MAMA Awards 2026 Nominations: BTS, SEVENTEEN & aespa Face a November Showdown
Is November’s Insane Comeback Rush Preparing Us For The Ultimate MAMA & MMA Stage Meltdown?
As the end of late autumn nears, the K-pop industry finds itself entering its most high-stakes season of the year. This November is all about the final music releases and chart-toppers before the end-of-year awards and Christmas charts.
This short yet critical time of year has been known to transform routine comebacks and last-minute promotional pushes ahead of major music awards like MAMA and MMA.
Stars Mentioned & Their Nominations
Despite K-pop seeing some massive hits released this year, these three K-pop groups have stood out the most.
BTS has been nominated across major award categories, including Best Male Group, Best Vocal Performance Group for "SWIM", Best Music Video for "2.0", and Album of the Year for "ARIRANG". Since BTS has found itself in several categories, there is no question that it will win at least one award. BTS has had a historic year, from its reunion in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, to its ARIRANG World Tour.
SEVENTEEN, despite some of its members embarking on their military service or taking a break, has still managed to secure a spot in some top-tier music award categories, such as Fans' Choice Male, while sub-unit DxS (SEVENTEEN) earned a direct nomination for Best Vocal Performance Group with "Blue". Its strong physical sales this year and massive global fanbase have kept it positioned as a frontrunner across all major year-end Daesang races.
Also dominating the K-pop charts and in with a chance of winning an award this year is aespa. Its massive chart impact both domestically and abroad this year has earned it nominations in categories including Best Female Group, Best Dance Performance Female Group for "LEMONADE", Best Collaboration for "WDA" (featuring BIGBANG's G-Dragon), and Album of the Year for "LEMONADE".
Top Trending November Artists
This November will also see new music releases from ENHYPEN and TWICE's Nayeon, along with anticipated solo activities from NCT’s WinWin and ITZY’s Chaeryeong. These new music releases are highly anticipated by their fans and the Dojeon Media team, and we cannot wait to see their styles, lyrical stories, and dance routines. These K-pop powerhouses have become household names for good reason!
Show Dates & Voting Guide
Melon Music Awards (MMA): The ceremony is set to take place on November 14th to 15th this year at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Fans can support their favourite acts by voting in the TOP10 category on the Melon app from October 29th, where combined streaming metrics and fan votes determine the final winners. So get on the app now and give your favorite K-pop artists the chance to win this year!
MAMA Awards: Taking place on November 20th and 21st at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan, MAMA features official voting for categories like Fans' Choice on the Mnet Plus app, alongside official voting hashtags on X (Twitter). Round 2 voting runs from October 28th through November 8th, with real-time live voting opening during the main broadcast. This really is an awards show that relies on fan voting, so make sure you get online and vote!
Final Thoughts
For the Dojeon Media team, November is all about giving your favourite artists that last-minute support to allow them to be in with a chance of taking home an award at the end-of-year music award shows. This year is for sure going to be an unforgettable awards season.
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