[DiaryPoint = Reporter Park Bo-young] The 18th Melon Music Awards (MMA2026) will be held at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome on Nov. 14 and 15. The main ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. each day, with Melon and Wavve streaming live in Korea from the red carpet at 5 p.m. According to Melon’s official guide, viewers outside Korea can watch on Melon or the 1theK YouTube channel, except in certain countries; U-NEXT will carry the event in Japan, and TVBS in Taiwan.
Fourteen acts are set to perform on Nov. 14, the first night: I.O.I, NCT DREAM, ATEEZ, aespa, Choi Yena, RIIZE, TWS, RESCENE, Dragon Pony, Hearts2Hearts, HANA, idntt, AIN, and TWEETY. Kakao Entertainment teased the first night’s stages, including I.O.I’s return after 10 years and a performance marking NCT DREAM’s 10th anniversary since debut. The acts are part of the day-by-day lineup released by Melon.
The 12 acts scheduled for Nov. 15, the second night, are NCT 127, IVE, PLAVE, 82MAJOR, NCT WISH, ILLIT, KiiiKiii, CORTIS, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, LONGSHOT, Hearts2Hearts, and &TEAM. Melon said this will be the first time MMA has been held over two days. The award categories include TOP10 and Global TOP10, as well as Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Song, and Rookie of the Year. Best OST and Best Pop Artist are also among the honors.
Billed as “The 18th Melon Music Awards,” the ceremony recognizes music released during the year, with winners determined through streaming performance, judging, and voting. For major awards and TOP10, scores are weighted 60% for streaming, 20% for judges, and 20% for votes. Record of the Year and Global-K Artist of the Year are decided entirely by judges. Melon says eligible tracks for judging were released between Nov. 20, 2025, and Oct. 14, 2026. On Nov. 12, Kakao Entertainment shared stage previews for all 14 first-night acts, including I.O.I’s return after 10 years and NCT DREAM’s 10th debut anniversary performance.
Viewers in Korea who cannot attend in person can follow both the red carpet and the ceremony on Melon or Wavve. The schedule is the same both days: red carpet at 5 p.m., followed by the main ceremony at 6 p.m. Voting by category is scheduled to run from Oct. 30 through Nov. 13. Global TOP10 is based on cumulative global chart scores from May 11 to Oct. 14, 2026. Melon says data from the Melon, TME, and LINE MUSIC charts will each count equally toward that score.