BTS at MAMA: every award, daesang and MAMA 2026

Daesang after daesang: the BTS MAMA story is about a group that showed up as rookies in 2013 and became the artist with the most daesangs in the history of the awards. That’s 21 grand prizes, including seven years in a row as Artist of the Year, plus performances ARMY knows by heart.

In this post, we put everything together year by year: what MAMA is, every BTS award since debut, the most memorable performances, the years without the group on stage and everything announced so far about MAMA 2026, including the nominations and how to vote.

What are the MAMA AWARDS?

MAMA is CJ ENM’s music awards show, organized by the Mnet channel. It started in 1999, in Seoul, as a music video festival, and changed names a few times: it was the Mnet Asian Music Awards from 2009 to 2021 and, since 2022, it’s simply the MAMA AWARDS. The ceremony is usually held outside Korea, in places like Hong Kong and Japan.

The biggest prizes are the daesangs (grand prizes). Today there are four: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Fans’ Choice of the Year. That last one, voted by fans, was called Worldwide Icon of the Year from 2018 to 2023. There are also category awards, like Best Male Group and Best Music Video.

BTS at MAMA from 2013 to 2015: the early years

• 2013 (November 22, Hong Kong): in their debut year, BTS were nominated for Best New Male Artist. The award went to Roy Kim.
• 2014 (December 3, Hong Kong): the group shared the stage with Block B in a dance battle called “Fight of the Century” and was nominated for Best Dance Performance Male Group, with “Boy In Luv”. The award went to Infinite.
• 2015 (December 2, Hong Kong): with “Run” on stage came BTS’s first MAMA trophy, Best World Performer. The group was also nominated for Album of the Year, with The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1, and for Best Male Group.

2016 and 2017: BTS’s first MAMA daesang

On December 2, 2016, in Hong Kong, BTS won their first MAMA daesang: Artist of the Year. That same night, they took Best Dance Performance Male Group with “Blood Sweat & Tears”. The performance, with “Boy Meets Evil”, “Lie”, “Blood Sweat & Tears” and “Fire”, is still one of the group’s most remembered at the awards.

On December 1, 2017, in Hong Kong again, came the second Artist of the Year in a row, plus Best Music Video (“Spring Day”) and Best Asian Style in Hong Kong. On stage, the group performed “Not Today”, “DNA” and “MIC Drop” (remix), and RM, SUGA and j-hope performed “BTS Cypher 4”. Look back at that year in BTS in 2017.

2018: Artist and Album of the Year during MAMA Week

In 2018, MAMA became a week of ceremonies in Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. BTS attended two of them:

• Japan (December 12, Saitama Super Arena): “FAKE LOVE” and “Anpanman” on stage and the Worldwide Icon of the Year award, plus Favorite Dance Artist Male.
• Hong Kong (December 14): RM gave the opening speech, and the group performed “Airplane Pt. 2”, “O!RUL8,2?” (remix) and “IDOL”. They won the daesangs for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year, with Love Yourself: Tear, and all seven gave emotional speeches.

At the opening of the week, in Korea, the team that works with the group was also honored, including producer Pdogg. The full year is in BTS in 2018.

2019: all four daesangs at Nagoya Dome

On December 4, 2019, Jin’s birthday, BTS made history at Nagoya Dome, in Japan: they took all four daesangs of the night. Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Boy With Luv”), Album of the Year (Map of the Soul: Persona) and Worldwide Icon of the Year.

Add Best Male Group, Best Dance Performance Male Group, Best Music Video, Worldwide Fans’ Choice Top 10 and Qoo10 Favorite Male Artist, and that’s nine awards. The performance, themed “Map of the Soul: Journey to Myself”, brought together “N.O”, “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2”, “Boy With Luv”, “Mikrokosmos” and “Dionysus”. More about that year in BTS in 2019.

2020 and 2021: all four daesangs, twice more

Because of the pandemic, MAMA on December 6, 2020 was held without an audience, in Paju, Korea, with pre-recorded performances. BTS performed “ON”, filmed at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On”. And they repeated all four daesangs: Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Dynamite”), Album of the Year (Map of the Soul: 7) and Worldwide Icon of the Year, plus Best Male Group, Best Dance Performance and Best Music Video. See the year in BTS in 2020.

On December 11, 2021, also in Paju, the group didn’t attend the ceremony but took all four daesangs for the third year in a row: Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Butter“), Album of the Year (BE) and Worldwide Icon of the Year. They also won Best Male Group, Best Dance Performance Male Group and Best Music Video, the last three with “Butter”, among others. The full year is in BTS in 2021.

2022: the first MAMA AWARDS, in Osaka

Under the new name, the MAMA AWARDS on November 29 and 30, 2022 were held at Kyocera Dome Osaka, in Japan. BTS won three daesangs, Artist of the Year (the seventh in a row), Album of the Year (Proof) and Worldwide Icon of the Year, plus Best Male Group, MAMA Platinum and Worldwide Fans’ Choice Top 10.

The group didn’t perform, but j-hope took the stage on his own on the second day, with “MORE”, “Arson” and “Future”, and won two solo awards: Most Popular Male Artist and the special Bibigo Culture and Style award.

2023 to 2025: military service and solo awards

Between December 2022 and June 2025, the seven completed their military service, and BTS didn’t perform at MAMA. The awards kept coming, for the group and for the members:

• 2023 (November 28 and 29, Tokyo Dome): BTS won Worldwide Icon of the Year, their 21st daesang, plus Worldwide Fans’ Choice Top 10 and Best OST (“The Planet”). In the solo awards, Jimin took Best Male Artist; Jung Kook, Best Dance Performance Male Solo and Best Collaboration, with “Seven” (feat. Latto); and SUGA, Best Rap & Hip Hop Performance, with “People Pt.2” (feat. IU), released as Agust D.
• 2024 (November 21 in Los Angeles; November 22 and 23 in Osaka): Jimin won the Fans’ Choice of the Year daesang, even though he couldn’t attend because he was doing his military service. Jung Kook took Best Male Artist and Best Dance Performance Male Solo, with “Standing Next to You”. RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook made the Fans’ Choice Male Top 10.
• 2025 (November 28 and 29, Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong): Jin and j-hope made the Fans’ Choice Male Top 10.

Want to get to know each of the seven better? It’s all in BTS members, and the solo releases are in BTS solo songs.

BTS MAMA 2026: nominations, dates and how to vote

The 2026 MAMA AWARDS will take place on November 20 and 21, at Kyocera Dome Osaka, in Japan, streamed live worldwide on Mnet Plus. It’s BTS’s first MAMA since their comeback with the album ARIRANG.

The nominees were announced on October 12. BTS are nominated for:

• Artist of the Year (daesang)
• Album of the Year (daesang), with ARIRANG
• Best Male Group
• Best Vocal Performance Group, with “SWIM”
• Best Music Video, with “2.0”
• Fans’ Choice Male, the fan vote

Song of the Year doesn’t have defined nominees yet, and “SWIM” is being mentioned among the contenders. The group was left out of the dance categories, which got fans talking a lot. j-hope is also on the list as a featured artist on LE SSERAFIM’s “SPAGHETTI”, nominated for Best Collaboration and Best Dance Performance Female Group.

Will BTS perform? As of October 20, 2026, no. The organizers have released two lineups so far, and BTS isn’t on either of them. The ceremony time and the host haven’t been announced yet either. We’ll update this post as soon as there’s news.

How to vote for BTS at MAMA 2026

Voting counts for Fans’ Choice, and the male category result is 90% Mnet Plus and 10% X (formerly Twitter). To vote:

• Download the Mnet Plus app and create your account.
• Round 1: until October 22 at 11:59 p.m. KST (10:59 a.m. ET), on the Fans’ Choice Male list.
• Round 2: from October 28 at 6 p.m. KST (5 a.m. ET) to November 18 at 11:59 p.m. KST (9:59 a.m. ET), with the top 20 of each list.
• There’s also a live vote during the ceremony.

To keep track of every date, follow our BTS calendar. And all of the group’s trophies are on our BTS awards page.

Frequently asked questions about BTS at MAMA

How many MAMA daesangs does BTS have?

As a group, 21, the most in the history of the awards: Artist of the Year from 2016 to 2022, all four daesangs in 2019, 2020 and 2021, Album of the Year in 2018 and 2022 and Worldwide Icon of the Year from 2018 to 2023. In 2024, Jimin won Fans’ Choice of the Year as a solo artist.

What was BTS’s first MAMA award?

Best World Performer, on December 2, 2015, in Hong Kong. In 2013, their debut year, the group was nominated for Best New Male Artist but didn’t win.

Is BTS nominated at MAMA 2026?

Yes. BTS are nominated for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (ARIRANG), Best Male Group, Best Vocal Performance Group (“SWIM”), Best Music Video (“2.0”) and Fans’ Choice Male.

When is MAMA 2026?

On November 20 and 21, 2026, at Kyocera Dome Osaka, in Japan, streamed on Mnet Plus.

How do I vote for BTS at MAMA 2026?

On the Mnet Plus app (90% of the result) and on X (10%), in the Fans’ Choice Male category. Round 1 runs until October 22, and round 2 from October 28 to November 18 (Korea time).

Will BTS perform at MAMA 2026?

As of October 20, 2026, BTS wasn’t among the performers announced by the organizers.

So, what’s your favorite BTS performance at MAMA? Tell us in the comments. 💜