirely by fan voting, the winners have effectively already been decided:
Popularity Award
Lee Chan-won
Korea Wave Award
BTS
K-POP World Choice Group
Super Junior
K-POP World Choice Solo
Yeonjun (TXT)
Golden Revival Award
First Snow by EXO
New Icon Award
D.O.
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