The Melon Music Awards (MMA), one of Korea’s largest year-end music awards shows, will take place Saturday evening with a star-studded lineup of K-pop artists, including Jennie, G-Dragon, Zico and EXO.

Hosted by Kakao Entertainment, the MMA marks its 17th edition this year under the theme “Play the Moment” at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul.


The red carpet begins at 4 p.m., Saturday, and the main ceremony starts at 5 p.m. The Korea JoongAng Daily will be covering the event live beginning at 3 p.m.

The eligibility window for this year’s nominees ran from Oct. 31 last year to Nov. 19 this year.

This year’s lineup includes G-Dragon of BigBang, Jennie of Blackpink, Zico, Jay Park, EXO, Woodz, aespa, IVE, Riize, Plave, NCT Wish, ILLIT, Hearts2Hearts, Allday Project and Alpha Drive One.

EXO is set to unveil a B-side from the group’s upcoming eighth full-length album for the first time, slated for release in January. This will mark the boy band’s first MMA performance in eight years.

Presenters for the ceremony include actor Park Eun-bin, veteran singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin and figure skater Cha Jun-hwan.

Launched in 2009, the MMA is one of the nation’s highest-profile K-pop award shows, hosted by Melon, Kakao's music service. The streaming giant dominated Korea’s music market until 2021, but following the rapid surge of global platforms, especially YouTube Music, Melon has since slipped to second place in terms of number of active monthly users.

The MMA’s defining characteristic is its heavy emphasis on streaming, as physical album sales do not factor into the top awards. For the four biggest honors — Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Song of the Year and Record of the Year — streaming accounts for 60 percent, with judges and fan votes weighted at 20 percent each. Record of the Year is determined entirely by judges based on musical artistry.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]