The 2026 MAMA AWARDS nominee list is here. On October 12, Mnet officially announced the artists and songs that will compete this year in the ceremony's various categories, while simultaneously launching the first round of public voting for the Fans Choice categories.
This year's ceremony will be held in Osaka on November 21 and 22. To be eligible, musical releases must have been published between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026.
How winners are determined at the 2026 MAMA AWARDS
Mnet detailed the evaluation criteria that will be applied to each award type:
- Artist of the Year and Artist categories: 40% jury evaluation, 30% streaming/downloads (15% Korea + 15% global), 30% physical album sales.
- Song of the Year and genre categories: 50% jury evaluation, 50% streaming/downloads (25% Korea + 25% global).
- Album of the Year: 40% jury evaluation, 60% physical sales, only for albums that have 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 with 90% Mnet Plus votes and 10% X votes; Round 2 with the same ratio.
- Fans Choice of the Year: 90% Mnet Plus votes, 10% X votes, plus an additional 10% live votes via Mnet Plus.
When and how to vote in the Fans Choice
The first round of voting for the Fans Choice nominees will be open until October 22 at 11:59 p.m. KST. From this preliminary vote, the 20 artists in each category—Fans Choice Male and Fans Choice Female—will advance to the second round.
The second round of voting will take place from October 28 at 6 p.m. KST until November 18 at 11:59 p.m. KST.
Full list of nominees for the 2026 MAMA AWARDS
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 (DAY6)
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 Solo Vocal Performance
- Hwasa – Good Goodbye
- IU – Unknown Planet
- Jennie – Less than a Lover
- Roy Kim – No Words Can Say
- WOODZ – CINEMA
Best Group Vocal Performance
- 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 (OST from Can This Love Be Translated?)
- Migak Boys – My Flavor (OST from The Legend of Kitchen Soldier)
- Sung Si Kyung – Anytime anyhow (OST from Surely Tomorrow)
- Suzy – A Day (OST from EXchange 4)
- Young K (DAY6) – Season of Us (OST from My Royal Nemesis)
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)
- LE SSERAFIM, ILLIT, KATSEYE – ICONIC BY MISTAKE
- 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 Male Solo Dance Performance
- Onew – TOUGH LOVE
- Taemin – FLOAT
- Taeyang – LIVE FAST DIE SLOW
- Taeyong – WYLD
- Yeonjun – Ice Cream
Best Female Solo Dance Performance
- BIBI – BUMPA
- Dayoung – What's a girl to do
- Soyeon – I'm gonna TOESA
- Yena – Catch Catch
- Yuna (ITZY) – Ice Cream
Best Male Group Dance Performance
- ATEEZ – BAD
- BIGBANG – BiiiG
- BOYNEXTDOOR – Hollywood Action
- CORTIS – REDRED
- RIIZE – Do your dance
- Stray Kids – This & That
- TWS – OVERDRIVE
- ZEROBASEONE – TOP 5
Best Female Group Dance Performance
- 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 in the artist categories are automatically nominated in this category:
- 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
Nominees for this category will be the same as those in the Best Song Top 10, which will be defined based on streaming and download criteria.
Album of the Year
Only albums that have sold more than 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 Mi Rae
- Yoona
- Younha
- Yuju
Frequently Asked Questions about the 2026 MAMA AWARDS
When and where are the 2026 MAMA AWARDS held?
The ceremony will be held in Osaka over two days, November 21 and 22, 2026.
How can you vote in the Fans Choice category?
Voting takes place in two rounds via Mnet Plus and X. The first round is open until October 22 at 11:59 p.m. KST; the 20 most-voted artists in each category, Fans Choice Male and Fans Choice Female, advance to a second round that runs from October 28 to November 18.
What music is eligible for the 2026 MAMA AWARDS?
Only music released between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, is considered eligible.
What criteria are used to choose the Artist of the Year?
Artist of the Year is defined by 40% jury evaluation, 30% streaming and downloads split between Korea and the global market, and 30% physical album sales.
Which albums can compete for Album of the Year?
Only albums that have sold at least 1 million physical copies are eligible, as this award is decided 60% by physical sales and 40% by jury evaluation.
