Rei Ami and Ejae, The Singing Voices of HUNTR/X, accept the award for Song of the Year at The 52nd American Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rich Polk/Dick Clark Productions via Getty Images)
Dick Clark Productions via Getty
K-pop, Korean culture and the power of K-pop fandoms were on full display at the 2026 American Music Awards (AMAs). BTS and KPop Demon Hunters dominated the night, winning a combined total of seven awards. The AMAs are notable in that—unlike, say, the Grammys—they’re a fan-voted awards show, and anyone with a valid Facebook, Google or Instagram account may vote wherever the AMAs voting page is accessible. As a result, winners at the AMAs tend to reflect the artists and songs with passionate fanbases and broad public support.
Here are some notable K-culture moments from this year’s AMAs, which were held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, May 25th.
BTS wins Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards (AMAs) for the second time
Hosted by Queen Latifah, the 2026 American Music Awards opened with a taped performance of BTS’s “Hooligan” from the septet’s sold-out Vegas concert at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, May 23. The packed stadium showed crowds of screaming fans waving lightsticks and chanting “Hooligan!” as the pop superstars performed onstage—a powerful testament to BTS’s global popularity and the right kind of energy needed to kick off an awards show.
BTS won all three awards they were nominated for at this year’s AMAs, including the biggest award of the night, Artist of the Year. This marks the second time they’ve landed the show’s highest honor, after winning in 2021. They also won Song of the Summer for “Swim,” beating out Alex Warren’s “FEVER DREAM,” Bella Kay’s “iloveitiloveitiloveit,” Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” Harry Styles’s “American Girls,” Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide,” PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Stateside,” SOMBR’s “Homewrecker,” Tame Impala and JENNIE’s “Dracula” and Taylor Swift’s “Elizabeth Taylor.” BTS was also voted Best Male K-Pop Artist over other top K-pop boy bands including ATEEZ, ENHYPEN, Stray Kids and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. (TWICE won Best Female K-pop Artist at the 2026 AMAs; other nominees for that category included aespa, BLACKPINK, ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM.)
The 2026 AMAs marked BTS’s first appearance at an American awards show in four years, and videos of the audience “losing their minds” at the sight of the group have gone viral on social media.
In addition to winning three awards, BTS also presented the award for Best Female R&B Artist, which went to SZA. Before beginning her acceptance speech, SZA took a minute to fangirl over BTS. “It’s so nice to meet you formally, in person, and it’s crazy that this is the moment!” she said.
What did the BTS members say in Korean during their acceptance speech for Artist of the Year at the 2026 AMAs?
“ARMYs, we made it once again!” shouted BTS leader RM shortly after the group took to the stage to accept the award for Artist of the Year. Throughout their acceptance speech, the group repeatedly showed their gratitude to their fans, dubbed “ARMY.”
“Thank you. It’s an honor to have this precious award once again after everybody’d done their military service,” he continued. “Like the legendary Busta Rhymes said, it’s a fan-voted award, so our biggest thanks and gratitude as always goes to the ARMYs all over the world who stood by us for the past 13 years. Thank you so much.”
J-Hope then shared a few words of gratitude in English before it was Jimin’s turn.
“Thank you for passionately following us on tour and showing so much love in every city,” Jimin said. He then added in Korean, “Thank you so much to the ARMYs who support and love us. We love you!”
Jin said in Korean, “ARMYs, we love you so much!” while Suga simultaneously said, “Thank you!” Jung Kook thanked the AMAs, adding, “It feels so good to be back!”
KPop Demon Hunters wins four awards at the 2026 American Music Awards (AMAs)
The blockbuster animated movie KPop Demon Hunters also swept all four categories it was nominated for at the 2026 AMAs, including Song of the Year, Best Vocal Performance and Best Pop Song for “Golden” as well as Best Soundtrack. Artists EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, who provide the singing voices for the film’s protagonist K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, were the nominees for three of the four categories.
“Truly this movie and this song is fueled by the fans,” said EJAE while accepting the award for Song of the Year. “You guys sealed the honmoon! The fact that this is voted by the fans means so much. Thank you so much to the fans.”
EJAE then went on to thank the KPop Demon Hunters team before throwing her arm around REI AMI and wishing her a happy birthday. REI AMI, whose birthday happened to fall on the date of this year’s AMAs, greeted the audience while holding up a finger heart, a heart sign made by crossing one’s thumb and index finger that has been popularized by K-pop and K-drama stars.
“Okay, I’m gonna make this quick because I have to pee so bad,” REI AMI said, sparking laughter from the audience. “Thank you to all the fans that voted. KPop Demon Hunters would not be what it is without our passionate fandom. Thank you for the hilarious memes, the crazy fanfics and the support. Thank you for laughing, crying and singing with us for the past year.”
REI AMI ended her speech by yelling “For the fans!” à la her character Zoey, while EJAE gave a shoutout to Audrey Nuna, who wasn’t in attendance.
What did Yoonchae say in Korean when KATSEYE won New Artist of the Year at the 2026 AMAs?
Earlier in the night, EJAE and REI AMI also introduced KATSEYE’s performance of “PINKY UP.”
KATSEYE—the global girl group formed by Geffen Records and HYBE, one of the world’s leading K-pop agencies—also won in all three categories they were nominated for, including Best Music Video (for “Gnarly”), Breakthrough Pop Artist and New Artist of the Year.
While accepting the award for New Artist of the Year, each KATSEYE member shared a few words of gratitude in the language reflecting her heritage.
“We wanna give a special shoutout to BTS tonight for inspiring us to represent our culture on a global scale,” the group’s leader Sophia said before saying “thank you” in Tagalog. Yoonchae, the group’s sole Korean member, then walked up to the mic and said in Korean, “I am so grateful to be able to share this moment with the members.”
For a full list of the 2026 American Music Awards winners, see here.