Industry observers point to fandom power, shifting media habits and changing Western pop landscape
K-pop artists and related acts claimed a combined 11 trophies at the American Music Awards in Las Vegas on Monday, marking one of their strongest showings yet at a major US awards ceremony.
The night was dominated by BTS, which secured victories in all three nominated categories, including the prestigious Artist of the Year award, Best Male K-pop Artist, and Song of the Summer with “Swim,” from the group’s fifth studio album Arirang.
Katseye, the global girl group formed by Hybe and Geffen Records, also swept all three categories it was nominated in, notably winning New Artist of the Year.
Meanwhile, virtual girl group Huntrix from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” earned Song of the Year, Best Pop Song, and Best Vocal Performance, while the series itself received the Best Soundtrack award. Twice also won Best Female K-pop Artist, bringing the total number of trophies won by K-pop and K-pop-related acts to 11.
From an external perspective, these results clearly signal K-pop’s firm entry into the mainstream. The AMAs are widely recognized as one of the US’ three major pop music awards, alongside the Billboard Music Awards and the Grammy Awards.
Industry figures largely concur with this assessment. K-pop is now enjoyed by audiences far beyond its traditional Korean and Asian bases. At the same time, BTS triumphing over global pop superstars like Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga for Artist of the Year — combined with K-pop acts collectively matching or surpassing the wins of artists in categories such as pop, R&B, hip-hop, or rock — has sparked broader discussions about the evolving nature of fan-driven music awards.
One K-pop agency official highlighted physical album sales and robust fandom participation as pivotal factors behind these impressive results.
“K-pop’s significant expansion into the North American market has led to a huge increase in physical album sales. We also cannot overlook the impact of streaming numbers, social media engagement, and platform activity,” the official stated. “This year’s AMAs vividly demonstrated the overwhelming participation and purchasing power of K-pop fandoms.”
According to the rules published by AMAs organizer Dick Clark Productions, award nominees are selected based on commercial performance data tracked by Billboard and data partner Luminate, encompassing streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay, and tour revenue. However, the ultimate winners are determined entirely through fan voting.
Music critic Lim Hee-yun analyzed K-pop’s strong AMAs performance through a broader cultural lens.
“As public taste becomes increasingly fragmented, social media and recommendation algorithms gain more influence, and entertainment options expand well beyond music into short-form content, general public attention no longer concentrates on a handful of top artists as it once did,” Lim explained. “In an era where attention is divided into smaller niches, K-pop artists have successfully cultivated highly loyal fandoms that actively support their artists whenever organized participation is required, including at major awards shows like the AMAs.”
Lim further argued that the Western pop market currently lacks the kind of iconic, performance-driven superstars once exemplified by artists such as Michael Jackson — a void that K-pop artists are increasingly adept at filling.
“Artists like Sabrina Carpenter are closer to choreography-based performers, but there isn’t a pop star today with the same commanding performance presence that Michael Jackson once possessed,” Lim observed. “The intense interest surrounding the upcoming Michael Jackson film in the US and UK also reflects how audiences still crave that kind of iconic performer. K-pop artists appear to be fulfilling part of that demand.”
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