2026 American Music Awards: BTS beats Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber to win Artist Of The Year

BTS took home the coveted Artist of the Year honour at the 2026 American Music Awards, marking another major milestone in their career.The ceremony, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, saw BTS beat a star-studded list of nominees including Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter for the top prize.Thanking fans during the acceptance speech, RM said, "Thank you. It’s an honor to have this precious award once again after everybody’s done their military service."He added, "Biggest thanks and gratitude, as always, goes to ARMY for the past 13 years. Thank you so much."

Meanwhile, j-hope joined the cheering crowd and gestured “6-7” before saying, "We have been overwhelmed by the reaction from the album. Thank you for embracing us on every single song on the album."This marks the second time BTS has won the Artist of the Year award after first taking home the honour in 2021, when they became the first Asian act to win the fan-voted category at the time. BTS first won an American Music Award in 2018 for Top Social Artist. Since then, the group has collected multiple AMA trophies, including wins for Favorite Duo or Group, Favorite K-pop Artist, Favorite Pop Song and Tour of the Year. The band also holds the record for the most consecutive wins in the Favorite Pop Duo or Group category from 2019 to 2022.

Earlier in the evening, the group also won Song of the Summer for their track 'SWIM' from their recently released studio album ARIRANG. Members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook were all 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.