The 2016 Melon Music Awards ceremony, organized by Kakao M (a Kakao company) through its online music storeMelon, took place on Saturday, November 19, 2016, in Seoul, South Korea.[1] The eighth installment of the event since its offline launch in 2009, it was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome for the first time, which is one of the largest indoor concert venues in South Korea.[2]
Details for the ceremony—including the announcement of its date and venue—were first made available on October 7, 2016.[3] A list of nominations and the awardees for the Top 10 Artists were announced on November 4, with voting for the main awards beginning the same day.[4]
The criteria for the awards varied depending on the category, consisting a mixture of digital sales data, judges evaluation, and online voting. Exo received the most nominations of the night, winning four of the six nominated categories. BTS, GFriend and Twice followed with the second most nominations with five each, while Zico received the second most awards, having won three times. Furthermore, BTS, Exo and Twice received the three daesang prizes of the night.
Judging criteria
Division
Online Voting
Digital Sales
Judge Score
Main awards*
30%
70%
—
Genre Awards**
30%
40%
30%
Popularity Awards***
60%
40%
—
Special Awards****
—
—
100%
*Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Top 10 Artists, Best New Artist **Rap/Hip Hop, R&B/Ballad, Rock, OST, Trot, Pop, Dance, Folk/Blue, Indie, Electronic ***Netizen Popularity Award, Hot Trend Award ****Music Video Award, Song Writer Award, MBC Music Star Award, Performing Arts Award, Global Star Award, QQ Asia Artist Award, Hall of Fame Award, Kakao Hot Star Award
^"Gocheok Skydome". Seoul Tourism Organization. February 22, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
^"멜론뮤직어워드, 11월19일 고척돔 개최 '올해 첫 음악 시상식'" [Melon Music Awards, held at Gocheok Dome on November 19th 'The year's first music awards ceremony']. My Daily (in Korean). Naver. October 7, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2022.