The 2026 American Music Awards delivered one of the most evenly split nights in recent show history, with no single artist dominating the ceremony. Instead, seven acts tied for the lead with three wins each, while BTS claimed the biggest prize of the night and Taylor Swift, despite leading all nominees with eight nods, went home without an award.
A Fan-Voted Night With No Clear Sweep
The 52nd American Music Awards took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, May 25, with Queen Latifah hosting the ceremony.
This year’s results spread the spotlight across several major artists. Bruno Mars, BTS, Cardi B, KATSEYE, Sabrina Carpenter, HUNTR/X and Sombr each won three awards, creating a rare night where the honors were widely shared rather than controlled by one superstar.
The AMAs, known as the world’s largest fan-voted award show, were created by legendary producer Dick Clark and first awarded in 1974. This year’s nominees were based on fan interactions, including streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay and tour grosses, tracked by Billboard and Luminate for the eligibility period of March 21, 2025, through March 26, 2026.
BTS Claims Artist of the Year Again
BTS won artist of the year for the second time, after first taking the award in 2021. The K-Pop superstars are now one of only four repeat winners in the category’s history.
Taylor Swift still leads all artists with seven wins in the category, while BTS is now tied with Justin Bieber and One Direction at two wins each. That also ties BTS with One Direction as the group with the most artist of the year victories.
BTS also won song of the summer for “Swim” and best male K-Pop artist. With those three wins, the group raised its career AMA total to 14. Among groups or duos, only Alabama has more, with 23 wins.
Taylor Swift Goes 0-8 Despite Historic Record
One of the biggest stories of the night was Taylor Swift’s shutout. Swift entered the ceremony with eight nominations, more than any other artist, but failed to win in any category.
Still, the loss does not erase her record-setting history at the AMAs. Swift remains the most awarded artist in the show’s history, with 40 career wins.
She was not the only heavily nominated artist to leave empty-handed. Olivia Dean, who had seven nominations, also went winless. Diane Warren and Lady Gaga, who each had six nominations, were also shut out.
KATSEYE Breaks Through With Three Wins
KATSEYE had a major night, winning new artist of the year. The global girl group had also been nominated for best new artist at the Grammys in February but lost to Olivia Dean.
Their AMA victory continued a strong trend in the category. KATSEYE became the seventh consecutive female act to win new artist of the year. The previous six winners were Camila Cabello, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Dove Cameron and Gracie Abrams. The last male artist to win the category was Niall Horan in 2017.
KATSEYE also won best music video and breakthrough pop artist, making them one of the night’s top winners.
HUNTR/X Extends “Golden” Awards Streak
HUNTR/X continued its awards-season success with “Golden,” which won song of the year at the AMAs.
The track had already built serious momentum before the ceremony, winning best song written for visual media at the Grammys and best original song at the Oscars. At the AMAs, HUNTR/X also won best vocal performance and best pop song.
Their three-win night showed that “Golden” has become one of the year’s most powerful crossover hits.
Sombr Scores a Rock/Alternative Surprise
Sombr also walked away with three awards, winning best rock/alternative song for “Back to Friends,” best rock/alternative album for I Barely Know Her and breakthrough rock/alternative artist.
His song win was expected, but the album victory was more surprising. I Barely Know Her peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, while the other nominated albums had charted higher. Sleep Token’s Even in Arcadia, Twenty One Pilots’ Breach and Zach Bryan’s With Heaven on Top each reached No. 1, while Tame Impala’s Deadbeat peaked at No. 4.
The result showed the power of a smash single with wide fan appeal.
Bruno Mars, Cardi B and Sabrina Carpenter Win Big
Bruno Mars added three more AMAs to his career total, winning best male R&B artist, best R&B song and best R&B album.
Cardi B also swept three major hip-hop categories, taking home best female hip-hop artist, best hip-hop song and best hip-hop album.
Sabrina Carpenter had one of the strongest pop showings of the night, winning album of the year, best female pop artist and best pop album.
Bieber, Karol G and Zara Larsson Add Milestones
Justin Bieber won best male pop artist, bringing his career AMA total to 19. That ties him with the late Kenny Rogers for the second-most wins among male artists. Michael Jackson remains the top male artist with 24 wins, making Bieber the living male artist with the most AMA victories.
Karol G won best Latin album for Tropicoqueta, beating nominees that included Rosalía’s Lux. She also received the international artist award of excellence.
Zara Larsson won collaboration of the year and breakthrough album of the year, marking another step forward in her global rise. Her AMA success followed her first Grammy nomination at the 2026 ceremony for best dance pop recording for “Midnight Sun.”
Rock, Throwbacks and Legacy Wins
Twenty One Pilots won best rock/alternative artist for the second year in a row and the fourth time overall. Only Linkin Park has won the category more times, with six victories.
The Black Eyed Peas also made history in a new category, winning best throwback song for “Rock That Body.” The track, released as the fifth single from their 2010 album The E.N.D., beat 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up” and Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris.”
Closing Paragraph
The 2026 American Music Awards became a night of shared victories, surprising shutouts and major career milestones. BTS stood tallest with artist of the year, while rising acts like KATSEYE, HUNTR/X and Sombr proved the next wave of stars is already shaping pop culture. Even with Taylor Swift leaving empty-handed, the ceremony showed just how wide and competitive today’s music landscape has become.
