BTS Took Home Artist of the Year During Their First AMAs Appearance in Four Years
2 min readTHE RUNDOWN
- K-pop band BTS returned to the American Music Awards after four years away.
- They performed their single “Hooligan” from their 2026 album, ARIRANG.
- The group was nominated for Artist of the Year, Song of the Summer, and Best Male K-pop Artist.
On Monday, K-pop band BTS made a special appearance at the 52nd American Music Awards after four years away from the annual ceremony. They performed “Hooligan,” a track from their chart-topping 2026 album, ARIRANG.
This year, they were nominated in three categories, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Summer for “Swim,” and Best Male K-Pop Artist. They ultimately won Artist of the Year and Song of the Summer for their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Swim.” The band debuted in the U.S. at the 2017 American Music Awards as the first Korean group to perform on the show, where they sang “DNA.” In 2021, the group won Artist of the Year as well as best K-pop artist in 2022, per Billboard.
For Artist of the Year 2026, BTS competed against Taylor Swift. With their 2021 win, they broke Swift’s three-year streak, though she triumphed again the following year. Ahead of that big moment, the group shared their thoughts on the support they’ve received from their fans.
“All we ever dreamed about was just creating music,” band member RM said at the time. “And that’s what we’re still doing now. In this sense, our lives are not quite that different from before. But the love and support that we’ve received over the years have truly exceeded our wildest dreams, and it’s really hard to believe that our music and performances have made such a positive impact and received so much love from so many people around the world.
“It’s an honor to share K-pop and our culture with the world,” Suga added. “We feel a strong sense of responsibility and want to continue sharing good music and performances that people can enjoy and remember.”
During their acceptance speech Monday night, RM thanked fans for supporting the group through the years. “ARMYs, we made it once again. Thank you. It’s an honor to have this precious award,” he said. “Once again, after everybody’s done their military service.”
He continued, “Like the legendary Busta Rhymes said, it’s a fan-voted award, so our biggest thanks and gratitude goes to the ARMYs all over the world. You stood by us for the past 13 years—thank you so much.”