G-Dragon, Jennie, Rosé, PLAVE, and IVE lead the 2025 Melon Music Awards nominations with five apiece, bringing established stars, new breakout performers, and global chart-topping artists at the heart of this year’s gala. The seventeenth version of the awards will be held on December 20 in Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, with the majority of the top candidates taking the stage.
Melon, founded in 2004 and operated by Kakao Entertainment, is Korea’s largest music subscription service, with over 28 million customers. The Melon Music Awards (MMA) began as an online fan-voted show from 2005 to 2008, and has been held in-person in Seoul since 2009, with awards selected by listener data, judge evaluations, and fan votes.
All music released between October 31, 2024 and November 19, 2025 was eligible for this year’s Melon Music Award. Most prizes are determined 60 percent by Melon download and streaming statistics, 20 percent by judge evaluations, and 20 percent by votes. The Millions Top 10 Awards are granted to 10 albums that received more than one million streams on Melon within the first 24 hours of release, with an 80/20 split between streaming/downloads and voting. Meanwhile, Melon’s Track Zero Choice award celebrates albums that contribute distinct genres and styles to Korean popular music culture.
Moving on to the 2025 MMA nominations, Lim Young Woong, RIIZE, and BOYNEXTDOOR each have four, while IU, SEVENTEEN, Tomorrow X Together, and BABYMONSTER have three. Aespa, 10cm, MAKTUB, ZO ZAZZ, and HUNTR/X from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack received two nominations.
BTS is the most decorated artist in Melon Music Awards history, having received 40 awards to date. IU holds the second-most awards (25), followed by EXO (17), aespa (15), Girls’ Generation (12), Lim Young Woong (11) and IVE (10). Depending on how the night goes, acts like aespa, Lim Young Woong, and IVE could move up the MMA all-time rankings.
The ceremony’s performers include several of the year’s top nominees.
From G-Dragon, Jennie, and aespa to IVE, PLAVE, RIIZE, and BOYNEXTDOOR, the roughly two dozen musicians guarantee that the night is as much about bringing the year’s best music to life on stage as it is about presenting it with honors. Aside from the aforementioned K-pop elite, the evening will feature numerous newcomers, including indie singer-songwriter HANRORO, as well as boy bands ALPHA DRIVE ONE and LNGSHOT, who will perform before making their official debut.
Fans can vote until Friday, December 19, at 11:59 p.m. KST (9:59 a.m. EST).
Melon Music Awards 2025 Performers
- aespa
- ALLDAY PROJECT
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE
- BOYNEXTDOOR
- EXO
- G-Dragon
- HANRORO
- Hearts2Hearts
- IDID
- ILLIT
- IVE
- Jay Park
- Jennie
- KiiiKiii
- LNGSHOT
- NCT WISH
- PLAVE
- RIIZE
- WOODZ
- Zico
- 10CM
Melon Music Awards 2025 Nominees
Artist of the Year (Top 10 Winners)
- aespa
- BOYNEXTDOOR
- G-Dragon (BIGBANG)
- IVE
- Jennie (BLACKPINK)
- Lim Young Woong
- NCT WISH
- PLAVE
- RIIZE
- Rosé (BLACKPINK)
Album of the Year
- BABYMONSTER – DRIP
- G-Dragon (BIGBANG) – Ubermensch
- IU – Kkot Galpi 3
- IVE – IVE EMPATHY
- Jennie (BLACKPINK) – Ruby
- Lim Young Woong – IM HERO 2
- PLAVE – Caligo Pt.1
- RIIZE – ODYSSEY
- Rosé (BLACKPINK) – rosie
- SEVENTEEN – HAPPY BURSTDAY
Song of the Year
- 10CM – “To Reach You”
- BABYMONSTER – “DRIP”
- BOYNEXTDOOR – “IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU”
- G-Dragon (BIGBANG) – “HOME SWEET HOME” (featuring Taeyang and Daesung)
- HUNTR/X – “Golden” (sung by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami)
- IVE – “REBEL HEART”
- Jennie (BLACKPINK) – “like JENNIE”
- Maktub – “Starting With You”
- Rosé (BLACKPINK) – “toxic till the end”
- ZO ZAZZ – “Don’t you know”
Millions Top 10
- Baekhyun (EXO) – “Essence of Reverie”
- BOYNEXTDOOR – “No Genre”
- BSS (SEVENTEEN) – “TELEPARTY”
- CxM (SEVENTEEN) – “HYPE VIBES”
- DAY6 – “The DECADE”
- Doyoung (NCT) – “Soar”
- G-Dragon (BIGBANG) – “Übermensch”
- Haechan (NCT) – “TASTE”
- ISEGYE IDOL – “Stargazers”
- IU – “Kkot Galpi 3”
- IVE – “IVE EMPATHY”
- Jennie (BLACKPINK) – “Ruby”
- Jin (BTS) – “Happy”
- Lee Chan Won – “bright;燦”
- Lim Young Woong – “IM HERO 2”
- Mark (NCT) – “The Firstfruit”
- NCT DREAM – “Go Back To The Future”
- NCT WISH – “COLOR”
- NMIXX – “Blue Valentine”
- PLAVE – “Caligo Pt.1”
- RIIZE – “ODYSSEY”
- Rosé (BLACKPINK) – “rosie”
- SEVENTEEN – “HAPPY BURSTDAY”
- Sungjin (DAY6) – “30”
- TXT – “The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY”
- ZEROBASEONE – “BLUE PARADISE”
New Artist of the Year
- ALLDAY PROJECT
- Hearts2Hearts
- JAESSBEE
- KiiiKiii
- ZO ZAZZ
Best Group (Female)
- aespa
- BABYMONSTER
- Hearts2Hearts
- IVE
- LE SSERAFIM
Best Group (Male)
- BOYNEXTDOOR
- PLAVE
- RIIZE
- SEVENTEEN
- TXT
Best Solo Artist (Female)
- IU
- Jennie (BLACKPINK)
- Jisoo (BLACKPINK)
- Rosé (BLACKPINK)
- Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation)
Best Solo Artist (Male)
- 10CM
- G-Dragon (BIGBANG)
- Lim Young Woong
- Maktub
- ZO ZAZZ
Best OST
- Changsub (BTOB) – “True Love” (“Secret Relationships” OST)
- Doh Kyung Soo (D.O.) [EXO] – “FOREVER” (“Resident Playbook” OST)
- HUNTR/X – “Golden” (“KPop Demon Hunters” OST)
- PLAVE – “We don’t stop” (“The Fiery Priest 2” OST)
- TXT – “When the Day Comes” (“Resident Playbook” OST)
Best Pop Artist
- Don Toliver
- Ed Sheeran
- Justin Bieber
- KATSEYE
- Lady Gaga
Track Zero Choice
- Bek Hyunjin – “Mogwa”
- CHS – “ECHO”
- CHUDAHYE CHAGIS – “Jakdu: Standing on Blades”
- Effie – “MORE HYPER”
- HANRORO – “Goodbye, My Summer”
- huijun woo – “spacious house”
- Kim Oki – “Lucky” (featuring Wonstein)
- Sanmanhan – “Heart of a Dog”
- Shin In Ryu – “Attack!”
- Wah Wah Wah & Noridogam – “Uncertainty”
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