MAMA Awards 2026 in Osaka: Dates, Lineup & How to Watch
Two nights, one dome, 26 acts, and a host list that includes some surprising absences. Here is the cheat sheet before the voting chaos begins.
Here is the question I keep getting from friends outside Korea: with so many year-end shows, why would you stay up for this one? Fair. My answer is that MAMA is the one ceremony built as a stage production first and a trophy ceremony second, and this year it is also the one with the strangest guest list of the season.
When Are the 2026 MAMA Awards and Where Is the Venue?
CJ ENM announced on March 31, 2026 that the show will run November 20 and 21 at Kyocera Dome Osaka, with Visa as title sponsor and the theme "Music Makes ONE." The organizers say they plan new on-site and online fan events, with more details promised closer to the date. This is the second year in a row the show leaves Korea for Japan, after 2024 marked its first edition in the United States, per CJ ENM's own newsroom history.
A quick piece of context if you are new to this: MAMA began in 1999 as a music video ceremony run by Mnet, was renamed MAMA AWARDS in 2009, and has since traveled to Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan and the United States. It has never been a "stay in Seoul" show.
Full MAMA 2026 Lineup: Who Performs on Which Night?
This is the part most English guides get wrong, because the lineup was released in waves (the first batch, then additions on October 16 and a surprise on October 29). I merged the lists from Soompi and Complex so you do not have to.
Night one
- ENHYPEN
- BABYMONSTER
- ILLIT
- INI
- NCT WISH
- RESCENE
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE
- ALLDAY PROJECT
- CL
- Hearts2Hearts
- LNGSHOT
- MODYSSEY
- TREASURE
- Street World Fighter: Directors' War cast
Night two
- LE SSERAFIM
- ZEROBASEONE
- CORTIS
- KiiiKiii
- Nayeon (TWICE)
- BIGBANG
- IVE
- izna
- KO1KEYZ
- Hwasa (MAMAMOO)
- WOODZ
- &TEAM
Lime-outlined names mark the acts added on October 16. Panic, the duo of Lee Juck and Kim Jin Pyo, was added on October 29, and Soompi's report does not say which night they perform.
Look at the nominee list and then look at the performer list. BTS, BLACKPINK, aespa, Stray Kids and TOMORROW X TOGETHER all appear in the major categories, yet none of them is on the published performer lists. That does not mean they will not appear, since presenters, video messages and later additions are all possible. It does mean the stage is being sold on newer groups and special collaborations, and that is a story worth watching.
MAMA 2026 Collab Stages: What Has Been Announced So Far
The collaborations are where MAMA earns its reputation, and the announced ones are unusually cross-genre. According to Soompi's announcement of the special stages:
Two more are listed in promotional material, MAMA AWARDS x Lee Bae and MAMA AWARDS x Google Gemini, but Soompi does not describe them, so I will not guess.
Who Is Hosting MAMA 2026, and Who Are the Presenters?
Soompi's collaboration report names Park Bo Gum as host. Complex's how-to-watch guide, written earlier, said the host was not yet announced, so treat the host as reported rather than formally confirmed until Mnet's own page says so.
The presenter list is easier. Soompi reports 25 presenters announced on October 22, including Kim Hye Soo, Lee Sung Kyung, Lee Junho, Jang Keun Suk, Jo Yuri, Kim Yeon Koung, Lee Da Hee, Seol In Ah and Ong Seong Wu. That is a heavy drama-and-film bench, which fits a ceremony that has been leaning into the wider K-content world.
Who Is Nominated at the 2026 MAMA Awards?
Complex lists selected nominees. Artist of the Year includes aespa, BTS, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, IVE, LE SSERAFIM and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. Album of the Year is limited to albums that sold over one million copies, with nominees including BTS's ARIRANG, BLACKPINK's DEADLINE, aespa's LEMONADE and ATEEZ's GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5.
| Category | Selected nominees (Complex) |
|---|---|
| Best Male Group | ATEEZ, BIGBANG, BTS, CORTIS, ENHYPEN, NCT WISH, Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER |
| Best Female Group | aespa, BABYMONSTER, BLACKPINK, Hearts2Hearts, ILLIT, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, NMIXX |
| Best Male Artist | Doh Kyung Soo, Taeyang, Taeyong, Yeonjun, Young K |
| Best Female Artist | Hwasa, Irene, Soyeon, Taeyeon, Yena |
Complex also lists many more categories, including choreography, collaboration, music video and OST. I did not find a verified source for voting rules, so check the official Mnet page before you spend a vote.
How to Watch the MAMA Awards 2026 Online From Anywhere
Both CJ ENM and Complex say the show streams live worldwide on Mnet Plus. Ticket sales and pricing for the Osaka dome were not covered in the sources I read, so if you want to attend, wait for the official announcement rather than trusting a reseller.
Time zones are the practical problem. Japan and Korea share the same time zone, UTC+9. After US daylight saving ends on November 1, 2026, New York is 14 hours behind and Los Angeles is 17 hours behind. Start times are unconfirmed, so here is a conversion example using a placeholder, not a real schedule.
| If the show starts at... | New York | Los Angeles | London |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 p.m. in Osaka or Seoul (example only) | 4:00 a.m. same day | 1:00 a.m. same day | 9:00 a.m. same day |
| 8:00 p.m. in Osaka or Seoul (example only) | 6:00 a.m. same day | 3:00 a.m. same day | 11:00 a.m. same day |
Planning your night around a start time from a fan account. Until Mnet Plus publishes the schedule, any exact time you see is a guess. Add the official page to your phone's calendar reminders and check it the week of the show.
If you only have energy for one night, think about what you want. Night two (Saturday) has BIGBANG, IVE, LE SSERAFIM and ZEROBASEONE. Night one has ENHYPEN, TREASURE, BABYMONSTER and CL. Most casual viewers will find night two's names easier to recognize, while night one is stronger on rising and dance-focused acts.
MAMA vs. KGMA: Which Korean Awards Show Should You Watch First?
Two weeks before MAMA, the KGMA comes to Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on November 7 and 8, which I covered in an earlier guide. The simplest way to choose: KGMA is the one to watch if you want a Seoul-based live crowd and a long list of group performances, and MAMA is the one if you care about cinematic collaboration stages and a cross-border production. Watching both is perfectly reasonable, but protect your sleep.
When I plan for a big awards weekend, I make a short list of "must-see" stages from the lineup, not from the nominee list. Nominees tell you who won, performers tell you what is worth staying awake for. Write three names on a sticky note and set alarms around them.
Key Takeaways
- MAMA 2026 runs November 20 and 21 at Kyocera Dome Osaka, streaming live on Mnet Plus.
- Twenty-six acts plus Panic are announced, split by night, with three headline collaborations: Panic's group stage, ENHYPEN x Dune: Part Three, and BIGBANG x Dooly.
- Start times, voting rules and ticket details were not yet confirmed in the sources I checked, so use Mnet's official page as the final word.
Quick Answers: MAMA Awards 2026
November 20 and 21, 2026, as Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.
Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan.
CJ ENM and Complex both say the show streams live worldwide on Mnet Plus.
The announced lineup includes ENHYPEN, LE SSERAFIM, IVE, BIGBANG, ZEROBASEONE, CORTIS, ILLIT, BABYMONSTER and many more, split across two nights.
Soompi reports actor Park Bo Gum as host. Check Mnet's official page for final confirmation.
So, which night are you staying up for, and which absent superstar do you most want to see surprise the dome? Tell me in the comments and I will keep an eye on the official schedule for you.
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Sources: CJ ENM Newsroom, 2026 MAMA AWARDS announcement (Mar 31, 2026); Soompi, MAMA first lineup, presenter lineup and special collaboration stage reports (Oct 2026); Complex, 2026 MAMA Awards how to watch. Details such as hosts, start times and voting may change; confirm on Mnet Plus.