K-pop wins big at 2026 AMAs in historic night

K-pop made history at the 52nd American Music Awards (AMAs) on Monday (local time), with acts tied to the genre taking some of the night's biggest prizes at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

K-pop juggernaut BTS took home Artist of the Year, beating out a star-studded field that included Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen and Sabrina Carpenter.

It marked the group's second Artist of the Year win at the AMAs, having previously claimed the honor in 2021, and its first in-person appearance at the ceremony in five years.

The group kicked off the night with a pre-taped performance of "Hooligan" from its latest album "ARIRANG," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 equivalent album units sold in March.

The seven-member group also claimed Song of the Summer award for "SWIM" and Best Male K-Pop Artist.

RM delivered the acceptance speech for Song of the Summer, saying, "When we made this album, we had a lot of pressure and we tried to figure out what kind of music felt the most like us right now.

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