Pop Culture & Entertainment

The K-pop Artists With the Most Daesang Wins

The K-pop acts with the most daesang, or grand prizes, at the MAMA Awards and the Melon Music Awards combined. BTS lead with 34, more than three times EXO’s 10.

BTS in the official music video for ‘Boy With Luv’

Pictured: BTS in the “Boy With Luv” music video, Song of the Year at both shows in 2019. BTS are #1 with 34 daesang.

Rank Artist Type MAMA daesang Melon daesang Total First win Latest win Agency at the time
1BTSGroup21133420162023Big Hit (HYBE)
2EXOGroup641020132017SM
3BIGBANGGroup52720072015YG
3G-DragonSoloist34720092025YG; Galaxy (2025)
52NE1Group42620092011YG
6aespaGroup14520212024SM
6IUSoloist05520112021LOEN; EDAM (2021)
8TWICEGroup31420162018JYP
8NewJeansGroup22420232023ADOR (HYBE)
8Girls’ GenerationGroup13420092011SM
11TVXQGroup30320052008SM
11Super JuniorGroup30320072012SM
11SEVENTEENGroup30320232024Pledis (HYBE)
11IVEGroup12320222023Starship
15H.O.T.Group20219992000SM
15BoASoloist20220022004SM
15SG WannabeGroup20220062006Mnet Media
15g.o.dGroup11220012014SidusHQ
15PSYSoloist11220122012YG
15TaeyangSoloist11220142014YG
15BEAST (now Highlight)Group02220112012Cube
15Busker BuskerGroup02220122013CJ E&M
15Lim Young-woongSoloist02220222022Mulgogi Music

How this list works. A daesang (대상) is a grand prize, the top award at a Korean awards show. Most shows give out three or four a year, for things like artist, song and album of the year. This list adds up each act’s daesang at two of K-pop’s biggest year-end shows: the MAMA Awards, run by CJ ENM’s music channel Mnet, and the Melon Music Awards (MMA), run by Kakao Entertainment’s streaming service Melon. At MAMA, the grand prizes were two music video awards from 1999 to 2005, then Artist, Song and Album of the Year from 2006. Worldwide Icon of the Year, decided by fan votes, was added in 2018 and renamed Fans’ Choice of the Year in 2024. At the MMA, only the live ceremonies held since December 2009 count, with Artist, Album and Song of the Year, plus Record of the Year from 2018 (it wasn’t given in 2020). The awards Melon announced online from 2005 to 2008 don’t count, and neither does BTS’s 2017 Global Artist Award, which Melon briefly called a grand prize and then stopped calling one.[8] In all, that makes 82 grand prizes at MAMA and 58 at the MMA, up to and including the 2025 shows. Group and solo wins are counted separately: G-Dragon and Taeyang have their own rows apart from BIGBANG, and Jimin’s solo Fans’ Choice win at MAMA in 2024 isn’t in BTS’s total. A shared win counts for the lead artist only (ROSÉ for “APT.” with Bruno Mars, her only daesang so far). Every act with two or more daesang is listed, 23 in all. Acts with the same total share a rank. Within a tie, the act with more MAMA wins is listed first, then the act whose first win came earliest. “Agency at the time” is the act’s Korean agency or label when it won.[21] The table is as of October 12, 2026, before the 2026 shows: the MMA on November 14–15 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul,[6] and MAMA on November 20–21 at Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan.[5] Where the data comes from: the winners are from DabPop’s archives of every MAMA daesang winner[1] and every Melon Music Awards daesang winner[2] (both as of October 11, 2026). RList counted each act’s wins from the two archives and checked every winner against Wikipedia’s lists for each award.[3][4] All the counts match. One note: Wikipedia’s summary table of MAMA grand prizes gives TVXQ two, but its own Artist of the Year list includes their 2006 win, so they have three here, as in DabPop’s archive. For each year’s winners, works and venues, see the archives there.

The Top 10

#1

BTS — 34 daesang (21 MAMA, 13 Melon)

BTS won their first two daesang in 2016: Artist of the Year at MAMA, and Album of the Year at the Melon Music Awards for The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever.[1][2] At MAMA they were Artist of the Year seven years running, from 2016 to 2022, and won Worldwide Icon of the Year at all six shows from 2018 to 2023.[3] In 2019 they won every grand prize at both shows: all four at the MMA at Gocheok Sky Dome on November 30,[9] then all four at MAMA at Nagoya Dome in Japan on December 4.[10] They took all four at MAMA again in 2020 and 2021. Guinness World Records lists them as the act with the most MAMA daesang; its count of 17 stopped at the December 2021 show.[7] Their 34 are almost a quarter of the 140 grand prizes the two shows have given out. The video is “Boy With Luv”, Song of the Year at both shows in 2019.

#2

EXO — 10 daesang (6 MAMA, 4 Melon)

EXO won Album of the Year at MAMA five years in a row: XOXO (2013), Overdose (2014), Exodus (2015), Ex’Act (2016) and The War (2017). They were also MAMA’s Artist of the Year in 2014.[1][3] At the Melon Music Awards they won Song of the Year for “Growl” in 2013, Album of the Year for Exodus in 2015, and Artist of the Year in 2016 and 2017.[2][4] That makes Exodus one of six albums to win Album of the Year at both shows in the same year; the others are G-Dragon’s Heartbreaker, 2NE1’s To Anyone and three by BTS. All ten of EXO’s daesang came in five years, 2013 to 2017. The video is “Growl”.

#3

BIGBANG — 7 daesang (5 MAMA, 2 Melon)

BIGBANG’s first daesang was MAMA’s Song of the Year for “Lies” in 2007, at the show then called the Mnet KM Music Festival. They were MAMA’s Artist of the Year in 2008, 2012 and 2015.[1][3] In 2015 they won the same two grand prizes at both shows, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “Bang Bang Bang”: at the MMA in Seoul on November 7 and at MAMA in Hong Kong on December 2.[11] Two members have won daesang as soloists, G-Dragon (seven) and Taeyang (two), so the group and its members have 16 between them. The video is “Bang Bang Bang”.

#3

G-Dragon — 7 daesang (3 MAMA, 4 Melon)

G-Dragon, BIGBANG’s leader, released his first solo studio album, Heartbreaker, in 2009.[12] It won Album of the Year at both shows that year, at MAMA and at the first live Melon Music Awards. He was MAMA’s Artist of the Year in 2013, and again in 2025, 12 years later. He is the only soloist to win that award; every other winner has been a group.[3] At the 2025 MMA he won three of the four grand prizes: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Übermensch, and Song of the Year for “Home Sweet Home”, sung with bandmates Taeyang and Daesung. With four other prizes, that made seven awards in one night.[13] His wins stretch over 16 years, 2009 to 2025, the longest span of any act on this list. The video is his performance of “Home Sweet Home” at the 2024 MAMA Awards in Osaka.

#5

2NE1 — 6 daesang (4 MAMA, 2 Melon)

2NE1 won all six of their daesang in their first three years. The group was formed by YG Entertainment in 2009,[14] and that year “I Don’t Care” won MAMA’s Song of the Year. In 2010 MAMA left South Korea for the first time, for The Venetian Macao,[15] and 2NE1 were named Artist of the Year there and won Album of the Year for To Anyone. The same album won Album of the Year at the MMA. In 2011 they won MAMA’s Song of the Year for “I Am the Best” and the MMA’s Album of the Year for their second mini album.[1][2] The video is “I Am the Best”.

#6

aespa — 5 daesang (1 MAMA, 4 Melon)

aespa debuted on November 17, 2020,[16] and about a year later won the MMA’s Record of the Year. Their other four daesang all came in 2024. “Supernova” was Song of the Year at both shows, and at the MMA they also won Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Armageddon.[1][2] The video is “Supernova”.

#6

IU — 5 daesang (0 MAMA, 5 Melon)

IU has the most Melon Music Awards daesang of any soloist; only BTS have more.[4] She is also the only act in the Top 10 who has never won a grand prize at MAMA. Her first was Song of the Year for “Good Day” in 2011. She was Artist of the Year in 2014 and again in 2021, and won Album of the Year for Palette in 2017 and Lilac in 2021.[2] The title song of Palette features G-Dragon. The video is “Good Day”.

#8

TWICE — 4 daesang (3 MAMA, 1 Melon)

All four of TWICE’s daesang are for Song of the Year. TWICE debuted on October 20, 2015,[17] and a year later “Cheer Up” won the award at both shows. They won it again at MAMA for “Signal” in 2017 and “What Is Love?” in 2018.[1][2] They were the first act to win MAMA’s Song of the Year three years running; BTS did the same from 2019 to 2021.[3] The video is “Cheer Up”.

#8

NewJeans — 4 daesang (2 MAMA, 2 Melon)

NewJeans won all four of their daesang in 2023, the year after their debut EP came out. They won the same two at both shows: Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year for “Ditto”. MAMA was held at Tokyo Dome on November 28–29, and the MMA at Inspire Arena in Incheon on December 2.[1][2][18] “Ditto” became the longest-running number-one song on South Korea’s Circle Digital Chart.[19] The video is “Ditto”.

#8

Girls’ Generation — 4 daesang (1 MAMA, 3 Melon)

The first live Melon Music Awards were held at Olympic Hall in Seoul on December 16, 2009.[20] Girls’ Generation won two of that night’s three grand prizes: Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year for “Gee”. They were the MMA’s Artist of the Year again in 2010, and MAMA’s Artist of the Year in 2011.[1][2] The group debuted in 2007,[20] and all four of its daesang came between 2009 and 2011. The video is “Gee”.

K-pop Music Awards BTS Records

Sources

  1. DabPop, “MAMA Awards: Every Daesang Winner” (data as of October 11, 2026; source of every MAMA count in the table, each winner credited there to Wikipedia’s award and ceremony articles) — https://dabpop.co/posts/mama-awards-daesang-winners.
  2. DabPop, “Melon Music Awards: Every Daesang Winner” (data as of October 11, 2026; source of every Melon count in the table, each winner credited there to Wikipedia and Soompi’s winners lists) — https://dabpop.co/posts/melon-music-awards-daesang-winners.
  3. Wikipedia, “MAMA Awards” (grand prize categories) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAMA_Awards; “MAMA Award for Artist of the Year” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAMA_Award_for_Artist_of_the_Year; “MAMA Award for Song of the Year” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAMA_Award_for_Song_of_the_Year; “MAMA Award for Album of the Year” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAMA_Award_for_Album_of_the_Year; “MAMA Award for Fans’ Choice of the Year” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAMA_Award_for_Fans%27_Choice_of_the_Year (all read October 12, 2026).
  4. Wikipedia, “Melon Music Awards” (grand prizes, Record of the Year winners, most grand prizes) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melon_Music_Awards; “Melon Music Award for Artist of the Year” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melon_Music_Award_for_Artist_of_the_Year; “Melon Music Award for Album of the Year” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melon_Music_Award_for_Album_of_the_Year; “Melon Music Award for Song of the Year” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melon_Music_Award_for_Song_of_the_Year (all read October 12, 2026).
  5. CJ ENM, “2026 MAMA AWARDS to take place in Japan from November 20–21” (March 31, 2026) — https://newsroom.cj.net/2026-mama-awards-to-take-place-in-japan-from-november-20-21/; Korea JoongAng Daily, “2026 MAMA Awards to take place in Osaka in November” — https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/2026-mama-awards-to-take-place-in-osaka-in-november/12576374.
  6. Kakao Entertainment, “Kakao Entertainment to host MMA2026 on Nov. 14–15” — https://newsroom.kakaoent.com/news/kakao-entertainment-to-host-mma2026-on-nov-14-15/; Korea JoongAng Daily, “Melon Music Awards to return with first 2-day ceremony in November” — https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/melon-music-awards-to-return-with-first-2-day-ceremony-in-november/12698044.
  7. Guinness World Records, “Most ‘daesang’ (‘grand prize’) awards won at the Mnet Asian Music Awards” (BTS, 17 as of December 11, 2021) — https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/454104-most-daesang-grand-prize-awards-won-at-the-mnet-asian-music-awards.
  8. Soompi, “BTS’s Global Artist Award At 2017 Melon Music Awards Belatedly Revealed To Be A Grand Prize” (December 2017, with its December 15 update that Melon removed the label) — https://www.soompi.com/article/1094139wpp/btss-global-artist-award-2017-melon-music-awards-belatedly-revealed-daesang.
  9. Wikipedia, “2019 Melon Music Awards” (November 30, 2019, Gocheok Sky Dome; BTS won all four daesang) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Melon_Music_Awards.
  10. Soompi, “Winners Of 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards” — https://www.soompi.com/article/1369536wpp/winners-of-2019-mnet-asian-music-awards; Wikipedia, “2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards” (December 4, 2019, Nagoya Dome) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Mnet_Asian_Music_Awards.
  11. Wikipedia, “2015 Melon Music Awards” (November 7, 2015, Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Melon_Music_Awards; “2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards” (December 2, 2015, AsiaWorld–Expo, Hong Kong) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Mnet_Asian_Music_Awards.
  12. Wikipedia, “G-Dragon” (Heartbreaker, his first solo studio album, 2009; labels YG and Galaxy Corporation) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-Dragon.
  13. Korea JoongAng Daily, “G-Dragon sweeps 17th Melon Music Awards; Jennie wins Record of the Year” (December 20, 2025) — https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/g-dragon-sweeps-17th-melon-music-awards-jennie-wins-record-of-the-year-as-it-happened/11767336; Sports Kyunghyang, “G-Dragon, from ‘TOP10’ to ‘Song of the Year’, a whopping seven crowns” — https://sports.khan.co.kr/en/article/202512202226277.
  14. Wikipedia, “2NE1” (formed by YG Entertainment in 2009) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2NE1.
  15. Wikipedia, “2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards” (November 28, 2010, The Venetian Macao; the first ceremony held outside South Korea) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Mnet_Asian_Music_Awards.
  16. Wikipedia, “Aespa” (debut on November 17, 2020) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aespa.
  17. Wikipedia, “Twice” (debut on October 20, 2015) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twice.
  18. Wikipedia, “2023 MAMA Awards” (November 28–29, 2023, Tokyo Dome) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_MAMA_Awards; “2023 Melon Music Awards” (December 2, 2023, Inspire Arena) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Melon_Music_Awards.
  19. Wikipedia, “NewJeans” (“Ditto”, the longest-running number one on the Circle Digital Chart) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewJeans.
  20. Wikipedia, “2009 Melon Music Awards” (December 16, 2009, Olympic Hall, Seoul) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Melon_Music_Awards; Wikipedia, “Girls’ Generation” (debut on August 5, 2007) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls%27_Generation.
  21. Agency column: each act’s Wikipedia article (record labels); for IU’s move to EDAM, Soompi, “IU Signs With New Agency Established By Long-Time Manager” (January 2020) — https://www.soompi.com/article/1375449wpp/iu-signs-with-new-agency-established-by-long-time-manager; for g.o.d’s 2014 reunion with SidusHQ, Wikipedia, “Chapter 8 (g.o.d album)” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapter_8_(g.o.d_album); for SG Wannabe, Wikipedia, “SG Wannabe” (Mnet Media, 2004–2009) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SG_Wannabe.