The 23rd Korean Music Awards aka KMA unveiled its full list of nominees on Thursday, February 5, 2026. The ceremony will be held on February 26, 2026,

Widely regarded as one of South Korea’s most prestigious music ceremonies, the KMAs focus on artistic quality, originality, and critical evaluation rather than commercial performance. Winners are chosen by a panel of critics, music journalists, and industry professionals.

This year’s nominations are led by BLACKPINK’s Jennie and singer-songwriter Lee Chan-hyuk, who each earned five nominations across major categories. Jennie has earned nominations in the categories like Musician of the Year, Song of the Year, Best K-pop Song, Album of the Year, and Best K-pop Album.

Lee Chan-hyuk is also in contention for Musician of the Year, Song of the Year, Best K-pop Song, Album of the Year, and Best K-pop Album. Alongside them, NMIXX and NCT’s Mark feature prominently in key K-pop categories.

2026 Korean Music Awards complete nominations list

With Jennie, Lee Chan-hyuk, NMIXX and NCT’s Mark leading the nominations this year’s Korean Music Awards highlight a wide range of musical styles and voices across Korea’s music industry. Jennie’s track Like JENNIE is nominated for both Song of the Year and Best K-pop Song, while her debut solo album Ruby is in the running for Album of the Year and Best K-pop Album. She is also nominated for Musician of the Year.

Lee Chan-hyuk, known for his work both as a soloist and as part of AKMU, received nominations for his song Endangered Love in the Song of the Year and Best Pop Song categories. His album EROS is nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album, and he is also shortlisted for Musician of the Year.

NMIXX appears in multiple categories with Blue Valentine earning nominations in the 2026 Korean Music Awards. They are nominated for Song of the Year and Best K-pop Song, and their albums Blue Valentine and Fe304: FORWARD both competing in Best K-pop Album. NCT’s Mark is nominated in the Best K-pop Album category for The Firstfruit – The 1st Album.

Below is the complete list of nominees for the 2026 Korean Music Awards:

Song of the Year

• NMIXX – Blue Valentine
• Woo Huijin – spacious house
• Lee Chanhyuk – Endangered Love
• JENNIE – like JENNIE
• CHUDAHYE CHAGIS – Heosse!

Album of the Year

• Kwon Tree – The Fragrance of Life
• Effie – pullup to busan 4 morE hypER summEr it’s gonna bEa fuckin moviE
• Woo Huijin – pumping of heart is torturing
• Lee Chanhyuk – EROS
• JENNIE – Ruby
• CHUDAHYE CHAGIS – SOSUMINJOK

Artist of the Year

• Effie
• NMIXX
• Lee Chan-hyuk
• JENNIE
• HANRORO

Best Pop Song

• Yerin Baek – MIRROR
• Lee Chanhyuk – Endangered Love
• Lim Hyunjung – The Road to Me Is Beautiful
• Jowall – Your Love as My Pretext (feat. Haepa)
• HWASA – Good Goodbye

Best Pop Album

• Yerin Baek – Flash and Core
• Song Sohee – Re:5
• Lee Chanhyuk – EROS
• Lim Hyunjung – Extraordinary
• Hyelyn Joo – stereo

Best K-pop Song

• Le Sserafim – Spaghetti (feat. j-hope of BTS)
• ALLDAY PROJECT – FAMOUS
• NMIXX – Blue Valentine
• JENNIE – like JENNIE
• Hearts2Hearts – FOCUS

Best K-pop Album

• MARK (NCT) – The Firstfruit – The 1st Album
• NMIXX – Blue Valentine
• NMIXX – Fe304: FORWARD
• JENNIE – Ruby
• Chaeyoung (TWICE) – LIL FANTASY vol.1

Rookie of the Year

• Gongwon
• RAKUNELAMA
• ALLDAY PROJECT
• Woo Huijun
• Peach Truck Hijackers

The 23rd Korean Music Awards will be broadcast live via YouTube and Melon.