Plave, Riize, NCT Wish, Alpha Drive One and Lngshot have been named in the first lineup for the 2026 Melon Music Awards, with all five acts ranking prominently on Melon’s charts this year, organizer Melon said Wednesday.
The 18th edition of the annual awards show will take place Nov. 14 to 15 at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, marking the first time the event will be held over two days.
Virtual idol group Plave joins the lineup. “Born Savage," the main track of its April EP “Caligo Pt. 2,” reached No. 2 on Melon’s Top 100 and No. 1 on its Hot 100 charts. All five tracks from the EP also entered the Top 100 upon its release.
Riize, which marked its third debut anniversary this month, also made the first lineup after releasing its June EP, “II.” The album became the group’s fourth million-selling release, while all its tracks, including the main track “Do Your Dance,” entered Melon’s Top 100.
NCT Wish will also perform at this year’s ceremony, following the release of the group’s first LP “Ode to Love” in April. “Ode to Love” performed strongly on Melon’s charts, reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Top 100 — the group's highest positions on the platform to date. The album also sold more than 1.82 million copies in its first week.
Rookie group Alpha Drive One, which debuted in January with EP “Euphoria,” was also included in the lineup. The EP’s lead track, “Freak Alarm,” reached No. 1 on Melon’s Hot 100, while every track on the EP entered the Top 100. The album surpassed 1 million streams on Melon within 14 hours and 20 minutes of its release.
Lngshot, the first boy group launched by Jay Park’s label More Vision, rounds out the initial lineup. The group debuted in January with “Shot Callers,” led by “Moonwalkin’,” which peaked at No. 12 on Melon’s Hot 100 in its first 30 days of release.
This year’s MMA will be held under the slogan “K-pop Connect: The New Pulse,” with connection serving as the event’s central theme.
Melon is also introducing changes to its award categories. A new Global Top 10 category will be linked to the Global-K Chart, which combines consumption data from Melon, China’s Tencent Music and Japan’s Line Music.
The new category is intended to reflect K-pop consumption beyond Korea more broadly in the awards process. At the same time, the existing Millions Top 10 category, which recognized albums that surpassed 1 million streams within 24 hours of release, will be discontinued.
Additional performers and details regarding MMA 2026 will be announced at a later date.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
