BTS Wins Six Awards Without Attending as IVE Tearfully Claims Song of the Year at the 2026 Melon Music Awards

SEOUL, South Korea — BTS won the most trophies at the 2026 Melon Music Awards, taking six prizes including two of the night's top honors, even though the group did not attend.

The ceremony, known as MMA 2026, was held Saturday and Sunday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. It was the first time the event, run by South Korean music streaming platform Melon, was split into two nights.

Four acts shared the five grand prizes, known in Korea as daesang:

• Artist of the Year: BTS
• Album of the Year: BTS, for "ARIRANG"
• Song of the Year: IVE, for "BANG BANG"
• Record of the Year: CORTIS
• Global-K Artist of the Year (new): aespa

BTS Dominates in Absentia

BTS won Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for "ARIRANG," a blockbuster comeback record. The group's other four awards were:

• Top 10 Artists
• Global Top 10
• Best Male Group
• Stage of the Year

Because the group did not attend the ceremony, it gave no acceptance speeches. Album of the Year was announced on the first night, Saturday, and Artist of the Year on Sunday.

On Saturday, BigHit Music, BTS's label, also took home Best Producer, accepted by vice president Kim Hyun-jung.

IVE's Emotional Night

IVE had one of the most memorable moments of the weekend. The girl group won Song of the Year for its hit "BANG BANG" and was visibly emotional on stage, according to Korean media.

IVE won five awards in total, second only to BTS:

• Song of the Year
• Top 10 Artists
• Global Top 10
• Best Female Group
• Music Video of the Year

Accepting Best Female Group, IVE told the audience it was meaningful simply to perform at the MMA. The group thanked its fans and the staff at its agency, Starship Entertainment, for helping it build its own sound and style. When it accepted Song of the Year, the group said it had not expected the award at all.

CORTIS Claims First Grand Prize

Rising boy group CORTIS won Record of the Year, its first grand prize, at its first Melon Music Awards. It also won spots on both the Top 10 and Global Top 10 lists, for three awards in total.

In its acceptance speech, the group said it was deeply grateful to win a grand prize after two other awards at its first MMA. Members said creating music that performs well and showing fans a good performance had always been their dream.

aespa Wins New Global Honor

Girl group aespa became the first winner of the new Global-K Artist of the Year award, which recognizes K-pop's international reach. The group also made the Global Top 10, for two awards in total.

Full List of Major Winners

Top 10 Artists: BTS, ILLIT, AKMU, CORTIS, IVE, KiiiKiii, NCT WISH, PLAVE, I.O.I, Hearts2Hearts

Global Top 10: BTS, aespa, G-DRAGON, Hearts2Hearts, RESCENE, RIIZE, ILLIT, CORTIS, IVE, NCT WISH

New Artist of the Year: ALPHA DRIVE ONE, LNGSHOT

Best Group: BTS (male), IVE (female)

Best Solo: Lim Young Woong (male), YENA (female)

Best Performance: ATEEZ and RIIZE (male), ILLIT and KiiiKiii (female)

Best Music Style: KiiiKiii, I.O.I

Best OST: Kim Min Seok of MeloMance, "Love Language"

Best Pop Artist: Bruno Mars

Best Songwriter: Lee Chan-hyuk of AKMU

Best Producer: Kim Hyun-jung, BigHit Music

Music Video of the Year: IVE

Stage of the Year: BTS

Hot Trend: ATEEZ, RESCENE

Global Rising Artist: TUIDE

J-pop Favorite Artist: HANA

A Two-Night Celebration

This year's ceremony introduced a two-show format, with awards and performances spread across Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday's lineup featured 12 acts. The first half included hrtz.wav, AND2BLE, LNGSHOT, 82MAJOR, PLAVE and ALPHA DRIVE ONE. CORTIS, KiiiKiii, ILLIT, NCT WISH and IVE performed in the second half, and NCT 127 also appeared.

On the opening night, aespa, ATEEZ and other artists performed. Two of the five grand prizes, Album of the Year and Global-K Artist of the Year, were handed out on Saturday.

A Major K-pop Awards Event

The Melon Music Awards are among South Korea's most closely watched music awards. Winners are chosen through a combination of streaming and download data from Melon, the country's largest music platform, fan voting and expert panel evaluations.

The ceremony often sets the tone for the year-end awards season in K-pop, with other major ceremonies to follow in the coming weeks.

For BTS, the six awards confirm the group's continued dominance after its return to music with "ARIRANG." For IVE and CORTIS, the grand prizes highlight the rise of a new generation of K-pop acts alongside the industry's established stars.