ILLIT win Artist of the Year at the 2026 TMA ahead of their fifth mini album BREAK EVEN on 26 October

What happened

ILLIT received Artist of the Year at the 2026 THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS on 19 September 2026. OSEN and iMBC Entertainment reported it as a main-prize category, and THE FACT’s event review lists ILLIT among the eleven acts that received Artist of the Year that night.

Immediately after the award the members said: “We were able to receive Artist of the Year thanks to GLLIT. Thank you for always supporting and loving us.” GLLIT is ILLIT’s official fandom name. They added: “We will become artists who try harder and work even harder. We have an October comeback coming up, so please look forward to it”, announcing their next activity from the stage themselves.

ILLIT performed two songs that night. According to OSEN, the members appeared in styling built around neckties and first performed the title track of NOT CUTE ANYMORE, then ‘It’s Me’, the title track of their fourth mini album MAMIHLAPINATAPAI.

When and where

The ceremony was held on 19 September at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in Yeonje-gu, Busan. NMIXX, who received Sound of the Year and Artist of the Year the same night, are covered in the NMIXX awards story, and RESCENE, who received Artist of the Year and Today’s Choice, in the RESCENE awards story.

Two days later, at midnight on 21 September, ILLIT released their fourth Japanese digital single, ‘Swingin’ Magic’. According to Star Today, the single carries the original and a Korean version, and the song is in the new jack swing genre. It is the opening theme of season two of the TV anime Magical Sisters LuluttoLilly, which begins airing in Japan on 4 October, and ILLIT’s voices are also set to be heard in the Korean broadcast of the series. Sports Kyunghyang reported that ILLIT sang the theme for the series for a second season running, and that Kanata Okajima, who worked on their second Japanese single’s title track ‘I Got Your Back’, took part in writing the lyrics and music.

Their next Korean release is on 26 October, when ILLIT put out their fifth mini album, BREAK EVEN. According to their agency BELIFT LAB, the title takes its idea from the economic term break-even point, the point with neither loss nor gain, and the album carries the message of no longer dwelling on a relationship that does not give back as much as one puts in.

Why it matters

The award sits on top of this year’s release record. OSEN reported that ‘NOT CUTE ANYMORE’, the title track of their first single album, made a reverse run (a song climbing back up the charts long after its release) through short-form content and reached number 7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, and that ‘It’s Me’ had entered the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts for 19 consecutive weeks as of the chart dated 19 September. ICONIC BY MISTAKE, the single with LE SSERAFIM and KATSEYE, reached number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 22 on the UK Official Singles Top 100.

The two songs on stage connect to that record. ILLIT sang ‘NOT CUTE ANYMORE’ and ‘It’s Me’, two songs that stayed on the charts for a long time, one after the other, and in their speech asked fans to wait for the next album. The stages looking back on the year’s releases and the announcement of what comes next came in the same place.

The announcement turned straight into a schedule. The new Japanese song and its Korean version came out two days after the ceremony, the anime that uses it as its opening begins airing in Japan on 4 October, and the fifth mini album follows on 26 October. The month or so from the ceremony to the new album is already set.

What you need to know

• ILLIT received Artist of the Year at the 2026 THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS in Busan on 19 September 2026.
• ILLIT performed two songs that night, ‘NOT CUTE ANYMORE’ and ‘It’s Me’.
• Their fourth Japanese digital single ‘Swingin’ Magic’ came out on 21 September, in the original and a Korean version.
• ‘Swingin’ Magic’ is the opening theme of season two of the TV anime Magical Sisters LuluttoLilly, which begins airing in Japan on 4 October.
• ILLIT release their fifth mini album BREAK EVEN on 26 October.