BTS achieved another historic milestone by winning the prestigious Artist of the Year award at the 2026 American Music Awards. The ceremony took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where the K-pop supergroup triumphed over a stellar lineup of nominees, including Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, and Sabrina Carpenter.
BTS Acceptance Speech Highlights
During their acceptance speech, RM expressed heartfelt gratitude: "Thank you. It is an honor to have this precious award once again after everybody has completed their military service." He added, "The biggest thanks and gratitude, as always, goes to ARMY for the past 13 years. Thank you so much." Meanwhile, j-hope gestured the numbers "6-7" before saying, "We have been overwhelmed by the reaction to the album. Thank you for embracing every single song on the album."
Historic Win for BTS
This marks the second time BTS has won the Artist of the Year award, following their initial victory in 2021 when they became the first Asian act to win the fan-voted category. The group first won an American Music Award in 2018 for Top Social Artist. Since then, they have collected multiple AMA trophies, including wins for Favorite Duo or Group, Favorite K-pop Artist, Favorite Pop Song, and Tour of the Year. BTS also holds the record for the most consecutive wins in the Favorite Pop Duo or Group category from 2019 to 2022.
Additional Win and Recent Activities
Earlier in the evening, BTS also won Song of the Summer for their track 'SWIM' from their recently released studio album ARIRANG. All seven members—RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook—were present at the ceremony to accept the award, following the completion of their mandatory South Korean military service. The group made their official return in June with the launch of their fifth studio album ARIRANG, a documentary project, and a massive world tour spanning 82 shows across 34 cities globally.
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