MAMA Awards 2025 Nominees List｜Official Mnet Asian Music Awards

Introduction: MAMA 2025 Returns to Hong Kong

The 2025 MAMA Awards (formerly the Mnet Asian Music Awards) mark a bright chapter in K-pop’s global journey, returning to Hong Kong on November 28–29, 2025, at the newly built Kai Tak Stadium.]) This will be the first time MAMA is held in Hong Kong since 2018 and is set to be scaled up to match the ambitions of this era. ([Soompi][2])

With the theme “Hear My Roar: uh-heung” (a Korean expression evoking excitement / spirited energy), MAMA 2025 aims to blend spectacular performances, fan participation, and award recognition in a grand celebration.])

A core part of the buildup is the nominees list — who gets nominated (and in which categories) often sets fan expectations, shapes media narratives, and foreshadows possible winners. Below is a detailed look at how nominations are determined, the known nominees so far, category structures, and what trends and debates are emerging.

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1. Nomination Criteria & Structural Rules

Before listing nominees, it’s crucial to understand who qualifies and how nominations are decided. MAMA’s nomination rules reflect a balance among commercial success, artistic merit, and fan engagement.

1.1 Eligibility Period & Data Inputs

• Eligibility Window: Works (songs, albums, EPs, etc.) released from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025 are eligible for nomination.])
• Data Sources & Metrics:
    1. Digital performance (streaming + downloads), both domestic (Korea) and global — tracked via Circle Chart and similar metrics.])
    2. Physical / album sales — for album categories, and as part of artist / record performance metrics.])
    3. Online voting / SNS metrics (fan votes, X / Twitter, etc.) in certain categories (especially “Fans’ Choice” awards).])
    4. Judges / expert panel evaluations — this is key especially in categories measuring artistic, performance, or visual quality (music video, choreography).])

In other words, nominations are not purely fan-driven; they must pass through a hybrid filtering that includes data metrics and evaluation.

1.2 Nomination & Judging Weightings by Category

MAMA publishes how different categories weigh metrics vs evaluation or fan votes:

Category Type	Data / Commercial Metrics	Judges / Expert Evaluation	Fan Voting / Others
Artist of the Year	30% (20% Korean + 10% global)])	40%])	—
Song of the Year	60% (40% Korea + 20% global)])	40%])	—
Album of the Year	60% (sales)])	40%])	—
Best Music Video / Best Choreography	—	100% judged panels	—
Fans’ Choice / Fan-Vote Awards	—	—	100% (90% via Mnet Plus + 10% via X / Twitter)])

Thus, for the major awards (Artist, Song, Album), an artist must balance strong commercial metrics and favorable judge assessments. The visually or performance-based awards rely solely on judged evaluations, while fans’ choice awards are driven entirely by fan mobilization.

1.3 Nomination Announcement & Fan Voting Role

The process works in stages:

• MAMA usually announces the official nominees in October (as is typical in previous years).
• For fan-choice categories (e.g. “Fans’ Choice Male / Female”), fan voting helps determine which artists make it into the nominee pool (Round 1), and subsequently who wins (Round 2).])
• Through the Super Fan program (if retained this year), selected fans may gain privileges or influence in nomination phases — giving fandoms with better international organization an edge in shaping the nominee field.

Because portions of nomination rely on quantitative metrics (sales, streaming), fandoms must push not only votes but streaming, downloads, preorders, social engagement, etc., to help their artist qualify.

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2. Known & Media-Reported Nominees for 2025

While Mnet / MAMA have publicly revealed many of the major category nominees, not all minor or niche categories are fully disclosed. Media outlets, especially Latin / Spanish sites like LOS40, have published detailed nominations lists, which we summarize below — with caveats. ([LOS40][3])

Below is a reconstructed and annotated “nominees list” incorporating official data and media-reported items. This should be taken as provisional, pending official full confirmation.

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2.1 Top-Level & Major Category Nominees

Artist of the Year

This is an overarching “all-artist” category, including a wide field of possible nominees. According to media sources, the nominee list includes (but may not be limited to):
aespa, AHOF, ALLDAY PROJECT, Baby DONT Cry, BABYMONSTER, Baekhyun, BOYNEXTDOOR, CLOSE YOUR EYES, CORTIS, ENHYPEN, G-Dragon, Hearts2Hearts, IVE, IDID, izna, j-hope, Jennie, Jin, Jisoo, KickFlip, KiiiKiii, LE SSERAFIM, Mark, RIIZE, Rosé, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, Taeyeon, TWICE, TXT, Yuqi, ZEROBASEONE ([LOS40][3])

Song of the Year

Media reports indicate multiple nominated songs (some artists have more than one) such as:
aespa – “Dirty Work”
aespa – “Whiplash”
ALLDAY PROJECT – “FAMOUS” / “WICKED”
BABYMONSTER – “DRIP”
BLACKPINK – “JUMP”
BOYNEXTDOOR – “IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU”
Jennie – “ZEN” / “like JENNIE” / “ExtraL”
BIG Naughty – “MUSIC (feat. Lee Chanhyuk)”
… and more ([LOS40][3])

Album of the Year

Nominated albums include (media-reported):
aespa – Whiplash
BOYNEXTDOOR – No Genre
ENHYPEN – DESIRE : UNLEASH
BABYMONSTER – DRIP
Baekhyun – Essence of Reverie
ATEEZ – GOLDEN HOUR : Part.2
… among others ([LOS40][3])

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2.2 Performance, Genre & Specialty Category Nominees

Media sources propose the following nominees by category (again, provisional):

Best Dance Performance – Female Group

aespa – “Whiplash”
BABYMONSTER – “DRIP”
BLACKPINK – “JUMP”
ILLIT – “Cherish (My Love)”
IVE – “REBEL HEART”
LE SSERAFIM – “HOT” ([LOS40][3])

Best Dance Performance – Male Group

BOYNEXTDOOR – “IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU”
NCT DREAM – “When I’m With You”
NCT WISH – “poppop”
PLAVE – “Dash”
RIIZE – “Fly Up”
SEVENTEEN – “THUNDER”
TWS – “Countdown!” ([LOS40][3])

Best Dance Performance – Female Solo

Dayoung – “body”
Jennie – “like JENNIE”
Jisoo – “earthquake”
Karina – “UP”
Minnie – “HER” ([LOS40][3])

Best Dance Performance – Male Solo

G-Dragon – “TOO BAD (feat. Anderson .Paak)”
j-hope – “MONA LISA”
Kai – “Wait On Me”
Key – “HUNTER”
Mark – “1999” ([LOS40][3])

Best Music Video

aespa – “Dirty Work”
ALLDAY PROJECT – “FAMOUS”
BLACKPINK – “JUMP”
Jennie – “ZEN”
Lee Chan-hyuk – “Vivid LaLa Love” ([LOS40][3])

Best Choreography

aespa – “Whiplash”
ALLDAY PROJECT – “WICKED”
CORTIS – “GO!”
G-Dragon – “TOO BAD (feat. Anderson .Paak)”
Jennie – “like JENNIE” ([LOS40][3])

Best Vocal Performance – Solo

Doyoung – “Memory”
Lee Mu Jin – “Coming of Age Story”
Rosé – “toxic till the end”
Roy Kim – “If You Ask Me What Love Is”
Taeyeon – “Letter To Myself” ([LOS40][3])

Other categories (Collaboration, OST, Rap & Hip Hop, Fans’ Choice, etc.)

• Collaboration nominees include: G-Dragon – “TOO BAD (feat. Anderson .Paak)”, Jennie & Doechii – “ExtraL”, Rosé & Bruno Mars – “APT”, Mark – “Fraktsiya (feat. Lee Young Ji)”, V – “Winter Ahead (with Park Hyo Shin)” ([LOS40][3])
• OST nominees: BOYNEXTDOOR – “Never Loved This Way Before” (from Odd Girl Out OST), HUNTR/X – “GOLDEN”, Park Hyo Shin – “HERO”, Saja Boys – “Soda Pop”, TXT – “When the Day Comes” ([LOS40][3])
• Fans’ Choice (Male / Female) categories include large diverse lists sent by media: e.g. for Fans’ Choice Female, artists like aespa, BLACKPINK, Jennie, BABYMONSTER, IVE, etc. ([LOS40][3])

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2.3 Official Verification & Known Limitations

• The Wikipedia page for 2025 MAMA confirms the eligibility period and outlines the category weighting structure (digital, sales, judges, fan voting) but does not list a full nominee roster.])
• The Mnet Plus official site is live, but as of now does not display a fully detailed public nominees list in accessible format (or does so behind login) to fetch every category. ([Mnet Plus][4])
• Given that media outlets like LOS40 have published detailed lists (in Spanish) of nominees, those are likely derived from the official announcement by Mnet but may include translation or transcription errors. ([LOS40][3])

Because of that, while the list above covers a comprehensive sample of nominations, some niche or regional categories (e.g. Best Asian Artist, regional breaks, special awards) may not yet be publicly known or reported.

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3. Analysis, Trends & Insights

With the nominees list in hand (or partly reconstructed), we can derive several interesting observations and areas to watch.

3.1 Nomination Leadership & Artist Momentum

• Media reports say Jennie leads the nomination count, with ten nominations, making her arguably the most-nominated individual artist to date. ([LOS40][3])
• aespa consistently appears across major performance, song, and album categories — signaling strong momentum.
• The inclusion of both veteran and newer artists (e.g. G-Dragon, Taeyeon, BOYNEXTDOOR, IDID) suggests an attempt to balance legacy prestige with current trends. 3.2 Multiplicity of Nominations & Vote Splitting

Some artists have multiple songs or works nominated (for example, Jennie with “ZEN,” “like JENNIE,” “ExtraL”). While this shows breadth, it can also run a risk of vote splitting — i.e. fans dividing votes among multiple entries rather than coalescing behind one. That may give advantage to artists with fewer entries but stronger unified support.

3.3 Performance & Visual Categories Emphasis

The strong showing in performance, dance, music video, and choreography categories shows that MAMA 2025 is emphasizing not just “hit songs,” but the spectacle of stage performance and visual excellence. Artists with creative, choreographically ambitious videos will have an edge in judged categories.

3.4 Fan Power & Diversity

Because fan voting determines many categories (especially the Fans’ Choice awards), global, organized fandom mobilization will matter a lot. Regions outside Korea may disproportionately influence results in fan choice categories. Also, some artists whose commercial metrics are not top-tier might still secure fan-driven awards.

3.5 Underreported & Hidden Categories

It’s common for award shows to include regional / “Best Asian Artist,” “Best Breakthrough / Rookie,” and special awards like “Visionary / Inspiring Achievement.” These may not yet have publicly confirmed nominee lists but could feature niche or rising artists. Media predictions and local press may reveal these closer to the event.

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4. What to Watch Before the Ceremony

As the event approaches, fans, media, and industry watchers should look out for:

• Official full nominees list: Confirm whether media-reported nominees match the official Mnet list, and check for missing categories.
• Voting windows, rules, and cutoffs: Especially for fan-vote categories, knowing exact start and end times is critical.
• Promotion efforts by artists: Artists / agencies will likely push streaming, hashtag campaigns, social media engagement, and international voting coordination.
• Pre-ceremony events: Sometimes “preliminary awards” or red carpet reveals hint which nominees are favored.
• Withdrawals or disqualifications: If a nominee cannot comply with rules or withdraws, replacement or removal may occur.
• Performance lineups: Often, not all nominees perform, but many get performance slots, which can influence perception.
• Media leaks or updates: Sometimes new categories or special awards are revealed late.

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5. Limitations, Caveats & Accuracy Considerations

Because the full official nomination list is not always fully public in every category, the reconstructed list above has limitations:

1. Reliance on media reports (e.g. LOS40) which may have translation, omission, or transcription errors.
2. Lack of access to some regional or “special” award categories that are not always publicly disclosed.
3. Possibility of last-minute changes — Mnet could add or remove categories or nominees before the ceremony.
4. Differences in local vs global versions — sometimes versions of nominees differ by territory.
5. Judged vs fan categories — not all nominations are publicly weighted, so the importance of some is speculative.

That said, the list and analysis above offer a near-comprehensive snapshot of what is known and widely reported as of mid-October 2025.

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6. Suggested Use & Next Steps

To make the most of the nominees list:

• Publish a shareable “Nominees List” guide (e.g. infographic or social media post) so fans can quickly see who is competing.
• Track nomination counts by artist to spot who leads.
• Watch which nominated works start to get heavy push or pre-voting promotion — often a sign of backing.
• Once winners are announced, compare outcomes vs nominations to spot upsets or trends.
• Monitor vote margins (if disclosed) to understand fan strength distribution.