K-pop giants BTS, Blackpink and Stray Kids vie for MAMA Awards honours

BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids and other K-pop acts are vying for the Fans’ Choice of the Year award at the 2026 MAMA Awards, with the first round of voting running until October 22. — AFP pic

By Malay Mail

First Published: Tuesday, 13 Oct 2026 5:00 PM MYT

SEOUL, Oct 13 — K-pop heavyweights BTS, Blackpink and Stray Kids are among the acts competing for top honours at this year’s MAMA Awards, where established stars and newer groups will vie for the industry’s major prizes.

The Korea Herald reported that nominations for the November ceremony were announced on Monday, coinciding with the opening of voting for the 2027 Grammy Awards, where the three acts are absent from the newly introduced Asian pop music performance category.

Organised by CJ ENM, the 2026 MAMA Awards will take place on November 20 and 21 at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan.

BTS and Stray Kids did not submit music for Grammy consideration this year, while Blackpink’s eligible tracks from its February EP Deadline are performed entirely in English and do not meet the new category’s requirement for meaningful use of at least one Asian language.

The Grammy category recognises Asian pop genres including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, although English-language recordings remain eligible for other awards.

K-pop heavyweights including BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids, Enhypen and Big Bang are among the contenders for the 2026 MAMA Awards’ fan-voted grand prize, with the second round scheduled from October 28 to November 18. — Screengrab via Facebook/BLACKPINK

At MAMA, the artist of the year race brings together acts from different stages of K-pop’s evolution, with BTS, Blackpink, Big Bang, Stray Kids, Enhypen and Aespa among the nominees.

Judges’ assessments account for 40 per cent of the artist of the year result, while domestic and global digital music performance contribute 30 per cent and physical album sales the remaining 30 per cent.

The album of the year contest is also packed with major names, with 18 nominees including BTS’ Arirang, Blackpink’s Deadline, Stray Kids’ This & That, EXO’s Reverxe, Ateez’s Golden Hour: Part.5 and Enhypen’s The Sin: Vanish.

To qualify, albums must have sold at least one million copies, with physical sales making up 60 per cent of the final score and judges’ evaluations accounting for 40 per cent.

File picture of Stray Kids. Fans can vote for their favourite K-pop acts in the first round of the 2026 MAMA Awards, which will determine the top 20 male and female acts advancing to the next stage. — AFP pic

The song of the year field has yet to be confirmed, but possible contenders include BTS’ Swim, Jennie’s Less Than a Lover, Big Bang’s BiiiG, Hwasa’s Good Goodbye and Illit’s It’s Me.

The 10 songs selected for the best song category will advance to the grand prize race, with the initial selection based equally on domestic and global digital performance before judges’ evaluations and digital performance each account for half of the final result.

Fans will have the deciding say in the fans’ choice of the year award, with BTS, Stray Kids, Enhypen, Big Bang and Blackpink among the acts in contention.

The first voting round runs until October 22 on Mnet Plus and X, after which the top 20 male acts and top 20 female acts will proceed to the second round from October 28 to November 18.

The final result will be determined by voting on Mnet Plus and X, alongside a live vote during the awards ceremony.