Details have been revealed for the general voting categories and co-creation awards at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026 (MAJ2026), the international music awards ceremony set to be held June 13 at TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO.

MAJ2026 defines eligible works as songs and albums whose full-version official recordings were first made available via digital distribution on a public service or released physically between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025 (with exceptions in some categories). The awards recognize outstanding works and artists shaping Japan’s current music scene, with winners determined by votes from music industry professionals.

The general voting categories and co-creation awards announced today are presented in partnership with Spotify Japan K.K., XING Inc., DAIICHIKOSHO Co., Ltd., MIXI, Inc., USEN Corporation (U-NEXT HD), and LINE MUSIC Corporation, encompassing seven public-participation categories in total. The awards honor the best songs enjoyed by everyday listeners through karaoke, Spotify, cable music broadcasting, and more.

Additional new categories have also been introduced, including the Best Vocaloid Culture Song, for which listeners can cast votes via dwango’s website, and the Student Creator Encouragement Award — STUDENT MUSIC CREATORS CHALLENGE — in association with Kyoto University of the Arts, open to student creators who submit their own works for consideration. These new categories are aimed not only at general listeners but at general creators as well. 

GENERAL VOTING CATEGORIES

Best of Listeners’ Choice: Domestic Song powered by Spotify

A co-created category with Spotify Japan K.K. in which Spotify users in Japan and worldwide vote to determine the best domestic song.

Selection process: The top 100 domestic songs from among the entries for Song of the Year are selected as eligible works, with the winner determined by a public vote from Spotify listeners in Japan and abroad.

First vote: Thursday, Mar. 19 – Wednesday, Apr. 8

Final vote: Thursday, Apr. 30 – Wednesday, May 20


Best of Listeners’ Choice: International Song powered by Spotify

A co-created category with Spotify Japan K.K. in which Spotify users in Japan and worldwide vote to determine the best international song.

Selection process: Eligible works consist of entries for MAJ’s Best Song Asia combined with the top 10 entries each from the Best International Pop Song in Japan, Best International Rock Song in Japan, Best International Hip-Hop/Rap Song in Japan, Best International R&B/Contemporary Song in Japan, Best International Alternative Song in Japan, and Best K-Pop Song in Japan categories, for a total of 81 tracks. The winner is determined by a public vote from Spotify listeners in Japan and abroad.

First vote: Thursday, Mar. 19 – Wednesday, Apr. 8

Final vote: Thursday, Apr. 30 – Wednesday, May 20

Best Global Hit From Japan

One of MAJ’s principal categories, honoring domestic songs that have achieved international success.

Selection process: Tracks from Japan are extracted from global listening data (streaming, downloads, and music videos) compiled by Luminate, and the top 100 songs on a global chart constructed by excluding Japan-based plays are selected as eligible works. International Spotify users then vote to determine five nominees.


First vote: Thursday, Mar. 19 – Wednesday, Apr. 8

CO-CREATION CATEGORIES

Special Award: Karaoke  

Karaoke of the Year: J-Pop powered by DAM & JOYSOUND


A co-created category with XING Inc. and DAIICHIKOSHO Co., Ltd., honoring the most-sung J-Pop song at karaoke.

Karaoke of the Year: Enka/Kayōkyoku powered by DAM & JOYSOUND

A co-created category with Xing Inc. and Daiichi Kosho Co., Ltd., honoring the most-sung enka/kayōkyoku song at karaoke.
 

Special Award: 

Oshi-Katsu Request Artist of the Year powered by USEN

A co-created category with USEN Corporation (U-NEXT HD), honoring the artist who received the most requests via USEN’s Oshi-Katsu Request service.

Special Award: Family Song  

Best Song Chosen by Families 2025 powered by Mitene FamilyAlbum [New]

A co-created category with MIXI, Inc. honoring a song to be cherished alongside family memories (rolling out from Apr. 2, 2026). This category celebrates songs played again and again with children, hummed along to on family outings and trips, and songs that were simply always there throughout the everyday moments of family life.

Special Award: Fandom powered by LINE MUSIC & Yahoo! Search [New]

A co-created category with LINE MUSIC Corporation, honoring the artist supported by the most passionate fandom.



MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2026

Saturday, June 13, 2026 / TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO

Awards week: Friday, June 5 – Saturday, June 13, 2026

After years, Cardi B finally found a hair-care routine that works for her and she’s ready to share it with the world by launching her Grow-Good Beauty line.

“I made Grow-Good because I really put the work in on my hair,” Cardi told WWD in an interview published Tuesday (March 17). “I was doing my own masks in my kitchen, using what I already knew from my family’s recipes and what I learned from my own research. I really took my time to get my hair looking healthy again after years of damage. And guess what? It worked. Now I wanna share my hair journey with everybody.”

Developed with Revolve Group, Cardi’s line of hair-care products will launch on the Grow-Good Beauty website exclusively on April 14, with pre-sale set to begin on March 24. The line takes inspiration from Cardi’s Dominican roots and DIY hair-care routines, and includes a Wash Cycle shampoo and Soft Serve conditioner.

There’s also a Get Rich mask filled with a mix of avocado, coconut, banana extract and aloe vera. To protect the hair, Cardi also has an Everything Serum on deck to finish the job with some sleek and shine.

“She is extremely, extremely knowledgeable,” said Revolve cofounder Michael Mente. “She’s been very, very hands-on and in the details of every single product, using every product and approving every ingredient.”

Cardi officially announced Grow-Good Beauty on Instagram with a post on Tuesday, saying, “my dreams are coming true.”

The Grammy-winning rapper’s become well known for her colorful wigs and stunning looks, and she’s brought those to the stage with her on the Little Miss Drama Tour, which continues on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo., before heading to Chicago and Cincinnati.

Niall Horan owes his relationship with Amelia Woolley to a fateful dining experience he attended years ago — and now, he’s paying tribute to the occasion with his new single, “Dinner Party.”

In an interview with Capital Breakfast on Tuesday (March 17), the One Direction alum recalled how “Dinner Party” — which he wrote about meeting Woolley for the first time at a dinner party through mutual friends — served as the springboard for his next era by inspiring the direction of his yet-to-be-announced fourth studio LP. “This was the [song] that I was like, ‘OK, this is where the album starts from here.’”

“Because my relationship started on the night that this song is about,” he continued. “And I realized that that dinner party became a bigger thing than just sitting around, getting drunk and having a bit of food. It’s become the next six years of my life and hopefully the rest of it. So, yeah, it allowed me to then go and write songs that were about all of the moments of this said relationship.”

Horan also explained that he first wrote “Dinner Party” last summer while renting a house in Surrey, England. Nearly a year later, the track will finally drop on Friday (March 20), which the Irish star announced at the beginning of the month with a sweet post on social media.

“This song is about a really happy and big moment in my life,” he wrote at the time. “An evening at a simple dinner party that changed the course of my life. after writing the song, the words ‘dinner party‘ became the nucleus for the rest of the record. that once in a lifetime moment that i am grateful for and for everything that came after that night.”

Leading up to the announcement, fans reported online that Horan had bought drinks for people at a Brooklyn restaurant named Dinner Party and Met Him At a Bar in Los Angeles.

Horan’s next album will be his first since 2023’s The Show, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. All three of his solo LPs so far have appeared on the chart, with 2017’s Flicker reaching No. 1 and 2020’s Heartbreak Weather peaking at No. 4.

Calvin Harris and Kasabian’s “Release the Pressure” spends a second week at No. 1 on the WARM Global Dance Radio chart.

The track, released Feb. 6, leads the ranking dated March 21 with more than 800 spins across more than 200 monitored stations worldwide in the March 6-12 tracking week, according to WARM (World Airplay Radio Monitor).

Just below “Pressure,” FISHER’s “Rain” holds at its No. 2 high and Vintage Culture and gabss’ “Lost” jumps two spots to No. 3, a new best.

Rounding out the top five of the chart, HUGEL and SOLTO’s “Jamaican (Bam Bam)” rises 6-4, likewise a new high, and Mau P’s “Neck” drops 4-5.

For the second straight week, David Guetta has the most songs on the full 100-position WARM Global Dance Radio chart, with five tracks to his name: “Upside Down (Extended Mix),” with Jaden Bojsen (No. 12); “Crazy,” with Matt Sassari, Jack Back and Amira Eldine (No. 29); “Save Me Tonight,” with Jennifer Lopez (No. 52 debut); “Gone Gone Gone,” with Teddy Swims and Tones and I (No. 61); and “Prayer,” with Kiko and Olivier Giacomotto (No. 93 debut).

John Summit, MK, Tiësto, James Hype and CHRYSTAL follow with three charting songs apiece.

As announced March 5, Billboard has expanded its dance chart portfolio with the inclusion of the WARM Global Dance Radio chart. The ranking debuted on Billboard.com on March 10, joining Billboard’s long-standing U.S.-based dance lists, including Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Hot Dance/Pop Songs, Dance/Mix Show Airplay and Top Dance Albums.

The 40-position WARM Global Dance Radio chart (published in full as a 100-position ranking on WARM’s platform) aggregates plays from 200-plus dance-dedicated radio stations worldwide, reflecting which songs are trending globally through a network of programmers and radio gatekeepers operating across multiple territories. WARM monitors more than 23,000 radio stations across all genres and formats in 150 countries worldwide.

Check out the top 40 of the WARM Global Dance Radio chart on Billboard.com and head over to warmmusic.net for the full 100-position survey.