The 2026 American Music Awards arrived in Las Vegas on Memorial Day, bringing a slew of music stars from BTS to Sombr, Karol G, Teddy Swims and KATSEYE among others to Sin City.
BTS, the pioneering global boy band that helped popularize K-pop internationally, had a great night in its first appearance at the awards show in four years, winning Song of the Summer, Artist of the Year and Best Male K-Pop Artist. The big band kicked off the awards ceremony with a pre-recorded performance of their song “Hooligan.”
Sombr took home three awards Monday night, two of which were televised, and performed his single “Homewrecker.” Girl group KATSEYE also took home three awards including New Artist of the Year. The six-member group, who are currently performing as a five-piece while Manon is still on hiatus, performed their catchy new single “Pinky Up.”
Other performers on Monday included Karol G, Teyana Taylor, Hootie & the Blowfish, Keith Urban, Maluma, Green, Swimz, New Kids on the Block, The Pussycat Dolls and Twenty One Pilots.
Presenters included Alyssa Liu, Anthony Ramos, Busta Rhymes, Ejay, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Gloriella, Hannah Berner, Hilary Duff, Jason Derulo, Jake Wood, John Legend, Leon Thomas, Linda Perry, Lisa Rinna, Ludacris, Mariah Alem, Matt Rife, Megan Stalter, Paul W. Downs, Melanie Martinez, Nikki Glaser, Paula Abdul, Rey Ami, and Riley Green, Russell Dickerson.
Hollywood Reporter He was inside to capture some moments that the camera missed.
The AMAs were created by Dick Clark Productions. DCP is owned by Penske Media Corporation, Hollywood ReporterParent company, in a subsidiary joint venture between Penske Media and Eldridge.
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The audience has gone wild for BTS
Unsurprisingly, fans couldn’t get enough of the Korean boy band, whose appearance at the AMAs coincided with a stop of their Arirang world tour in Las Vegas. The show began with a performance of “Hooligan,” which was recorded during one of two sold-out shows the K-pop stars held at nearby Allegiant Stadium earlier last weekend.
Fans in the room were initially told that they would be watching a BTS performance, which excited the audience. As with those at home, BTS’ performance was shared via screen, having been pre-recorded. But that did not stop the excitement in the arena.
Throughout the night, fans of the group, known collectively as ARMY, erupted in cheers whenever the group was mentioned during a camera break. Once the group arrived, they were spotted walking out to introduce Female R&B Artist of the Year to SZA, the crowd was deafening. The group went on to win three awards throughout the night.
Beautiful moment for a young BTS fan
As evidenced by their sweep, BTS was a hot topic of conversation throughout the night, even before the seven-member group arrived. A crowd of fans inside the arena wandered all over the seats during the commercial break. At one point, he brought a little girl onto the B stage to show her what it was like to say hello to a crowd of more than 10,000 people. The little girl, like almost everyone else who spoke from the audience during the commercial break, was there to see BTS.
The stars love interacting with fans
At award shows like the AMAs, stars can find themselves presenting and performing from various locations throughout the arena. At one point, host Queen Latifah turned to the audience to film a clip, sitting among some of the guests. Keith Urban, who performed on Monday night’s TV show, was seen talking and cheering on some fans as he exited his performance. As a fan-voted awards show for which the general public can purchase tickets, the show is much more audience-oriented than competing shows.
