BTS is officially returning to award shows.
The K-Pop stars will make a special appearance at the American Music Awards on May 25, the ceremony announced Wednesday morning. The show takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Memorial Day. The seven-member group will already be in town for its four sold-out shows at nearby Allegiant Stadium.
BTS is nominated for three awards, including Artist of the Year, Song of the Summer, and Best K-Pop Artist.
As a historic pioneer in the globalization of K-pop, BTS took over the entire heart of their city of Seoul earlier this year to celebrate their return to the scene after all seven members completed their military service. The group held a large-scale live show with Netflix, set in a historic location in Gwanghwamun.
The choice to perform their comeback performance in front of Gwanghwamun, the main gate and historic entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, was no coincidence – as the new album is in many ways a meditation on the band’s cultural identity. album name, Arirangpays tribute to a cherished Korean folk song of the same name, which is reputed to be the first song in the country, sung by Korean men, ever recorded (preserved for posterity by American ethnologist Alice Fletcher in 1896).
Motifs from the original “Arirang” feature prominently in the closing minutes of the new album’s opening song, “Body to Body.” One of the most striking tracks on the album is “Number 29”, a song consisting solely of the sound of a bell being rung once, the bell ringing lasting for 1 minute and 38 seconds. The bell used in the recording is the original 1,255-year-old Korean Divine Bell of King Seongdeok. The song’s title is a reference to the official designation of the historical piece as “South Korea National Treasure No. 29”.
In March, the group released a documentary on Netflix, which chronicled their balancing act while making the film Arirang The group was looking to honor its roots in Korea even as its audience expanded to include the entire world.
They returned to American late night television later in March, appearing on two nights The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The first night, the group found a musical guest and host, performing a performance of their single “Swimming” at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The second episode included a performance of the band’s song “2.0”, which was also filmed at the museum.
BTS is in the middle of their first comprehensive tour in years. The tour, which runs from 2026 to 2027, hits Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America and Australia, making it one of the most expansive tours of the group’s career.
The tour began with three nights in Goyang, South Korea, before heading to Tokyo for two nights. BTS held their first US stop in Tampa. Starting May 23, BTS will perform four shows at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. They will perform the previous two days of the AMAs before selecting shows again on Wednesday, May 27.
