Provided by ‘The Awards’

Give a meaningful award to my ‘bias’ with my own hands.

Voting for the ‘upick Popularity Award’ of the 2nd ‘The Awards (D Awards with upick)’, to be held on February 11, 2026, begins on the 26th.

Organized by upick, the global fandom platform that is the naming sponsor of ‘The Awards’, voting will take place across eight categories.

The ‘upick Popularity Award’, subtitled ‘FanPick’, is decided 100% by fan participation. Thanks to the strong response and support from the K-pop fandom at the last ceremony, the ‘Best Rising Star (Male/Female)’ category has been newly added, expanding the roster from six categories.

Through the upick platform, fans can cast their precious votes in eight categories under ‘upick Popularity Award FanPick’: ‘Best Solo Popularity (Male/Female)’, ‘Best Group Popularity (Male/Female)’, ‘Best Rising Star (Male/Female)’, and ‘upick Global Choice (Male/Female)’.

Voting in the ‘Best Solo Popularity’ and ‘Best Rising Star’ categories opens at noon on the 26th. Nominees for ‘Best Solo Popularity’ are individuals who released a solo album within the year, while ‘Best Rising Star’ targets rookie idols expected to shine in 2026.

It will proceed in a tournament format with a main round and a final round; the main round closes at 3 p.m. on January 2, 2026, and the final round begins at 5 p.m. the same day. Final results for ‘Best Solo Popularity’ will be announced at 3 p.m. on January 26, 2026, and for ‘Best Rising Star’ at 3 p.m. on January 27, 2026.

The main-round voting for ‘Best Group Popularity’, which targets artists who lit up K-pop this year, starts at noon on the 29th and runs until 3 p.m. on January 5, 2026, and the final-round voting runs from 5 p.m. on January 5, 2026, to 3 p.m. on January 28, 2026.

‘upick Global Choice’ runs from noon on January 6, 2026, to 3 p.m. on January 29, 2026. Final candidates for ‘upick Global Choice’ are narrowed down to members of the groups that advance to the finals of ‘Best Rising Star’ and ‘Best Group Popularity’, so a fierce contest is expected.

There will also be a giveaway event for ‘The Awards’ in-person tickets aimed at fandoms participating in the voting. Further details of the event will be announced later on upick social media and the official app.

The 2nd ‘The Awards’ will be held on February 11, 2026, at Hwajeong Gymnasium, Korea University, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.