Melon Music Awards 2025: G-Dragon, Jennie, IVE and PLAVE dominate nominations - check out complete list

Now in its seventeenth year, the Melon Music Awards will be held on December 20 at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome.

The 2025 Melon Music Awards (MMA) are shaping up to be one of the most competitive editions in recent years, with K-pop heavyweights G-Dragon, Jennie, Rosé, IVE and virtual idol group PLAVE leading the nominations.

Now in its seventeenth year, the Melon Music Awards will be held on December 20 at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome. The event is expected to draw massive attention, particularly as many of the top nominees are also confirmed performers, ensuring a night that blends high-profile stages with major award moments.

For the 2025 edition, all music released between October 31, 2024 and November 19, 2025 was eligible for consideration. Most categories are decided through a weighted system: 60 percent based on Melon streaming and download data, 20 percent from judges’ scores and 20 percent from fan votes. The prestigious Millions Top 10 Awards follow a slightly different structure, with 80 percent determined by streaming and downloads and 20 percent by fan votes. These awards are limited to 10 albums that surpassed one million streams on Melon within 24 hours of release. Meanwhile, the Track Zero Choice Award highlights releases recognized for introducing unique genres or styles into Korea’s popular music landscape.

Close behind the top nominees are Lim Young Woong, RIIZE and BOYNEXTDOOR, each earning four nominations. IU, SEVENTEEN, Tomorrow X Together and BABYMONSTER follow with three nods apiece. Acts such as aespa, 10cm, MAKTUB, ZO ZAZZ and HUNTR/X from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack have also secured multiple nominations.

Historically, BTS remains the most decorated act in MMA history with 40 awards, followed by IU with 25. EXO (17), aespa (15), Girls’ Generation (12), Lim Young Woong (11) and IVE (10) round out the list of top winners. Depending on the outcome this year, several artists could climb higher in the all-time rankings.

Adding to the excitement, the ceremony’s performer list includes G-Dragon, Jennie, aespa, IVE, PLAVE, RIIZE and BOYNEXTDOOR, alongside nearly two dozen acts. The lineup also highlights emerging talent, with indie singer-songwriter HANRORO and rookie boy groups ALPHA DRIVE ONE and LNGSHOT set to perform even before their official debuts.

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

aespa

BOYNEXTDOOR

G-Dragon (BIGBANG)

IVE

Jennie (BLACKPINK)

Lim Young Woong

NCT WISH

PLAVE

RIIZE

Rosé (BLACKPINK)

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

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

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 – bhright;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

ALLDAY PROJECT

Hearts2Hearts

JAESSBEE

KiiiKiii

ZO ZAZZ

aespa

BABYMONSTER

Hearts2Hearts

IVE

LE SSERAFIM

BOYNEXTDOOR

PLAVE

RIIZE

SEVENTEEN

TXT

IU

Jennie (BLACKPINK)

Jisoo (BLACKPINK)

Rosé (BLACKPINK)

Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation)

10CM

G-Dragon (BIGBANG)

Lim Young Woong

Maktub

ZO ZAZZ

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)

Don Toliver

Ed Sheeran

Justin Bieber

KATSEYE

Lady Gaga

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

Operated by Kakao Entertainment, Melon remains South Korea’s largest music streaming platform, boasting over 28 million users. The awards themselves have evolved significantly since their launch in 2004. Initially conducted entirely online between 2005 and 2008, the MMAs transitioned to a fully offline ceremony in 2009. Winners are now determined through a combination of listener data, expert judges’ evaluations and fan voting.

Fan voting for the 2025 Melon Music Awards remains open until December 19 at 11:59 pm KST.