BTS & BIGBANG Lead Nominations for 2026 MAMA Awards: Full List
Billboard ·
TOMORROW X TOGETHER also scored big. The awards will be presented next month in Japan.
BTS received five nominations for the 2026 MAMA Awards, which were announced on Monday (Oct. 12), the same day that first-round voting began for the 2027 Grammy Awards, which, for the first time, contains a dedicated Asian pop category, best Asian pop music performance.
BTS is nominated for artist of the year at the MAMA Awards,as well as best male group, album of the year for ARIRANG, best vocal performance group for “SWIM” and best music video for “2.0.” In addition, group member J-Hope received two nods for his feature on LE SSERAFIM’s “SPAGHETTI,” nominated in both best collaboration and best dance performance female group.
Another leading K-pop group, BIGBANG , received four nominations plus four more for solo projects by group members Taeyang and G-Dragon. BIGBANG is up for artist of the year and best male group, plus best music video and best dance performance male group for “BiiiG.” Taeyang received three nods as a soloist: artist of the year, best male artist and best dance performance male solo for his single “LIVE FAST DIE SLOW.” G-Dragon earned a nod with his feature on aespa’s “WDA (Whole Different Animal)” in the best collaboration category. G-Dragon won artist of the year at the 2025 ceremony.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER received three nods – artist of the year, best male group and album of the year for 7th year: a moment of stillness in the thorns . In addition, group member Yeonjun received three solo nominations: artist of the year, best male artist and best dance performance male solo for “Ice Cream.”
Seven acts received five nominations each: MAMAMOO (counting four nods for its youngest member, Hwasa), aespa , ATEEZ , IVE , LE SSERAFIM , ILLIT and CORTIS .
The first round of fan voting is already underway. The awards ceremony is set to take place over two nights, Nov. 20-21, at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan. The awards will also stream live worldwide on CJ ENM’s Mnet Plus platform. Music released between Oct. 1, 2025 and Sept. 30, 2026 is eligible for this year’s awards.
Other top winners at last year’s ceremony, in addition to G-Dragon, were ROSÉ & Bruno Mars’s “APT.” (song of the year), Stray Kids’ KARMA (album of the year) and ENHYPEN (fans’choice of the year).
Here’s the full list of nominees for the 2026 MAMA Awards, except for song of the year, which will be announced soon.
(Only Albums that sold more than 1 Million copies are eligible)