BTS and BIGBANG are among the most-nominated at the 2026 MAMA Awards, with Osaka hosting on 20 and 21 November

The nominations for the 2026 MAMA Awards were revealed on 12 October, and two names sit near the top of the board: BTS and BIGBANG. The ceremony, one of the biggest nights in the K-pop calendar, takes place on 20 and 21 November at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan, and streams worldwide on Mnet Plus.

Who is nominated

BTS are up for Artist of the Year, Best Male Group and Best Vocal Performance Group for "SWIM", plus Best Music Video for "2.0". Their album ARIRANG, which gave the group their latest world tour, is one of 18 nominees for Album of the Year. BIGBANG are in the running for Artist of the Year and Best Male Group too, and Taeyang is nominated separately as a solo act. Nomination tallies vary depending on how member and collaboration nods are counted, so we are not giving a single number here.

The same two groups are joined by a deep pack. MAMAMOO, aespa, ATEEZ, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, ILLIT and CORTIS each land several nominations, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER are also among the busiest acts on the list.

Album of the Year is only open to records that sold more than a million copies. The 18 nominees are &TEAM's Mark on Me, aespa's LEMONADE, ALPHA DRIVE ONE's EUPHORIA, ATEEZ's GOLDEN HOUR: Part.5, BLACKPINK's DEADLINE, BOYNEXTDOOR's The Action, BTS's ARIRANG, CORTIS's GREENGREEN, ENHYPEN's THE SIN: VANISH, EXO's REVERXE, IVE's REVIVE+, NCT DREAM's Beat It Up, NCT WISH's Ode to Love, PLAVE's Caligo Pt.2, RIIZE's II, Stray Kids' THIS & THAT, TWS's NO TRAGEDY and TOMORROW X TOGETHER's 7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns.

The newcomers

Best New Artist has ten nominees: ALPHA DRIVE ONE, AND2BLE, EVAN, H//PE Princess, hrtz.wav, LNGSHOT, MODYSSEY, OURBIRTHDAY, TUIDE and UNCHILD. Eligible music was released between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026.

Voting and what is still to come

Fans' Choice voting opened the moment the nominations were announced, on Mnet Plus. The first round runs until 22 October at 11:59 pm KST, and the top 20 acts in each of the male and female pre-votes advance. Round two opens on 28 October at 6 pm KST and closes on 18 November.

Song of the Year nominees have not been announced yet. That category draws on the Best Song Top 10, chosen by streaming and downloads. The MAMA Fan Festa programme, which surrounds the ceremony in Osaka, begins on 9 November.

We will follow the song category and the performer announcements as they land. For the full voting rules and the complete category lists, head to the official MAMA channels on Mnet Plus.

Artwork shown is BTS's ARIRANG, nominated for Album of the Year.