The Melon Music Awards 2026 (2026 멜론뮤직어워드, usually shortened to MMA2026) take place on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2026 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The main show starts at 6 p.m. Korea time (KST) both nights, with a red carpet an hour before. If you live outside Korea, Japan and Taiwan, the official live stream for your region is the 1theK (원더케이) YouTube channel. Melon says some countries are excluded, so check before the night.
This is the first time in the show's history that it runs over two nights. That means two different lineups, two sets of start times to convert, and a lot of fans asking which night their group is on. This guide answers those questions using Melon's official MMA2026 page and Kakao Entertainment's announcements, all checked on November 10, 2026. Anything not yet announced, such as replay rights or the running order, is marked as unconfirmed.
Key takeaways
- Two nights, 26 acts: 14 on "Global Day" (Nov 14) and 12 on "Music Day" (Nov 15). Each night has a red carpet at 5 p.m. and the show at 6 p.m. KST.
- Watching abroad: Melon and Wavve in Korea, U-NEXT in Japan, TVBS42 and CATCHPLAY+ in Taiwan, and YouTube (1theK or Melon) almost everywhere else, with some countries excluded.
- Most awards combine digital music performance (60%), a jury (20%) and fan votes (20%). Category voting closes on November 13, 2026 (KST).
Contents
- MMA2026 start times in your time zone
- Where to watch MMA2026 legally, by region
- Day 1 lineup: Global Day, November 14
- Day 2 lineup: Music Day, November 15
- Actors presenting awards: the K-drama connection
- Grand prize and Best OST nominees
- How winners are decided, and what fan votes can change
- MMA vs MAMA: why there are two big shows in one week
- The venue: Gocheok Sky Dome
- FAQ
- Before the show
- Sources
MMA2026 start times in your time zone
Melon lists both shows at 18:00 KST, and Kakao Entertainment says the broadcast in Korea begins with a red carpet at 17:00. Korea does not use daylight saving time, and by mid-November the United States and Europe have already switched back to standard time, so the conversions below are straightforward. KST is nine hours ahead of UTC.
| Where you are | Red carpet | Main show | Local date |
| Seoul (KST) and Tokyo (JST) | 5:00 p.m. | 6:00 p.m. | Sat Nov 14 / Sun Nov 15 |
| Taipei, Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur | 4:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | Same day |
| Jakarta, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City | 3:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | Same day |
| Mumbai, Delhi | 1:30 p.m. | 2:30 p.m. | Same day |
| Paris, Berlin, Madrid | 9:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. | Same day |
| London, Lisbon | 8:00 a.m. | 9:00 a.m. | Same day |
| São Paulo, Buenos Aires | 5:00 a.m. | 6:00 a.m. | Same day |
| New York, Toronto (ET) | 3:00 a.m. | 4:00 a.m. | Same day |
| Mexico City | 2:00 a.m. | 3:00 a.m. | Same day |
| Los Angeles, Vancouver (PT) | 12:00 a.m. (midnight) | 1:00 a.m. | Same day |
| Sydney, Melbourne (AEDT) | 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | Same day |
In the Americas, the show lands in the small hours of Saturday and Sunday morning rather than on Friday night, which catches people out every year. The 12-midnight red carpet in Los Angeles is the start of Saturday, November 14. Melon has not published an end time, so plan for a long broadcast rather than a fixed slot.
Where to watch MMA2026 legally, by region
Kakao Entertainment announced the broadcast partners on October 26, 2026, and Melon's official page repeats them. All partners carry both nights, according to Kakao.
| Region | Official platform | What is covered |
| South Korea | Melon (app and web), Wavve | Red carpet from 5 p.m. and the full ceremony from 6 p.m. KST |
| Japan | U-NEXT | Live from the 5 p.m. red carpet; U-NEXT has been MMA's exclusive Japanese partner since 2024 |
| Taiwan | TVBS42 (TV) and CATCHPLAY+ (streaming) | Red carpet from 4 p.m., ceremony from 5 p.m. Taiwan time |
| Other countries | 1theK YouTube channel; Melon's page also lists the Melon YouTube channel | Live stream, "some countries excluded" per Melon |
Two honest limits. First, Melon does not list which countries are excluded from the YouTube stream, so "almost everywhere" is the best anyone can say without testing from your location. Second, neither Melon nor Kakao has said whether full replays will stay up afterwards, so do not count on watching the whole show later.
How to set up a legal watch from outside Korea
- Open Melon's official MMA2026 page a day early and confirm the platform listed for your country.
- If you are in Japan or Taiwan, check that your U-NEXT or CATCHPLAY+ account works and that your plan includes live events.
- Everywhere else, find the official 1theK channel inside the YouTube app by searching its name, rather than following a link from a fan account. Reuploads and "live" re-streams are not official and often vanish mid-show.
- Convert both start times using the table above and set two alarms if your group performs on only one night.
- Test the stream about 15 minutes before the red carpet. If YouTube says the video is unavailable in your country, that is the regional exclusion Melon mentions, not a problem with your device.
Confirm your region's stream before Saturday
Melon's official MMA2026 page lists the show times, every broadcast platform by country and the full award rules in one place.
Open the official MMA2026 info pageDay 1 lineup: Global Day, November 14
Kakao Entertainment calls the first night Global Day, which fits the show's new Global TOP10 award and the slogan "K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse." Fourteen acts are booked:
I.O.I, NCT DREAM, ATEEZ, aespa, YENA, RIIZE, TWS, RESCENE, Dragon Pony, Hearts2Hearts, HANA, IDID, AEN and TUIDE.
 I.O.I during their 2026 reunion, June 4, 2026 (event photo). Photo: K-POPit 티비텐 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 |  aespa performing in Los Angeles, November 13, 2025 (event photo). Photo: Justin Higuchi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 |  ATEEZ in concert, August 2024 (event photo). Photo: pinkllamanade / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 |
The headline for many viewers is I.O.I. The Produce 101 project group reunited this year after roughly nine years apart, and Kakao says their song "Suddenly" (갑자기) topped Melon's TOP100 and HOT100 charts and won music shows three weeks in a row. aespa arrive with the album LEMONADE, which Kakao says reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200. Day 1 is also an unusually international bill: HANA is a Japanese girl group whose song "Blue Jeans" spent nine straight weeks at No. 1 on Oricon's weekly streaming chart, and AEN is a Korea-Japan project from Starship Entertainment and Japan's AMUSE that debuted in August.
 RIIZE at the 2024 Melon Music Awards (event photo). Photo: TenAsia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  NCT DREAM at a DREAM()SCAPE press event (event photo). Photo: 티비텐 TV10 (TV Ten) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  TWS at a Music Bank taping, February 2024 (event photo). Photo: tenasia (티비텐) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |
For newer fans, Day 1 is a good snapshot of where boy-group K-pop sits in late 2026: RIIZE and TWS from the 2023–2024 debut wave, NCT DREAM and ATEEZ as established touring acts, and rookies IDID and AEN. TUIDE, a HYBE ABD girl group that debuted in August, is the only Day 1 performer also nominated for New Artist of the Year.
Day 2 lineup: Music Day, November 15
The second night, Music Day, has twelve acts:
NCT 127, IVE, PLAVE, 82MAJOR, NCT WISH, ILLIT, KiiiKiii, CORTIS, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, LNGSHOT, hrtz.wav and AND2BLE.
 IVE's Jang Won-young at a brand event, October 15, 2025 (event photo). Photo: K-POPIT 케이팝잇 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 |  ILLIT with a trophy at the Top Ten Awards, October 2026 (event photo). Photo: K-POPIT 케이팝잇 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 |  KiiiKiii in 2026 (event photo). Photo: K-POPIT 케이팝잇 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 |
Day 2 carries more of this year's chart story. Kakao reports that CORTIS's "REDRED" stayed in the top three of Melon's monthly chart for four months in a row, which it calls the longest such run for a boy group track since BTS's "Dynamite." KiiiKiii reached No. 1 on Melon's TOP100 just 16 days after releasing "404 (New Era)," and IVE's "BANG BANG" went straight to No. 1 on release. ALPHA DRIVE ONE and LNGSHOT are both New Artist nominees, so the rookie award has a home crowd on this night. PLAVE is a virtual idol group, so expect an animated performance rather than members walking the red carpet.
One practical note: Day 2 also carries most of the acts nominated for the grand prizes, but Melon's information page does not say which awards are handed out on which night. Watching only one night may mean missing an award your group is up for.
Actors presenting awards: the K-drama connection
Korean music awards traditionally invite actors to hand out trophies, and MMA2026 announced its presenters on October 23. For drama fans this is half the fun, because familiar faces turn up between performances. The list published on the show's Wikipedia page and in Soompi's year-end guide includes:
- Day 1: Lee Young-ae, Lee Do-hyun, Han Ye-ri, Yoo Seung-ho, Yoon Eun-hye, Jang Keun-suk, Kang So-ra, Shin Ye-eun, Kwon Sung-jun and Roh Yoon-seo, among others.
- Day 2: Byun Yo-han, Ahn Jae-hyun, Lee Se-young, Choi Daniel, Lee Joon, Tiffany Young and singer Lee Seung-chul, among others.
Presenter lists can change at short notice, so treat this as the announced plan rather than a guarantee that a particular actor will appear.
Grand prize and Best OST nominees
Korean awards shows split their top honours into daesang (대상, grand prizes) and bonsang (본상, main awards). At MMA2026 the grand prizes are Artist, Album and Song of the Year, plus Record of the Year and the new Global K-Artist of the Year, which are decided by a jury only. According to Wikipedia's nominee table, BTS, CORTIS, ILLIT and IVE lead with six nominations each.
| Award | Nominees (as of November 10, 2026) |
| Artist of the Year | AKMU, BTS, CORTIS, Hearts2Hearts, I.O.I, ILLIT, IVE, KiiiKiii, NCT WISH, PLAVE |
| Song of the Year | AKMU "Paradise of Rumors," aespa "LEMONADE," BTS "SWIM," CORTIS "REDRED," Hearts2Hearts "RUDE!," I.O.I "Suddenly," ILLIT "It's Me," IVE "BANG BANG," KiiiKiii "404 (New Era)," YENA "Catch Catch" |
| New Artist of the Year | ALPHA DRIVE ONE, HADES, LNGSHOT, SYSTEM SEOUL, TUIDE |
| Best OST | Kim Min-seok "Love Language" (Can This Love Be Translated?); PLAVE "Love Is Enough" (Sold Out on You); Sung Si-kyung "Anytime Anyhow" (Surely Tomorrow); WOODZ "Everglow" (Perfect Crown); Triangle "Love Is..." (Wild Sing) |
The Best OST shortlist is worth a second look if you came to K-pop through dramas. Melon defines the award as the most popular song from a drama, film or webtoon, scored on the same 60/20/20 formula as the other main awards. One of the five, "Love Is..." from Wild Sing, is credited on Wikipedia to Triangle, a trio of actors Gang Dong-won, Um Tae-goo and Park Ji-hyun. It is a reminder that in Korea a drama song can compete directly with idol singles on the same chart.
How winners are decided, and what fan votes can change
Melon publishes the scoring for every category. Only songs and albums released between November 20, 2025 and October 14, 2026 were eligible, with separate windows for Global TOP10 and TrackZero Choice.
| Category group | Formula (per Melon) | Where fans vote |
| TOP10, Artist/Album/Song of the Year, New Artist, Best Solo/Group, Best OST, Best Pop Artist | Digital music 60% + jury 20% + votes 20% | Melon |
| Global TOP10 (new) | Global-K Chart 60% + jury 20% + votes 20% | Melon in Korea, Berriz overseas, combined 1:1 |
| Record of the Year, Global K-Artist of the Year, special awards | Jury 100% | No vote |
| KakaoBank Everyone's Star | Jury 20% + votes 80% | KakaoBank mobile app |
| Japan Favorite Artist by U-NEXT | Jury 50% + votes 50% | U-NEXT (Japan) |
| TrackZero Choice | Digital music 20% + jury 60% + votes 20% | Melon |
The practical takeaway is that votes are a minority share of most awards. Fan voting can matter in a close race, but a song with far bigger streaming numbers will usually stay ahead. The exception is Everyone's Star, where votes are 80%.
The Global TOP10 is the category built for overseas fans. Its 30 candidates were picked from cumulative scores on the Global-K Chart, which Melon says combines chart data from Melon, Tencent Music and LINE MUSIC at a 1:1:1 ratio between May 11 and October 14, 2026. Overseas fans vote on Kakao's fan platform Berriz. TIME Korea, citing Kakao Entertainment, reported 1.7 million votes from fans in 202 countries in the first week (October 30 to November 5). The regular TOP10, by contrast, was voted on from October 15 to 29, and Wikipedia lists its ten winners as the same ten acts nominated for Artist of the Year.
Category voting runs from October 30 to November 13, 2026, per Melon's timeline. Eligibility and daily vote limits are set inside each app, so check the live voting screen rather than a screenshot shared online.
MMA vs MAMA: why there are two big shows in one week
International fans often mix up the two biggest year-end K-pop award shows. They are run by different companies and work in different ways:
- MMA is run by Kakao Entertainment and is built around Kakao's music streaming service Melon. That is why digital performance on Melon carries 60% of most awards. MMA2026 is the 18th edition, and it is in Seoul.
- MAMA Awards are run by CJ ENM. In 2026 they are on November 20 and 21 at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan, according to Maeil Business Newspaper, with BIGBANG among the announced performers for their 20th anniversary.
A useful way to think about it: an MMA win tells you what Korean listeners streamed most this year, while results on a global fan platform tell you more about international fandom. Neither is the "real" ranking. They measure different things, and that is why fans follow both.
The venue: Gocheok Sky Dome
 Inside Gocheok Sky Dome (고척스카이돔), Seoul's domed ballpark, during the 2017 World Baseball Classic. The same arena hosts MMA2026. Photo: redlegsfan21 from Vandalia, OH, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 |  The dome's interior shortly after it opened in 2015. Photo: Bigsmile20 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  Arena lighting rig (generic photo). Photo: Josh Pollock / WordPress Photo Directory, CC0 |
Gocheok Sky Dome (고척스카이돔) is a domed baseball stadium in Gocheok-dong, Seoul. It opened on September 15, 2015, replaced the old Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium and is the home ballpark of the KBO team Kiwoom Heroes. According to Wikipedia, it holds 16,744 people for baseball and around 25,000 for concerts. The roof is the practical point for a mid-November show: no rain or cold for the audience. Tickets were sold through Melon in two rounds, on October 19 and October 22, 2026, so this guide does not cover ticketing.
FAQ
What time does MMA2026 start?
Both nights start at 6 p.m. KST (09:00 UTC) on November 14 and 15, 2026, after a red carpet from 5 p.m. KST. That is 4 a.m. in New York, 9 a.m. in London and 5 p.m. in Manila.
Can I watch MMA2026 for free outside Korea?
In most countries, yes. The 1theK YouTube live stream is open, though Melon says some countries are excluded. Japan (U-NEXT) and Taiwan (TVBS42, CATCHPLAY+) use local partners, and access may depend on your subscription.
Which night is my favourite group performing?
Day 1 (Nov 14): I.O.I, NCT DREAM, ATEEZ, aespa, YENA, RIIZE, TWS, RESCENE, Dragon Pony, Hearts2Hearts, HANA, IDID, AEN, TUIDE. Day 2 (Nov 15): NCT 127, IVE, PLAVE, 82MAJOR, NCT WISH, ILLIT, KiiiKiii, CORTIS, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, LNGSHOT, hrtz.wav, AND2BLE.
Is BTS performing at MMA2026?
BTS are nominated in several categories, including Artist of the Year, but they are not on the announced 26-act lineup as of November 10, 2026.
Will there be a replay?
No replay policy has been announced. Check the official Melon and 1theK channels after the show, but do not rely on a full-show replay.
Before the show
MMA2026 is a bigger show than usual: two nights, 26 acts, a new Global TOP10 award and dedicated broadcast partners in Japan and Taiwan. For most international fans, it comes down to three things: know your local start time, use the official stream for your region, and watch both nights if you care about the awards as well as the stages. Category voting ends on November 13 (KST), the day before the show.
Check the final details on Melon
See the official timeline, the scoring rules for each award and the broadcast list for your country on the day of the show.
See MMA2026 times and platformsPhotos of artists are licensed event photos from Wikimedia Commons and are not taken at MMA2026; stage and crowd photos are generic CC0 images. Credits appear under each image.
Sources
- Melon: MMA2026 official information page (dates, platforms, scoring, timeline), checked November 10, 2026
- Kakao Entertainment press release: MMA2026 global broadcast partners (October 26, 2026, Korean)
- Kakao Entertainment Newsroom: MMA2026 Welcomes More K-pop Heavyweights (October 14, 2026)
- Korea Newsroom: MMA2026 to Stream Live Worldwide Through Wavve, U-NEXT, TVBS and CATCHPLAY+
- TIME Korea: Berriz Global TOP10 overseas voting passes 1.7 million votes (November 10, 2026, Korean)
- Wikipedia: 2026 Melon Music Awards (nominees, presenters)
- Soompi: Guide to 2026 Year-End Shows and Upcoming Awards Shows
- Wikipedia: Gocheok Sky Dome
- Maeil Business Newspaper: Year-End "Battle of the Stars" (MMA and MAMA 2026 dates)
By the Korea Vibe Hopper team · Updated November 10, 2026