BTS Wins “Artist of the Year” at the 2026 American Music Awards + the Complete Winners List

It was a victorious night for BTS and ARMY at the 2026 American Music Awards. The global supergroup dominated one of music’s biggest nights on Monday, May 25, taking home the coveted Artist of the Year prize and proving yet again that even after military service, their cultural grip remains almost untouchable.

Fresh off winning Song of the Summer for their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “SWIM,” the seven-member group closed out the night with the ceremony’s biggest fan-voted honour, beating a stacked category that included Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift.

Presented by Busta Rhymes, the award triggered an emotional moment onstage as the group reflected on their journey back together after military enlistment.

“ARMYs, we made it once again. Thank you. It’s an honour to have this precious award,” RM said while accepting the trophy. “Like the legendary Busta Rhymes said, it’s a fan-voted award, so our biggest thanks and gratitude go to the ARMYs all over the world. You stood by us for the past 13 years.”

J-Hope also thanked fans for embracing their latest album, ARIRANG, while Jimin closed out the speech by thanking supporters for following the group on tour and “showing so much love in every city.”

The night hardly stopped there for BTS. The group also performed “Hooligan” from their Billboard 200-topping album ARIRANG, which debuted at No. 1 earlier this year with over 641,000 equivalent album units earned. By the end of the night, BTS had officially cemented themselves as one of the defining stories of the 2026 AMAs.

But while BTS may have dominated headlines, the evening delivered major wins across pop, hip-hop, R&B, Latin music, K-pop and Afrobeats. Tyla scored a major Afrobeats victory, Shakira continued her global awards streak, while fictional K-pop phenomenon HUNTR/X from KPop Demon Hunters surprisingly emerged as one of the night’s biggest winners.

Hosted by Queen Latifah, the 52nd AMAs balanced nostalgia, internet virality, arena-sized fandoms and genre crossover chaos in the most 2026 way possible.

Complete Winners List

Genre-Neutral Categories

Artist of the Year — BTS
New Artist of the Year — KATSEYE
Album of the Year — Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Song of the Year — HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI – “Golden”
Collaboration of the Year — PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson – “Stateside”

Social Song of the Year — Tyla – “CHANEL”
Best Music Video — KATSEYE – “Gnarly”
Best Soundtrack — KPop Demon Hunters
Tour of the Year — Shakira – Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour
Breakout Tour — Benson Boone – American Heart World Tour
Breakthrough Album of the Year — Zara Larsson – Midnight Sun
Best Throwback Song — Black Eyed Peas – “Rock That Body”
Best Vocal Performance — HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI – “Golden”
Song of the Summer — BTS – “SWIM”

Pop Categories

Best Male Pop Artist — Justin Bieber
Best Female Pop Artist — Sabrina Carpenter
Breakthrough Pop Artist — KATSEYE
Best Pop Song — HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI – “Golden”
Best Pop Album — Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend

Country Categories

Best Male Country Artist — Morgan Wallen
Best Female Country Artist — Ella Langley
Best Country Duo or Group — Zac Brown Band
Breakthrough Country Artist — Sam Barber
Best Country Song — Ella Langley – “Choosin’ Texas”
Best Country Album — Megan Moroney – Cloud 9

Hip-Hop Categories

Best Male Hip-Hop Artist — Kendrick Lamar
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist — Cardi B
Breakthrough Hip-Hop Artist — Monaleo
Best Hip-Hop Song — Cardi B – “ErrTime”
Best Hip-Hop Album — Cardi B – AM I THE DRAMA?

R&B Categories

Best Male R&B Artist — Bruno Mars
Best Female R&B Artist — SZA
Breakthrough R&B Artist — Leon Thomas
Best R&B Song — Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”
Best R&B Album — Bruno Mars – The Romantic

Latin Categories

Best Male Latin Artist — Bad Bunny
Best Female Latin Artist — Shakira
Best Latin Duo or Group — Fuerza Regida
Breakthrough Latin Artist — Kapo
Best Latin Song — Bad Bunny – “NUEVAYoL”
Best Latin Album — KAROL G – Tropicoqueta

Rock Categories

Best Rock/Alternative Artist — Twenty One Pilots
Breakthrough Rock/Alternative Artist — sombr
Best Rock/Alternative Song — Sombr – “Back to Friends”
Best Rock/Alternative Album — Sombr – I Barely Know Her

Other Genre Categories

Best Dance/Electronic Artist — David Guetta
Best Male K-Pop Artist — BTS
Best Female K-Pop Artist — TWICE
Best Afrobeats Artist — Tyla
Best Americana/Folk Artist — Noah Kahan