BTS finished the opening night with three awards, while aespa earned two.
The grand prizes on November 14
BTS and aespa won the two grand prizes presented on the opening night of the 2026 Melon Music Awards, held at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome on November 14. The organizer’s results and reporting by Yonhap and Newsis confirm the winners.
Melon’s official list names BTS as the Album of the Year winner for ARIRANG. aespa received Global-K Artist of the Year, a category introduced at this year’s edition.
Three awards for BTS, two for aespa
BTS also received Stage of the Year and Global TOP10, bringing its opening-night total to three awards. The album prize recognizes ARIRANG, the group’s fifth studio album, released in March.
aespa also earned Global TOP10, taking home two awards on the first night. The group’s official account thanked its MY fan community in a post naming both categories. Melon’s Global TOP10 announcement also includes both groups.
Putting the opening-night results in context
MMA 2026 is the first edition held across two evenings, November 14 and 15. This article covers the November 14 results only, which form part of the edition’s overall awards rather than its complete winners list.
For background on the artists, the related articles include our ARIRANG album dossier and aespa profile. The image accompanying this article is archival: it shows aespa at the Melon Music Awards on November 30, 2024.
Independent publication documented from primary sources. Rankings and reviews are transparently labelled editorial opinion.
