BTS wins 6 awards at MMA 2026, calls year 'unforgettable'

"2026 will be a year we can never forget for the rest of our lives."

BTS delivered that message after sweeping six trophies at the 2026 Melon Music Awards, unable to attend in person at Gocheok Sky Dome due to their ongoing world tour. The group returned as a full unit for the first time in three years and nine months with their fifth studio album Arirang, and the comeback is drawing global acclaim as the year draws to a close. At the domestic awards season's opening ceremony, BTS claimed six trophies, including two grand prizes.

The 18th Melon Music Awards (MMA 2026), hosted by Kakao Entertainment's music platform Melon, wrapped up its two-day run at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Sunday night. Held over two days — Saturday and Sunday — for the first time in the ceremony's 18-year history, this year's MMA featured 26 acts (14 on Day 1, 12 on Day 2) and drew a combined audience of about 36,000 — twice the roughly 18,000 who attended last year's single-day event.

This year's ceremony introduced a new grand prize, Artist of the Year Global-K, based on the Global-K C Chart — a combined Korea-China-Japan metric developed by Melon with China's Tencent Music and Japan's Line Music — bringing the total number of grand prizes from four to five. While G-Dragon swept three of four grand prizes last year, this year's five awards were distributed across four acts: BTS (Artist of the Year and Album of the Year), CORTIS (Record of the Year), IVE (Song of the Year) and aespa (Artist of the Year Global-K).

BTS took home the Kakao Bank Album of the Year, Stage of the Year and Global Top 10 on the first night, then added Artist of the Year, Top 10 and Best Group (Male) on the second. Arirang, released March 20, is the group's first new studio album since the anthology album Proof in June 2022.

The title track SWIM topped the Melon Top 100 within an hour of release, and all 14 B-sides also charted in the Top 100. According to Hanteo Chart, the album sold nearly 3.98 million copies on its first day alone, and SWIM became the fastest song released this year to surpass 500 million streams on Spotify.

In a video acceptance speech, RM apologized for the group's absence, saying they could not attend MMA 2026 in person because of the Arirang world tour. Jimin reflected on the comeback, saying the group had "returned to your side after three years and nine months with the Arirang album" and that he was "so happy to be able to perform again with ARMY — our fandom — whom we had missed so dearly." V pledged that, just as ARMY had "lit up and protected BTS," the members would always strive to shine brightly by their fans' side.

Record of the Year, given to the year's most notable musical achievement, went to "REDRED" by second-year act CORTIS. The track held a top-three position on Melon's monthly chart for five consecutive months — the longest any boy group song has stayed in the top three since BTS's "Dynamite," according to Melon. CORTIS also won Top 10 and Global Top 10, taking home three awards in total.

Accepting Record of the Year on their first-ever MMA stage, Martin said, "After the first two awards, receiving the grand prize as well — I can only say I'm truly grateful. This has always been the path we all dreamed of." Seonghyeon drew laughs by admitting, "Our company told us we wouldn't win Record of the Year, so I really came here with no expectations." James thanked the backstage crew in English before adding in Korean, "We will keep creating new music with our love for it."

IVE won Song of the Year for "BANG BANG," the pre-release title track from their second studio album REVIVE+. The song debuted at No. 1 on both the Melon Top 100 and the weekly chart upon release and claimed first place on music broadcast programs eight times. IVE also won Top 10, Global Top 10, Best Group (Female) and Best Music Video, finishing the night with five awards.

Winning the same trophy again carried special meaning for the group. Gaeul said, "We won this award with 'LOVE DIVE,' and receiving it again after such a long time — I think we're all tearing up thinking about the days we worked so hard." For IVE, who mark their fifth debut anniversary next month, the win also felt like a validation of the years behind them. Yujin said, "When I think of MMA, I remember the time we won both the rookie award and the grand prize. Receiving this award now, on the eve of our fifth anniversary, feels like proof that all the awards we've received over the past five years were truly deserved."

The inaugural Artist of the Year Global-K grand prize went to aespa, announced on the first night. The group topped the daily, weekly and monthly Global-K charts with "LEMONADE," the title track of their second studio album of the same name released last May, while the album reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200. Having claimed three grand prizes at MMA 2024, aespa added Global Top 10 this year for a two-award haul.

Rookie of the Year was shared between ALPHA DRIVE ONE and LNGSHOT. ALPHA DRIVE ONE placed every track from their debut mini-album EUPHORIA — released Jan. 12 — on the Melon Top 100. Sangwon said, "I never take for granted the fact that I can stand on a stage this big. I treasure every moment and every day and try to live with all my heart."

LNGSHOT, from Jay Park's label More Vision, had previewed their act on the MMA stage last year before their official debut. Oryul said, "We debuted at MMA, and now we're receiving an award here too — it feels surreal. I prayed hard on my birthday in January this year that I wanted to win the rookie award at MMA. I feel like I've become a grandson my grandfather, watching over me from above, can be proud of today." Rui addressed CEO Jay Park in English, calling him "the best CEO ever" and saying, "You really saved my life."

Multiple-award winners were plentiful. ILLIT and NCT WISH each took four awards, while KiiiKiii, Hearts2Hearts and RESCENE each claimed three. I.O.I, reuniting for the first time in nine years, won two. Best Songwriter went to Lee Chan-hyuk of AKMU; Best Solo Male and Female went to Lim Young-woong and Choi Ye-na respectively; Best Pop Artist went to Bruno Mars; and the Track Zero Choice award — tied to an indie music support project — went to singer-songwriter SUMIN for "(+82)," a track she wrote, composed, arranged and performed entirely on her own.