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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Music and Concerts devider Cup of Joe, BLACKPINK, BTS, Plave among acts nominated at Music Awards Japan 2026

Cup of Joe, BLACKPINK, BTS, Plave among acts nominated at Music Awards Japan 2026

Published May 2, 2026 09:05 am

At A Glance

  • Korean and Filipino artists are among the nominees for the Music Awards Japan (MAJ) 2026, with entries spanning Best Song Asia, K-pop categories, and international hip-hop/rap recognitions ahead of the Tokyo ceremony in June.

Korean and Filipino artists are among those nominated at the Music Awards Japan (MAJ) 2026, set to be held in Tokyo on June 13, highlighting a broad slate of acts across Asia and the global music scene.

In the Best Song Asia category, Filipino band Cup of Joe earned a nomination for “Multo”, competing against Plave (“Dash”) and Woodz (“Drowning”) from South Korea, Huntr/x (“Golden”) also from South Korea, and Indonesia’s Silet Open Up (“Tabola Bale”).

The Best K-pop Song in Japan category features a strong lineup of female-led releases, including ILLIT (“Almond Chocolate”), LE SSERAFIM (“Different”), BLACKPINK (“Jump”), Jennie (“like JENNIE”), and TWICE (“This Is For”).

For Best K-pop Artist, the nominees include global heavyweights BLACKPINK, BTS, LE SSERAFIM, Stray Kids, and TWICE.

Meanwhile, the Best International Hip Hop/Rap Song category brings together a mix of global acts, with Jennie and Doechii’s “ExtraL” nominated alongside Doechii (“Anxiety”), Travis Scott (“Kick Out”), Drake (“Nokia”), and Tyler, The Creator (“Stop Playing With Me”).

Cup of Joe (Photo from Cup of Joe's Instagram account)
Cup of Joe (Photo from Cup of Joe's Instagram account)

Here are the nominees: 

Song of the Year 

HANA — ”Blue Jeans”

Kenshi Yonezu — ”IRIS OUT”

Sakanaction — ”Kaiju”

AiNA THE END — ”On The Way”

M!LK — ”Sukisugite Metsu!”

Artist of the Year 

Fujii Kaze

HANA

Mrs. GREEN APPLE

Sakanaction

Kenshi Yonezu

New Artist of the Year 

CANDY TUNE

HANA

luv

STARGLOW

Brandy Senki

Album of the Year 

Mrs. GREEN APPLE — 10

Various Artists — Dear Jubilee - RADWIMPS TRIBUTE -

Hoshino Gen — Gen

Fujii Kaze — Prema

Southern All Stars —THANK YOU SO MUCH

Best Global Hit from Japan 

XG — ”Hypnotize”

Kenshi Yonezu — “IRIS OUT”

Kenshi Yonezu And Hikaru Utada — ”JANE DOE”

LiSA — ”ReawakeR（feat. Felix of Stray Kids）”

Ado — ”Useewa”

Best of Listeners' Choice: Japanese Song (powered by Spotify)

BE CLASSIC ／ JO1

BOYZ ／ SixTONES

encore ／ Hey! Say! JUMP

Eureka ／ 星野源

Go in Blind (⽉狼) ／ &TEAM

GOD_i ／ Number_i

IRIS OUT ／ ⽶津⽞師

NINE LIVES ／ 超特急

Only You ／ MAZZEL

Prema ／ Fujii Kaze

Present ／ INI

Theater ／ King & Prince

UDAGAWA GENERATION ／ 櫻坂 46

怪獣 ／ サカナクション

カリスマックス ／ Snow Man

クスシキ ／ Mrs. GREEN APPLE

好きすぎて滅！ ／ M!LK

ダーリン ／ Mrs. GREEN APPLE

はちゃめちゃわちゃライフ！ ／ FRUITS ZIPPER

夢中 ／ BE:FIRST

Best of Listeners' Choice: International Song (powered by Spotify)

12 to 12 ／ sombr

Abracadabra ／ Lady Gaga

Almond Chocolate ／ ILLIT

Azizam ／ Ed Sheeran

CHANEL ／ Tyla

Count To Love ／ BOYNEXTDOOR

DAISIES ／ Justin Bieber

Dash ／ PLAVE

DIFFERENT ／ LE SSERAFIM

Don't Say You Love Me ／ Jin

Drowning ／ WOODZ

ExtraL (feat. Doechii) ／ JENNIE, Doechii

EYES CLOSED ／ JISOO & ZAYN

GETCHA! (with Nic Cester, Jet, Chad Smith)

- prod. Tom Morello ／ Thomas Raggi

Golden ／ HUNTR/X

Jealous Type ／ Doja Cat

JUMP ／ BLACKPINK

like JENNIE ／ JENNIE

Manchild ／ Sabrina Carpenter

Ma"t Ke"t No"i ／ Dương Domic

P Ramlee Saloma ／ Alpha

Shine On Me ／ ENHYPEN

Soda Pop ／ Saja Boys

SPAGHETTI (feat. j-hope of BTS) ／ LE SSERAFIM

Tears ／ Sabrina Carpenter

The Fate of Ophelia ／ Taylor Swift

THIS IS FOR ／ TWICE

THUNDER ／ SEVENTEEN

Zoo (From "Zootopia 2") ／ Shakira

นครดารา ／ YOUNGOHM

<最優秀アナログレコード・セールス特別賞>

10 ／ Mrs. GREEN APPLE

Gen ／ 星野源

Melodies ／ ⼭下達郎

SONGS ／ SUGAR BABE

ハチミツ ／ スピッツ

Related Tags

Music Awards Japan 2026 BTS TWICE Cup of Joe Jennie Stray Kids
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