BTS wins 3 awards at MMA2026 Day 1; aespa takes inaugural Global-K Artist honor
BTS swept three awards at the 18th Melon Music Awards on Nov. 14. aespa became the first-ever recipient of the newly created Global-K Artist award.
BTS takes three, aespa makes history
BTS claimed three awards at the 18th Melon Music Awards on November 14. The ceremony took place at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where roughly 18,000 fans filled the venue for the first of a two-day event. All three wins tied to ARIRANG, their fifth studio album released in March 2026: Album of the Year (Kakao Bank), Stage of the Year, and Global Top 10. The group did not attend—they are currently on a world tour.
aespa made their own mark. They became the inaugural winner of "Artist of the Year – Global-K," a brand-new award category introduced this year. They also took Global Top 10, finishing the night with two wins.
The rest of the night's winners
RISENEE and HATSUTUHATSU each walked away with three awards. RIIZE, ATEEZ, and IOI (reunited as a 10th anniversary project) each won two. Choi Ye-na took Best Solo in the female category. Lim Young-woong won the male category. Fourteen acts performed across the first night's stage.
What's still to come on Day 2
MMA2026 is the first edition of the awards to run across two days. The second night, also at Gocheok Sky Dome on November 15, will hand out the remaining headline categories: Artist of the Year, Best Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Twelve acts are scheduled to perform, including IVE, NCT 127, and CORTIS.
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