ATEEZ, NMIXX, RIIZE and CORTIS Win Grand Prizes at 2026 The Fact Music Awards

The 2026 The Fact Music Awards distributed its top honors across four acts as ATEEZ, NMIXX, RIIZE and CORTIS each received a Daesang, or grand prize. The ceremony took place in Busan on September 19 and recognized artists through major prizes, performance awards and fan-driven categories.

ATEEZ won Icon of the Year, NMIXX received Sound of the Year, RIIZE took Muse of the Year, and CORTIS earned Record of the Year. The four-prize structure gave the night several headline winners rather than concentrating the top recognition on one act.

Four acts divide the grand prizes

ATEEZ paired Icon of the Year with an Artist of the Year award. NMIXX also combined its Sound of the Year grand prize with Artist of the Year, while member Sullyoon won the female FANNSTAR MYSTAR honor. Those additional results gave both groups recognition beyond their main Daesang trophies.

RIIZE followed the same pattern, adding Artist of the Year to its Muse of the Year grand prize. CORTIS collected three awards in total: Record of the Year, Artist of the Year and Next Leader. The combination placed CORTIS among the ceremony’s most decorated acts and linked a top award with recognition for future momentum.

The Artist of the Year list extended well beyond the four Daesang recipients. ATEEZ, TREASURE, NMIXX, RIIZE, ILLIT, RESCENE, KiiiKiii, ALLDAY PROJECT, CORTIS, ALPHA DRIVE ONE and Yena all received the honor, reflecting a field that included established performers and newer acts.

Performance and rising-artist honors

TREASURE received World Best Performer in addition to Artist of the Year. EVAN won World Best Wave, while tripleS and CLOSE YOUR EYES shared Global Hot Trend. CORTIS and ALPHA DRIVE ONE were named Next Leader, and xikers and IDID received the Hottest award.

RESCENE earned Today’s Choice while also appearing in the Artist of the Year list. Lim Young Woong won both the TMA Popularity Award and the Special Jury Award, giving the ceremony another multiple winner outside the four grand-prize acts.

The range of categories created several routes to recognition. Some awards focused on overall artistic presence, others emphasized performance or rising potential, and another group reflected popularity and fan activity. As a result, the winners list covered different stages of an artist’s career rather than relying on a single ranking.

BTS, PLAVE and Lee Chan Won lead music and fan categories

BTS won FANNSTAR CHOICE for groups and also received Best Music for both spring and summer. Jin separately took the male FANNSTAR MYSTAR award, extending BTS-related recognition across group, seasonal music and individual fan categories.

PLAVE received Best Music for autumn and the Global Hot Star award. Lee Chan Won won Best Music for winter and FANNSTAR CHOICE for solo artists. Sullyoon’s female FANNSTAR MYSTAR trophy completed the paired individual fan awards alongside Jin.

These fan and seasonal categories added a different dimension to the ceremony’s main prizes. While the Daesangs marked broad achievements, the Best Music awards divided recognition by season, and the FANNSTAR categories highlighted audience participation around groups, soloists and individual members.

A wide field of winners in Busan

The final results presented the 2026 ceremony as a broad survey of the current K-pop field. ATEEZ, NMIXX, RIIZE and CORTIS emerged as the four grand-prize winners, but numerous other artists left with performance, trend, popularity or fan-selected honors.

That distribution made the event less about one dominant sweep and more about several forms of success. The major awards established four central winners, while the longer list recognized touring power, music released across the year, fan engagement and the emergence of newer acts.

With the Busan ceremony complete, the 2026 The Fact Music Awards now has a winners list led by four distinct Daesang recipients. Their results, together with the wider collection of honorees, capture a year in which established names and developing groups shared the stage.