BTS wins from afar as aespa claims first Global-K grand prize at MMA 2026

For aespa, the night brought a different kind of milestone: becoming the first recipient of Global-K Artist of the Year. Accepting the award, Winter thanked fans for believing in the members even when they struggled to believe in themselves.⁠5

The two groups won two of this year’s five Daesangs, or grand prizes, on November 14 at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome. BTS took KakaoBank Album of the Year for “ARIRANG”; aespa’s new honor introduced a category connected to music and fan activity across South Korea, China and Japan. Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year remain scheduled for the second night, November 15. These are substantial wins, not the ceremony’s final verdict.⁠1⁠2⁠5

The awards’ eighteenth edition is its first to stretch across two nights. About 18,000 people attended the opener, according to organizer Melon, as reported by The Korea Times. Melon, Kakao Entertainment’s music-streaming platform, has paired that expansion with the theme “K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse”—and with new awards that broaden whose listening and fan activity enter the picture.⁠2⁠6

Released in March, “ARIRANG” is BTS’s fifth studio album and its first since all seven members completed mandatory military service. Album of the Year therefore recognizes a return to recording together, while the tour that kept BTS away from the ceremony marks another part of that comeback. The group also won Stage of the Year and Global TOP10, bringing its opening-night total to three. Its stage award should not be mistaken for recognition of a performance at this ceremony: BTS was not there.⁠2

BIGHIT MUSIC vice president Kim Hyun-jung did attend, accepting Best Producer and thanking BTS, its fans and staff. She described a special year of releasing “ARIRANG” after about three years and nine months, then meeting fans around the world on tour. She pledged to continue supporting all seven members and thanked producer Bang Si-hyuk and the HYBE and BIGHIT MUSIC staff.⁠5

There is an unresolved naming difference in the published results. Soompi’s November 14 list names the Best Producer recipient as Nicole Kim of BIGHIT MUSIC; Hankyung’s November 14 report and The Korea Times’ November 15 account identify Kim Hyun-jung. The available reporting does not establish whether those names refer to the same person. That is a gap in identification, not evidence of two separate winners.⁠1⁠5⁠2

Aespa’s two awards were the inaugural Global-K grand prize, presented by actor Lee Young-ae, and Global TOP10. With the SM Entertainment quartet’s sixth debut anniversary approaching, Karina described the grand prize as a gift to share with their fans, known as MY, and promised to keep working toward better performances. Winter’s remarks put the emphasis on support rather than scores.⁠5

The distinction matters: aespa’s Global-K Artist of the Year award was decided entirely by panel review. It recognizes an artist who stood out on the Global-K Chart, but it is neither a direct fan-vote victory nor an automatic trophy for a numerical chart position. Album of the Year uses a different formula: 60 percent digital score, 20 percent panel review and 20 percent votes. Those are the selection rules, not a disclosure of either winner’s individual scores or the judges’ deliberations.⁠17

The chart itself launched on June 1 through Melon’s partnership with Tencent Music and LINE MUSIC. It combines music consumption and fandom engagement from participating platforms in South Korea, China and Japan. Melon’s contribution includes streaming and download users as well as likes. “Global,” in this setting, describes a cross-market measure—not a census of every listener, country or streaming service worldwide.⁠57

Aespa topped the inaugural daily, weekly and monthly rankings, with BTS second on each. Those are launch-period results: the first weekly chart covered May 25–31, and the first monthly chart began collecting data on May 11. They establish how the chart started, not where either group stood throughout the full awards evaluation period.⁠57

The separate Global TOP10 award is more directly weighted toward chart performance: 60 percent chart score, 20 percent panel review and 20 percent votes. Its chart component combines Melon, Tencent Music and LINE MUSIC data equally, using cumulative performance from May 11 through October 14, regardless of release date. That exception matters because the general digital-track eligibility window runs from November 20, 2025, through October 14, 2026; one window cannot simply be applied to every category.⁠17

The expansion is thus more consequential than an extra evening of trophies. It brings additional Asian platform audiences into the awards’ measurement of K-pop success, while leaving considerable room for judges to decide what that success deserves. Fan participation, listening data and expert judgment all feature—but their influence changes sharply from prize to prize.

BTS was not alone on three awards. RESCENE matched it through Global TOP10, Hot Trend and KakaoBank Everyone’s Star; Hearts2Hearts did so through Global TOP10, regular TOP10 and Global Impact Artist. RESCENE’s Everyone’s Star win came under an especially fan-driven formula: 80 percent voting through the KakaoBank app and 20 percent panel review.⁠1⁠17

The six Global TOP10 recipients named on opening night were RIIZE, RESCENE, G-Dragon, aespa, BTS and Hearts2Hearts. Hearts2Hearts and I.O.I received regular TOP10 awards. Neither list is the complete annual set of ten: these were the recipients presented in the first-night results.⁠1

RIIZE paired Global TOP10 with Best Performance—Male, an honor also awarded to ATEEZ. ATEEZ’s other prize was Hot Trend, shared with RESCENE. I.O.I won Best Music Style alongside TOP10, following its May reunion for its tenth anniversary. Aespa, RIIZE, ATEEZ and I.O.I each finished the opener with two awards.⁠1⁠2

Yena won Best Solo—Female and Lim Young Woong won Best Solo—Male. MeloMance’s Kim Min Seok took Best OST for “Love Language” from “Can This Love Be Translated?”, while Bruno Mars won Best Pop Artist. TWS joined Hearts2Hearts as a Global Impact Artist recipient; TUIDE won Global Rising Artist, and HANA received J-pop Favorite Artist.⁠1

NCT DREAM closed the evening with a performance featuring its new song “Boogie Woogie,” marking the group’s tenth anniversary. The opening night had a substantial identity of its own, even with the overall award distribution unfinished.⁠5

The second ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Korean time on November 15—09:00 UTC—at Gocheok Sky Dome, with twelve acts including IVE, NCT 127 and CORTIS set to perform. Alongside the three remaining Daesangs, New Artist of the Year is due to be announced; it is not a sixth grand prize. Artist and Song of the Year use the same weighted formula as Album of the Year, while Record of the Year rests entirely with the panel. The next night will complete the results, under rules that make clear why no single popularity measure tells the whole story.⁠2⁠5⁠17