BTS Makes New History Beyond Military Hiatus With Second Artist of the Year Win at U.S. AMAs

BTS greets fans after winning Artist of the Year, the top honor, at the American Music Awards (AMA) held in Las Vegas, United States. [Photo=AFP=Yonhap News]

Group BTS has once again reached the top at the American Music Awards (AMA), regarded as one of the three major popular music award ceremonies in the United States. Just two months after resuming full-group activities following the members' military service, BTS captured a grand-prize-level trophy at a major U.S. awards show, once again proving its global influence.

BTS won Artist of the Year, considered the top award, at the 2026 American Music Awards held on the 25th local time at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, United States. The achievement came after competing against global pop stars including Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift.

The American Music Awards, along with the Grammy Awards and the Billboard Music Awards (BBMA), is one of the major award ceremonies representing the U.S. music industry, with winners selected based on fan voting.

This is the second time BTS has taken home the trophy in the category. In 2021, the group became the first Asian act to win Artist of the Year with the English-language single Butter, and by adding its name to the same honor once again, it showed its presence anew.

BTS, which ended its military hiatus by releasing its fifth full-length album ARIRANG in March, has been producing major achievements in quick succession since its return.

In his acceptance speech, leader RM said, This is a result made by ARMY once again, adding, I am grateful to receive such a meaningful award again after all the members completed their military service. He continued, I send my deepest gratitude to fans around the world who have been with us for 13 years.

Jimin also offered heartfelt greetings to fans in both English and Korean. He said, Thank you to the fans who came to our concert tour and sent us love in every city, adding, I sincerely thank and love ARMY, who always send us support and love, before bowing deeply.

BTS also added the Song of the Summer award that day, winning two awards in total.

KATSEYE, which won Best New Artist at the American Music Awards. [Photo=Reuters=Yonhap News]

K-pop artists continued to make strong showings as well. Global girl group KATSEYE, created by HYBE and U.S. producers, won Best New Artist and performed PINKY UP on stage.

In her acceptance speech, member Sophia said, I especially thank BTS for inspiring us to show our culture on the world stage.

Korean member Yoonchae said, I am grateful to share this moment with the members, adding, We will continue to proudly show our culture going forward.

The Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters and its soundtrack song Golden also made their presence felt at the awards ceremony. As the work swept major categories including Best Soundtrack, Song of the Year, and Best Vocal Performance, Korean American singers EJAE and Rei Ami, who performed the songs of the fictional girl group HUNTR/X in the film, attended the ceremony in person and shared the joy of winning.

EJAE said, The reason this work and music were able to gain such great strength is thanks to the fans, adding, I am grateful to the fans and to everyone on the KPop Demon Hunters team.

As the name of K-pop is being engraved across U.S. music awards stages, the influence of Korean music in the global music market is growing even stronger.