BTS Makes History: Wins ‘Artist of the Year’ at American Music Awards for Second Consecutive Year
Global sensation BTS (RM, Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Suga, V, Jungkook), the acclaimed K-Pop idol group, has once again achieved a monumental feat by winning the coveted ‘Artist of the Year’ award at the American Music Awards (AMA) for the second year in a row. The AMA is recognized as one of the three most prestigious popular music awards in the United States.
The 2026 American Music Awards ceremony, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the U.S. on October 25th at 5 PM (local time), saw BTS crowned with the top honor, ‘Artist of the Year’. This marks their second career win in this category, solidifying their dominant presence in the global music scene.
This appearance marked BTS’s first direct participation in the AMA since 2021, making their back-to-back ‘Artist of the Year’ victory even more significant. Competing in this elite category, BTS faced off against a formidable lineup of global pop superstars, including Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga.
In addition to their grand win, BTS was nominated in a total of three categories at this year’s AMA, which included ‘Best Male K-Pop Artist’ and ‘Song of the Summer’. The group successfully clinched the ‘Song of the Summer’ title with their hit track ‘SWIM’.
Nominees for this year’s awards were determined based on comprehensive fan activity indicators collected between March 21, 2025, and March 26, 2026. These metrics, provided by Billboard and Luminate data, include streaming figures, album and digital song sales, radio airplay, and tour revenue, reflecting a holistic view of artist engagement and success.
BTS’s Illustrious History at the American Music Awards
Prior to this historic win, BTS has amassed an impressive total of 12 trophies at the AMA, both as a group and through individual member achievements.
Their journey of AMA recognition began in 2018 with their first win for ‘Favorite Social Artist’, a category they went on to dominate for three consecutive years until 2020. In 2019, the group also took home the ‘Tour of the Year’ award. The same year marked the beginning of their consecutive triumphs in the ‘Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock’ category, which they won four times in a row until 2022, setting a record as the artist with the most wins in this specific genre. The 2021 ceremony was particularly triumphant, as BTS swept three major awards: ‘Artist of the Year’, ‘Favorite Duo or Group’, and ‘Favorite Pop Song’. In 2022, they became the inaugural recipients of the newly introduced ‘Favorite K-Pop Artist’ award. Subsequently, in 2025, group leader RM also secured a trophy in the same ‘Favorite K-Pop Artist’ category, further highlighting the individual strength within the global phenomenon that is BTS.
