MMA2026 TOP10: the 30 nominees and how the winners are scored

What happened

Melon, the music platform run by Kakao Entertainment, named 30 nominees for the TOP10, the main prize of the 18th Melon Music Awards (MMA2026), on 15 October 2026, and said the TOP10 vote would run from that day until 29 October. According to The Asia Business Daily, the TOP10 selects 10 acts from among the singers active on Melon over the year. ZDNet Korea reported that 14 of the 30 nominees are also on the MMA2026 performance line-up. The ceremony is held from 14 to 15 November at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

Why is it trending?

The TOP10 winners are decided by adding three scores together. Melon’s MMA2026 information page describes the TOP10 as the category for “the 10 most-loved artists” and gives the weighting as digital music 60%, judging 20% and vote 20%. Under the same page’s judging criteria, the digital music score covers every track released between 20 November 2025 and 14 October 2026, counted category by category. The TOP10 vote runs from 15 to 29 October, and voting for the other categories follows from 30 October to 13 November. The Asia Business Daily and ZDNet Korea reported the same weighting.

What you need to know

• The 30 nominees, in alphabetical order: aespa, AKMU, ALLDAY PROJECT, ATEEZ, BIG Naughty, BLACKPINK, BOL4, BOYNEXTDOOR, BTS, CORTIS, fromis_9, Hearts2Hearts, I.O.I, ILLIT, IVE, KiiiKiii, LE SSERAFIM, Lee Chang-sub, Lim Young-woong, NCT WISH, NMIXX, PLAVE, RESCENE, RIIZE, SOONSOONHEE (Jihwan), TAEYEON, TWS, WOODZ, YENA and Young K (DAY6).
• The TOP10 weighting is digital music 60%, judging 20% and vote 20%. The digital music score counts tracks released from 20 November 2025 to 14 October 2026.
• The schedule: the TOP10 vote from 15 to 29 October, the category votes from 30 October to 13 November, and the ceremony on 14 to 15 November at 6 p.m. KST at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
• Of the nominees, 14 are also on the MMA2026 performance line-up: aespa, ATEEZ, CORTIS, Hearts2Hearts, I.O.I, ILLIT, IVE, KiiiKiii, NCT WISH, PLAVE, RESCENE, RIIZE, TWS and YENA.
• The ceremony streams live on Melon and Wavve in Korea, U-NEXT in Japan, TVBS in Taiwan and 1theK overseas; viewers abroad can also watch on the Melon and 1theK YouTube channels, except in some countries.