The much-anticipated year-end event to honour the best in Korean music has finally arrived in Seoul, with the reveal of the winners of the 2026 Korea Grand Music Awards (KGMA) taking place at the Gocheok Sky Dome on November 7. The 2026 코리아 그랜드 뮤직 어워즈, which is in its third year of being held annually, features some of the biggest stars in Hallyu music as the best artists and albums of the year are honoured.
Even before the grand event commences, several winners of 2026 KGMA day 1 have already been named in the earlier categories, with the likes of BTS, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, and CORTIS bagging the Best Artist title, while BTS also clinched the Best Selling Album for their ARIRANG album. The first day of the two-day grand event will be hosted by actress Nam Ji-hyun and RESCENE’s Woni.
In addition to these early winners of the 3rd Korea Grand Music Awards, NCT WISH member Yushi received the K-Wave Popularity Award, while Young K bagged the Best OST Award for the song ” Season of Us ” from his drama, My Royal Nemesis. TREASURE, LUCY, and DAYOUNG have also won the awards in Best Hip-Hop, Best Band, and Style Icon categories, respectively, whereas FLARE U has emerged as Trend of the Year Rookie winner. In addition to popular K-pop idols, actors, soloists, and new talent groups, this year’s ceremony also has an impressive list off celebrity presenters.
The redesigned red carpet event, titled 2026 KGMA Star Road, was hosted by KONI and Yoo Jae-phil, who welcomed the stars attending the event. The celebration will continue on November 8 when IVE’s Liz and actor Kim Jae-won will host the day. The ceremony is available to international fans across the world except Japan and China through the official TikTok handle of KGMA. Meanwhile, the ceremony is being broadcast on ENA Channel in South Korea, while Hulu Japan is broadcasting the same event in Japan.
Winners of the 2026 Korea Grand Music Awards
2026 Korea Grand Music Awards Day 1 Winners are
IS Rookie
NouerA
IS Rising Star
TUIDE
AND2BLE
Photogenic
MADEIN
Best Dance Performance
IDID
Best Artist
AllDay Project
Meovv
CLOSE YOUR EYES
Rescene
tripleS
xikers
P1Harmony
TREASURE
LUCY
CRAVITY
Young K
Best Stage (Female)
FIFTY FIFTY
Best Stage (Male)
CRAVITY
Best Solo (Female)
DAYOUNG
Best Solo (Male)
Young K
Special for Asia Culture Exchange
Novelbright
Best Trot Performance
Jang Minho
Berriz Global Fan’s Choice
Rescene
Best Memory
Rescene
Best Producer
Lee Josh (Founder, CEO, and executive producer of The Muze Entertainment and the creator of Rescene)
Coogoong Most Popular Artist (Artist Day)
Young K
2026 Grand Honor’s Choice (Daesang)
Rescene
AND2BLE
2026 Grand Song (Daesang)
TREASURE
2026 Grand Artist (Daesang)
Young K
Congratulations to all the 2026 Korea Grand Music Awards winners!
Also Read: Under Siege Review: Tragic Chapter in Colombia’s History Told Through the Lives It Changed
