[Edaily Reporter YUN GI BACK ] Groups BTS, aespa, IVE, and CORTIS took home the Grand Prize at the “Melon Music Awards 2026” (MMA 2026). BTS claimed the title of the night’s biggest winner, taking home a total of six trophies—including two Grand Prizes—even without attending the ceremony.

BTS, aespa, IVE, and CORTIS were named winners in the “Artist of the Year,” “Album of the Year,” “Global-K Artist of the Year,” “Best Song of the Year,” and “Record of the Year” categories, respectively, at the “MMA 2026” held on the 14th and 15th at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul.
BTS swept six categories, including “Artist of the Year,” “Album of the Year,” “Top 10,” “Global Top 10,” “Best Male Group,” and “Stage of the Year.” Unable to attend the awards ceremony due to their world tour schedule, BTS shared a video message, saying, “We’re unable to join you in person at the Melon Music Awards because of our world tour, so we’re sending our greetings via video.” They added, “We’ve received a total of six trophies, including ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Artist of the Year.’ We want to celebrate and cherish this day, when we received such wonderful awards, together with all of you, ARMY.”
They continued, “2026 seems like it will be a year we’ll never forget. We were so happy to return with the ‘Arirang’ album after three years and nine months and to meet ARMY again and perform for you,” and expressed their gratitude to fans, saying, “Just as ARMY has made us shine and stood by us, we will strive to always shine brightly by your side.”

IVE took home five awards, including “Best Song of the Year,” “Top 10,” “Global Top 10,” “Best Female Group,” and “Music Video of the Year.” IVE said, “We’re overwhelmed with emotion because we didn’t expect to win at all. Thank you for choosing our song among such strong contenders,” they said, their eyes welling up as they added, “It’s been a while since we won an award for ‘Love Dive,’ and winning again with ‘Bang Bang’ brings back memories of all the hard work we’ve put in over the years.”
They continued, “We were able to make it this far thanks to DIVE, who have always stood by our side through both happy and difficult times,” and pledged, “Next month marks our fifth anniversary since debut, and as time goes on, we feel the meaning and weight of these awards even more deeply. We won’t rest on our laurels; we’ll continue to prove that we’re a group worthy of receiving these awards.”

aespa won the “Global-K Artist of the Year” Grand Prize on the first day of “MMA 2026.” aespa’s Winter said, “I think it’s always thanks to MY (the fan club) that we’re able to stand on such a glorious stage,” adding, “Even when we didn’t believe in ourselves, you believed in us more than we did, and I’m truly grateful that you’ve always been there cheering us on.” She continued, “I’ll strive to become an artist who can repay this love, which is by no means a given,” and added, “I hope you’ll look forward to a lot more from aespa next year and the year after that.”
Karina said, “I’d like to thank the SM family, our management, staff, and dancers who always support us,” and added, “We’re constantly working hard to repay your support with even more amazing performances, so please continue to look forward to aespa.” She also said, “It’s almost aespa’s 6th debut anniversary, and I think the award we received today is a gift given to us. I’ll share this joy with the members,” and added, “Please continue to show lots of love for aespa’s music and performances in the future.” Giselle delivered her acceptance speech in English and Japanese, while Ningning spoke in Chinese, each expressing their gratitude to global fans.

Cortice took home the “Record of the Year” Grand Prize, securing a hat trick by also winning “Top 10” and “Global Top 10.” Cortice expressed, “I’m at a loss for words other than ‘thank you’ for receiving the Grand Prize on top of two other awards at my first ‘MMA.’” They continued, “Every time we create a song, achieving great results and putting on a fantastic performance has been the path we’ve all dreamed of. “You, our fans, have made that dream come true,” he said emotionally.
He continued, “To be honest, I heard we wouldn’t be winning the Record of the Year award today, so I wasn’t expecting it—I’m so happy to receive such a prestigious award,” and added, “I sincerely thank our fans for their constant support, as well as my parents and the Big Hit family for helping me move toward my dreams.”

The “Rookie of the Year” award went to Alpha Drive One and Longshot. Alpha Drive One shared, “This award is truly more than we deserve. We don’t take it for granted that we get to stand on such a big stage.” They continued, “We’re happy to be standing here with the members we met at the audition. Since we were able to receive this great award thanks to our fans, we will continue to grow and become artists you can be proud of.”

Longshot expressed their joy, saying, “I prayed so hard to win the Rookie of the Year award at the ‘MMA,’ and I’m so happy that dream has come true.” They continued, “Our CEO always says that sincerity pays off, and I think this is exactly that moment. I’d like to thank our fans, family, and staff who always support us.”

NCT WISH won awards in four categories: “Top 10,” “Global Top 10,” “Global Impact Artist,” and “Japan Favorite Artist.” NCT WISH said, “We’d like to thank all our SIZNI members in various countries who love our music and voted for us,” adding, “We’re truly happy to have won four awards this time. We’ll continue to work hard to repay the love our fans show us.”
Ailette took home four awards—‘Top 10,’ ‘Global Top 10,’ ‘Best Female Performance,’ and ‘Global Impact Artist’—while Kiki, Hats to Hats, and Lisenne each claimed three awards, demonstrating their strength.

Meanwhile, NCT 127, who closed out “MMA 2026,” instantly transformed the awards ceremony venue into a solo concert stage, showcasing the essence of K-pop performances. The non-stop parade of hit songs—including “Cherry Bomb,” “Hero,” “Piñata,” and “Bling-E”—was nothing short of spectacular. Their explosive energy, which seemed ready to shatter the stage; their precision choreography, which allowed for no margin of error; and their overwhelming stage presence, which seemed poised to engulf the audience, all combined to set the venue ablaze. The powerful performance, where even the members’ heavy breathing and beads of sweat seemed to reach the audience, kept everyone glued to the stage. It was a finale that once again cemented NCT 127’s status as a powerhouse of K-pop performance.

◇ List of “MMA 2026” Winners (Groups)
△Artist of the Year = BTS
△Album of the Year = BTS
△Song of the Year = IVE (“Bang Bang”)
△ Global-K Artist of the Year = aespa
△Record of the Year = Curtis
△Rookie of the Year = Alpha Drive One, Longshot
△Top 10 = BTS, Ailette, Akmu, Curtis, IVE, Kiki, NCT WISH, PlayV, I.O.I, Hearts to Hearts
△Global Top 10 = BTS, aespa, G-Dragon, Hearts2Hearts, Lisanne, RISE, Ailette, Curtis, IVE, NCT WISH
△Best Male Group = BTS
△Best Female Group = IVE
△Best Male Performance = ATEEZ, RISE
△Best Female Performance = Ailette, Kiki
△Best Solo Artist = Choi Ye-na, Im Young-woong
△Best Music Style = Kiki, I.O.I
△Best Songwriter = Lee Chan-hyuk (AKMU)
△Best OST = Melomance’s Kim Min-seok (“The Language of Love”)
△Best Pop Artist = Bruno Mars
△Best Producer = Kim Hyun-jung (Big Hit Music)
△Music Video of the Year = IVE
△Global Impact Artist = Ailette, NCT WISH, Hearts to Hearts, TOURS
△Global Rising Artist = Andable, Tuid
△Stage of the Year = BTS
△Hot Trend = ATEEZ, Lisenne
△KakaoBank Everyone’s Star = Lisenne
△Japan Favorite Artist by U-NEXT = NCT WISH
△1theK Icon = Heartswave
△J-Pop Favorite Artist = Hana
△Track Zero Choice = Sumin