Night one of the 2026 Melon Music Awards wrapped at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Saturday, and the evening's two grand prizes went to two of the biggest names in K-pop. BTS won Album of the Year for "ARIRANG," while aespa claimed Global-K Artist of the Year, a category introduced at this year's ceremony.
AI-generated illustration, not an actual event photo.
The Melon Music Awards, held for the 18th time this year, are one of South Korea's major year-end music award shows, organized by Melon, the music platform run by Kakao Entertainment. This year's ceremony runs over two nights at Gocheok Sky Dome, on November 14 and 15.
Album of the Year was one of three trophies BTS collected on night one, along with Stage of the Year, also for "ARIRANG," and a spot in the show's Global Top 10. The group did not attend the ceremony; Korean media report that the members are away on their world tour.
aespa became the first winner of the newly created Global-K Artist of the Year award. Accepting the trophy, member Winter thanked the group's fans and hinted at what comes next: "I hope you'll look forward to a lot from aespa next year and the year after that as well."
The night's most nostalgic moment belonged to I.O.I. The project girl group appeared as a full group for the first time in ten years and picked up Best Music Style, adding to a night that also saw them honored among the Top 10 Artists.
Two rookie girl groups had big nights of their own. Hearts2Hearts collected three trophies, including Global Impact Artist, and RESCENE matched that with three of their own, including Hot Trend and KakaoBank Everyone's Star. Both also made the Global Top 10.
Elsewhere, ATEEZ took Best Male Performance and Hot Trend, Lim Young Woong won Best Male Solo, YENA won Best Female Solo, and Bruno Mars was named Best Pop Artist. Kim Minseok's "Love Language" won Best OST, and Kim Hyun Jung of BIGHIT MUSIC took Best Producer.
The ceremony continues on Sunday, November 15, with a second night of performances and awards at the same venue. Acts scheduled for day two include IVE, NCT 127 and rookie group ALPHA DRIVE ONE, with the remaining categories to be announced then.
Day 1 grand prizes at a glance.
Day 1 winners
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| GRAND PRIZES | |
| Album of the Year | BTS, "ARIRANG" |
| Global-K Artist of the Year (new award) | aespa |
| CATEGORIES | |
| Stage of the Year | BTS, "ARIRANG" |
| Global Top 10 | BTS · aespa · G-DRAGON · Hearts2Hearts · RESCENE · RIIZE |
| Top 10 Artists | AKMU · BTS · CORTIS · Hearts2Hearts · I.O.I · ILLIT · IVE · KiiiKiii · NCT WISH · PLAVE |
| Best Male Performance | ATEEZ · RIIZE |
| Hot Trend | ATEEZ · RESCENE |
| Global Impact Artist | Hearts2Hearts · TWS |
| KakaoBank Everyone's Star | RESCENE |
| Best Music Style | I.O.I |
| Best Female Solo | YENA |
| Best Male Solo | Lim Young Woong |
| Best OST | Kim Minseok, "Love Language" |
| Best Producer | Kim Hyun Jung (BIGHIT MUSIC) |
| Best Pop Artist | Bruno Mars |
| Global Rising Artist | TUIDE |
| J-Pop Favorite Artist | HANA |
Day 1 winners, compiled from the official Melon results page and day-one coverage.
Sources: Melon Music Awards official results · Koreaboo day-1 winners list · Korea JoongAng Daily live coverage · Edaily English roundup
