MAMA Awards 2025 Nominees List｜Official Mnet Asian Music Awards

The 2025 edition of the MAMA Awards (formerly known as the Mnet Asian Music Awards) is shaping up to be a landmark in the K-pop calendar. With the ceremony set for November 28-29, 2025 in Hong Kong at the new Kai Tak Stadium, this year’s event carries heightened anticipation.
Central to this excitement is the nominees list — recognising outstanding achievements in recording, streaming, performance and fan engagement across Korean and international markets. In this article, we’ll explore the nominees list for 2025: key categories, major nominees, what they mean for fans, how the list was compiled and why you should take note.
(One note: While the list is officially announced, some categories remain subject to verification and further full details may follow.)

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1. Timing & Context of Nomination Announcement

According to publicly available sources, the 2025 nominees list was announced via livestream on October 16, 2025.
This timing aligns with previous years, where nominations typically drop in mid-October ahead of the late November show. The eligibility period for works (songs, albums) is given as October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.
The event’s host location (Hong Kong) and scale (Kai Tak) underscore the global ambitions of the awards: a major reason to pay attention to the nominees list as it reflects both domestic and international trends.

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2. How the Nominees List Was Compiled Eligibility Criteria

From the Chinese-language wiki summary:

• The eligibility window: 2024-10-01 to 2025-09-30.
• For major awards such as Artist of the Year: a breakdown such as 30% domestic & global sales/streams, 40% judging panel.
• Fans’ Choice categories rely heavily (100%) on online fan voting and streaming/social metrics. Judging & Data Components

The nominees list is a blend of:

• Commercial performance (album sales, streaming)
• Digital performance (downloads, streaming, social reach)
• Fan engagement (voting, social campaigns)
• Expert panel evaluation

This means the list is not simply a “popularity” list — it reflects broad performance across multiple dimensions.

What this means for fans

If your favourite artist appears on the nominees list, that means they’ve achieved strong performance across several axes. As a fan, you can recognise the significance: nominations are not automatic, and being listed means recognition from industry, data, and public.
Also: being nominated gives your artist an opportunity to win; particularly in categories shaped by streaming/fan metrics, mobilised support matters.

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3. The 2025 Nominees List: Major Categories & Key Nominees

Below is a curated list of major categories and selected nominees from the 2025 list (in alphabetical order within categories).
Note: This list is drawn from the most up-to-date publicly available sources — further sub-categories and full nominee lists may be published later.

Artist of the Year (Daesang)

Nominees include:

• AHOF
• ALLDAY PROJECT
• BABYMONSTER
• Baekhyun
• BOYNEXTDOOR
• CLOSE YOUR EYES
• CORTIS
• ENHYPEN
• G-Dragon
• Hearts2Hearts
• (G)I-DLE
• IVE
• IZNA
• j-hope
• Jennie
• Jin
• Jisoo
• KickFlip
• KiiiKiii
• LE SSERAFIM
• Mark
• RIIZE
• Rosé
• SEVENTEEN
• Stray Kids
• Taeyeon
• TWICE
• Yuqi
• ZEROBASEONE Song of the Year

Selected nominees:

• aespa – “Dirty Work”
• aespa – “Whiplash”
• ALLDAY PROJECT – “FAMOUS”
• ALLDAY PROJECT – “WICKED”
• BABYMONSTER – “DRIP”
• BIG Naughty – “MUSIC (feat. Lee Chan-hyuk)”
• BLACKPINK – “JUMP”
• BOYNEXTDOOR – “IF I SAY, I LOVE YOU”
• BOYNEXTDOOR – “Never Loved This Way Before”
• CNBLUE – “A Sleepless Night”
• CORTIS – “GO!”
• Davichi – “Stitching”
• DAY6 – “Maybe Tomorrow”
• Dayoung – “body”
• Doyoung – “Memory”
• Dynamic Duo & Gummy – “Take Care”
• G-Dragon – “Too Bad (feat. Anderson .Paak)”
• HAON – “Skrr (feat. Giselle)”
• ILLIT – “Cherish (My Love)”
• IVE – “REBEL HEART”
• j-hope – “MONA LISA”
• Jennie – “like JENNIE”
• Jennie & Doechii – “ExtraL”
• Jisoo – “earthquake”
• Kai – “Wait On Me”
• Karina – “UP”
• Key – “HUNTER”
• LE SSERAFIM – “HOT”
• Lee Chan-hyuk – “Vivid LaLa Love”
• Lee Mu-jin – “Coming of Age Story”
• Mark – “1999”
• Mark – “Fraktsiya (feat. Lee Young-ji)”
• MEOVV – “DROP TOP”
• Minnie – “HER”
• N.Flying – “Everlasting”
• NCT DREAM – “WHEN I’M WITH YOU”
• NCT WISH – “poppop”
• PLAVE – “Dash”
• QWER – “Dear”
• RIIZE – “Fly Up”
• Rosé – “toxic till the end”
• Rosé & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
• Roy Kim – “If You Ask Me What Love Is”
• Saja Boys – “Soda Pop”
• Tablo & RM – “Stop The Rain”
• Taeyeon – “Letter To Myself”
• TREASURE – “YELLOW”
• TWS – “Countdown”
• TXT – “When the Day Comes” Album of the Year

While a full list of nominees for Album of the Year has not been wholly published in the sources accessed, it is one of the four “Daesang” (grand prize) categories and carries major weight. You should anticipate the full nominee list to appear in updates.

Best Male Group

Nominees:

• BOYNEXTDOOR
• ENHYPEN
• RIIZE
• SEVENTEEN
• Stray Kids
• Tomorrow X Together
• ZEROBASEONE Best Female Group

Nominees:

• aespa
• BABYMONSTER
• (G)I-DLE
• IVE
• LE SSERAFIM
• TWICE Best Male Artist

Nominees:

• Baekhyun
• G-Dragon
• j-hope
• Jin
• Mark Best Female Artist

Nominees:

• Jennie
• Jisoo
• Rosé
• Taeyeon
• Yuqi Best Dance Performance – Female Group

Nominees:

• aespa – “Whiplash”
• BABYMONSTER – “DRIP”
• BLACKPINK – “JUMP”
• ILLIT – “Cherish (My Love)”
• IVE – “REBEL HEART”
• LE SSERAFIM – “HOT” Best Dance Performance – Male Group

Nominees:

• 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” Best Music Video

Nominees:

• aespa – “Dirty Work”
• ALLDAY PROJECT – “FAMOUS”
• BLACKPINK – “JUMP”
• Jennie – “ZEN”
• Lee Chan-hyuk – “Vivid LaLa Love” Best Choreography

Nominees:

• aespa – “Whiplash”
• ALLDAY PROJECT – “WICKED”
• CORTIS – “GO!”
• G-Dragon – “Too Bad (feat. Anderson .Paak)”
• Jennie – “like JENNIE” Best New Artist

Nominees:

• AHOF
• ALLDAY PROJECT
• Baby Don’t Cry
• CLOSE YOUR EYES
• CORTIS
• Hearts2Hearts
• IDID
• IZNA
• KickFlip
• KiiiKiii

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4. Highlights & Observations from the Nominees List Heavyweight Artists & Groups

It’s noticeable that major artists with global reach appear extensively on the list: Jennie (from BLACKPINK) leads in nominations, especially solo; groups such as aespa, BABYMONSTER, Stray Kids, IVE, LE SSERAFIM show up across multiple categories.
This reflects the globalisation of K-pop and the way streaming, social metrics and international reach factor into nominations.

New Generation & Rookies

The Best New Artist category is filled with fresh acts such as AHOF, ALLDAY PROJECT, IZNA, KiiiKiii etc. This demonstrates that the awards are not only about established stars—they’re also shining a light on the next generation.

Diverse Categories & Global Collaboration

The categories are broad, covering not just traditional “Best Male/Female Artist/Group” but also dance performance, music video, choreography, rap/hip hop, collaboration, OST, etc.
There are several entries reflecting cross-genre or cross-market collaboration (for instance G-Dragon featuring Anderson .Paak). This shows the awards recognise complexity and diversity in modern music.

Fan & Data Driven

Given the inclusion of streaming, global data and fan voting, many of these nominee entries reflect both commercial success and fan support. For fans, seeing their favourite artist nominated is often the first step in a campaign for winning.

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5. How Fans & Industry Can Interpret the List For Fans

If your favourite artist or group appears on this list: congratulations! That means they’ve achieved strong performance. But being nominated is only the beginning — you can help them by:

• Streaming nominated songs/albums (if eligible)
• Voting (when voting opens)
• Engaging on social media following official hashtags and announcements For Industry Observers

The nominations list provides a snapshot of who is leading in K-pop and adjacent Asian music markets. It’s useful to track:

• Which groups dominate multiple categories (suggesting wide market impact)
• Rookies nominated (suggesting who to watch in coming years)
• Collaborations and global features (sign of international reach)
• Which categories have strong competition (often a barometer of trends) For Marketers & Concert Planners

The fact that the 2025 MAMA will be in Hong Kong and the nominee list features many globally-oriented acts means this is not just a Korean domestic story — it has pan-Asia and global resonance. This fact influences ticket sales, broadcast rights, fan-event opportunities, merchandise tie-ins and more.

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6. What Comes Next: Voting, Performance & Final Results

The nominees list is only one part—next steps include:

• Voting for fan-based categories (Fans’ Choice, etc)
• Performance line-up announcements (which will often include some of the nominees)
• The ceremony itself (Nov 28-29, Hong Kong)
• Announcement of winners, and post-show coverage

For fans: once nominations drop you should watch for the official voting launch (via apps such as Mnet Plus or partner platforms).
For artists: being nominated often means promotional activity ramps up (special stages, fan-voting campaigns, appearances).
For the event: nominees list helps build hype, and fans will often follow the journey from nomination to win (or surprise).

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7. The Significance of the 2025 Nominees List in Context A Return to Hong Kong

The 2025 edition of MAMA being held in Hong Kong for the first time since 2018 (and at the large-scale Kai Tak venue) gives the nominees list extra importance—it’s the nominees that will take the stage in this major setting.
This suggests the organisers expect a wide-reaching show with international appeal.

Reflecting Global K-pop Growth

When you review the list, note how many of the nominated acts are not just Korea-based but global (either in language markets or in reach). The list is increasingly global.

Trend Spotting

From the list you can identify trends:

• The importance of strong solo projects by members of established groups (e.g., Jennie)
• The rise of multi-category groups (e.g., IVE, aespa)
• The importance of performance (dance, video, choreography) not just audio
• The trend of younger acts getting nominated early

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8. Practical Notes for Interested Readers Following Up

• Check the official MAMA social channels (Instagram @mnet_mama, X/Twitter) for full lists and voting links. ([Instagram][6])
• If you’re attending or watching: note the event dates, location, ticket details (for fans who attend in person).
• Continue monitoring for the complete nominee list — while many categories are published, some may still be updated or confirmed. For Ticket-Buyers

If you’re looking to attend the event in Hong Kong: a good strategy is to keep track of ticket release announcements (official channels) and plan travel and accommodation accordingly (Hong Kong tends to get busy when major events are hosted). Also, ensure you buy tickets only via authorised outlets to avoid scams.

For Fan Campaigns

If your artist is nominated: you may consider engaging in streaming campaigns, voting campaigns, social media support. However, always follow the official rules and platform guidelines for fair play.

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9. Summary

In summary: the 2025 MAMA Awards nominees list offers a rich and revealing picture of the current K-pop landscape and its intersection with global music. From heavy­weight artists and groups to rising rookies and performance-focused categories, the list reflects both commercial success and fan engagement. Whether you’re a casual fan, industry watcher or potential attendee, the list is a valuable barometer of where things stand heading into the live show.

To recap key take-aways:

• The nomination window and criteria reflect both Korean and global data, streaming and performance.
• Major categories such as Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, etc., show who is at top of the game.
• Many big names are nominated across multiple categories (Jennie, aespa, Stray Kids, IVE, etc.).
• Rookies and new artists have strong presence, demonstrating the awards’ role in forecasting future stars.
• For fans, seeing your artist nominated is a milestone — and the next phase (voting, performances, etc.) is where momentum builds.
• The event being in Hong Kong at a major venue adds significance to the list, as these nominees will take the centre-stage in a global showcase.

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10. What to Watch For Next

As we move closer to the event:

• The full nominee list for all categories (including technical categories) will likely be published.
• Voting platforms will open and hourly/daily voting data may become of interest to fans.
• Artist announcements for performances will tie into the nominees (often a nominated artist will perform).
• Live show dynamics: which nominees turn into winners, surprise wins, breakout performances.
• Post-event: winner lists, keynote moments, behind-the-scenes coverage.