For the Rookie Award, the candidates are CRAVITY, ENHYPEN, H&D, MCND, TOO, TREASURE, Hojoong Kim, Driffin, Shin Yeyoung, Wii, and Eunsang Lee.
Works released from November 2019 through November 2020 are qualified to be nominated this year. Songs and albums that were excluded from the evaluation due to the previous year s judging count deadline are included in this year s judging. Nominees are selected based on quantitative measures such as sales. The final winners will be chosen based on sales (60%) and the judging panel s scores (40%).
The judging panel comprises the ceremony s executive committee alongside 50 industry professionals including music critics, directors of music programs, music distribution representatives, journalists specializing in music, and more. They will be evaluating qualitative measures such as the music s achievement and influence on the public.