BTS, Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter, and newcomer Sombr were among the biggest winners at the 2026 American Music Awards, as the show leaned heavily into global pop, K‑pop and genre‑crossing hits. BTS took home the night’s top honor, Artist of the Year, while HUNTR/X’s “Golden” was named Song of the Year and K‑pop girl group KATSEYE won New Artist of the Year, underscoring the growing influence of Korean acts on mainstream American awards.
Top honors: BTS, HUNTR/X and KATSEYE
The 52nd American Music Awards, held in Los Angeles, confirmed BTS as the global powerhouse of the streaming era. The group won Artist of the Year, beating a field that included Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Bad Bunny, and Kendrick Lamar. They also picked up Song of the Summer for their hit “Swim” and the title of Best Male K‑Pop Artist, giving them three trophies on the night.
HUNTR/X — the vocal trio credited in some sources as HUNTR/X or HUNTRIX and made up of EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, scored a major coup with Song of the Year for “Golden,” a crossover K‑pop‑inflected track that topped charts for weeks. Billboard notes that “Golden” also went on to win Best Pop Song and Best Vocal Performance, bringing HUNTR/X’s haul to three awards and cementing the track as one of the defining singles of the year.
In the crucial New Artist of the Year category, K‑pop girl group KATSEYE emerged victorious over Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean and Sombr. The HYBE‑affiliated act added Breakthrough Pop Artist and another genre prize to finish the night among the most decorated performers.
Biggest winners of the night
According to the official AMAs site and a detailed winners list compiled by Billboard and Forbes, the most awarded acts of the 2026 ceremony were Bruno Mars, BTS, Cardi B, HUNTR/X, KATSEYE, Sombr and Sabrina Carpenter, each taking home three trophies.
- BTS: Artist of the Year; Song of the Summer – “Swim”; Best Male K‑Pop Artist.
- HUNTR/X (EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI): Song of the Year – “Golden”; Best Pop Song – “Golden”; Best Vocal Performance – “Golden”.
- KATSEYE: New Artist of the Year; Breakthrough Pop Artist; one additional pop category win.
- Sombr: Best Rock/Alternative Song – “back to friends”; Best Rock/Alternative Album – Hardly Knew Her (also referred to as Hardly Knew Her / I Barely Know Her in some sources); Breakthrough Rock/Alternative Artist.
- Bruno Mars: Best R&B Album – The Romantic; Best R&B Song – “I Just Might”; one further R&B or general‑field win.
- Sabrina Carpenter: at least three awards across Album of the Year, pop, and general categories, with her project Man’s Friend listed among the Album of the Year contenders and her single “Manchild” up for Song of the Year.
- Cardi B: three trophies in hip‑hop categories, according to the AMAs winners summary, though specific song titles are truncated in some online lists.
A second tier of multiple winners included Bad Bunny, Ella Langley, Karol G, Shakira, Tyla and Zara Larsson, each with two awards.
General field winners
A combined read of the official AMAs announcement, Billboard’s breakdown and Forbes’ reporting yields the core general‑field winners as follows:
- Artist of the Year: BTS – also performed “Hooligan” and presented Best Female R&B Artist to SZA.
- New Artist of the Year: KATSEYE.
- Album of the Year: the category featured Justin Bieber (SWAG), Lady Gaga (Mayhem), Morgan Wallen (I’m The Problem), Olivia Dean (The Art of Loving), Playboi Carti (MUSIC), Sabrina Carpenter (Man’s Friend), Tate McRae (So Close to What) and Taylor Swift (The Life of a Showgirl); Billboard’s live list shows Carpenter’s Man’s Friend as the eventual winner, though the entry is partially garbled in one archived version.
- Song of the Year: HUNTR/X – “Golden”.
- Collaboration of the Year: a field including Tyla’s “CHANEL” ended with Tyla – “CHANEL” listed as the winner in Billboard’s text, though the category heading is truncated; the South African singer also took Best Afrobeats Artist.
- Best Music Video: category details are partially truncated, but K‑pop and pop acts dominate the nomination slate; KPop Demon Hunters took Best Soundtrack, an animated tie‑in that became a fan favorite.
- Tour of the Year / Breakout Tour / Breakthrough Album of the Year / Social Song of the Year / Song of the Summer: full winners are listed in the official AMAs database and in the time‑coded YouTube rundown, with BTS confirmed for Song of the Summer (“Swim”) and major touring trophies split between established pop headliners.
Because some archived category captions are garbled, outlets direct readers to the AMAs winners database for the definitive wording of each category and winner.
Key genre categories
While the general field draws the headlines, the AMAs remain a genre‑driven show. Below is a snapshot of notable categories based on the full winners lists published by Billboard, the AMAs and companion video rundowns.
Pop
Best Pop Album: Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Friend (also an Album of the Year contender).
Best Pop Song: HUNTR/X – “Golden”.
Best Male Pop Artist: Justin Bieber, beating Alex Warren, Benson Boone, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles.
Best Female Pop Artist: Olivia Dean edged out Lady Gaga and others, according to Billboard’s winners list, though some early site copies show only the nominations.
Breakthrough Pop Artist: KATSEYE.
Rock/Alternative
Sombr emerged as the night’s breakout rock act.
- Best Rock/Alternative Song: Sombr – “back to friends”.
- Best Rock/Alternative Album: Sombr – Hardly Knew Her.
- Breakthrough Rock/Alternative Artist: Sombr.
- Best Rock/Alternative Artist: Twenty One Pilots.
Latin
Latin categories reflected the streaming dominance of Karol G and Bad Bunny alongside new names.
- Best Latin Album: Karol G – Tropicoqueta (the title appears as Tropicoqueta/Tropical Keda in different transcriptions).
- Best Latin Song: Bad Bunny – “Nue Bayo”.
- Best Male Latin Artist: Bad Bunny.
- Best Female Latin Artist: Shakira.
- Best Latin Duo or Group: Fuerza Regida.
- Breakthrough Latin Artist: Kapo.
R&B and hip‑hop
Bruno Mars dominated R&B, while hip‑hop trophies were more widely dispersed.
- Best R&B Album: Bruno Mars – The Romantic.
- Best R&B Song: Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”.
- Best Female R&B Artist: SZA, who received her award onstage from BTS.
- Best Male R&B Artist: a field including Bruno Mars produced another win for him or a close peer; outlets differ slightly in transcription, but Mars is confirmed as among the night’s top R&B winners.
In hip‑hop, Billboard lists Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B and Playboi Carti among winners across Best Hip‑Hop Song, Best Hip‑Hop Album and Breakthrough Hip‑Hop Artist. The official AMAs summary notes Cardi B tied the evening’s leaders with three trophies in rap categories.
K‑pop, Afrobeats and beyond
- Best Male K‑Pop Artist: BTS.
- Best Female K‑Pop Artist: TWICE.
- Best Afrobeats Artist: Tyla, who also won in the general field with “CHANEL”.
- Best Dance/Electronic Artist: David Guetta.
- Best Americana/Folk Artist: Noah Kahan.
Special honors
Three non‑competitive honors set the tone for the ceremony’s tributes.
- International Artist Award of Excellence: Karol G, recognized for her global impact and cross‑genre success.
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Billy Idol, honored for his decades‑long influence on rock and alternative music. (One truncated list references Billy Joel, but the 2026 AMAs and multiple reports name Idol as this year’s honoree.)
- Veterans Voice Award: Darius Rucker, in recognition of his advocacy for veterans and his work at the intersection of country and rock.
A global, genre‑blending AMAs
Taken together, the 2026 winners’ slate underscores how global and genre‑fluid the American Music Awards have become. K‑pop artists claimed headlining general‑field trophies; Afrobeats star Tyla won both a genre award and a marquee collaboration slot; Latin acts dominated their categories and took home an international excellence award.
At the same time, the night rewarded classic songwriting and performance craft, from Bruno Mars’ retro‑leaning R&B to Sombr’s guitar‑driven rock and Sabrina Carpenter’s tightly written pop. For fans, the full winners list reads less like a single genre snapshot and more like a cross‑section of the streaming era, where a K‑pop soundtrack cut can share the stage — and the trophies table — with Nashville country, Latin trap, and millennial‑nostalgia throwbacks.
For the most precise category labels and any late‑night updates, organizers and trade publications point readers to the AMAs winners database and the show’s official recap, which together serve as the authoritative record behind this year’s global‑minded, platform‑spanning AMAs.
