BTS, Cardi B and Sabrina Carpenter Dominate the 2026 AMAs

BTS are back — and they’re taking everything with them.

The South Korean megagroup won Artist of the Year at the 2026 American Music Awards on Monday night, capping a triumphant return to the AMAs stage with a sweep of all three categories they were nominated in. They also took Song of the Summer for “Swim” and Best Male K-Pop Artist, opening the show with a pretaped performance from their Arirang World Tour at Allegiant Stadium before storming the stage live midway through the telecast.

“Everyone is belting out their songs during commercial breaks,” Yahoo’s Taryn Ryder reported from inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “I don’t know the last time I’ve seen anything like this at an awards show.”

Cardi B Made History

The Bronx rapper swept hip-hop clean. Cardi B won Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, Best Hip-Hop Song for “ErrTime,” and Best Hip-Hop Album for Am I The Drama? — her long-awaited sophomore album that debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 after seven years of fans waiting. With three Best Hip-Hop Song wins across her career, she’s now the most decorated rapper in AMA hip-hop song history.

Kendrick Lamar took Best Male Hip-Hop Artist off the strength of GNX, and SZA won Best Female R&B Artist for the second consecutive year.

Sabrina Carpenter’s Pop Coronation

Sabrina Carpenter claimed Album of the Year for Man’s Best Friend, plus Best Female Pop Artist and Best Pop Album — her first AMA victories ever. The sweep demonstrated the fan connection she’s built over the past year, one that’s translated into genuine chart dominance.

Bruno Mars reasserted himself in R&B with three wins: Best Male R&B Artist, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album.

K-Pop’s Takeover Is Complete

It wasn’t just BTS. KATSEYE won New Artist of the Year plus Best Music Video for “Gnarly” and Breakthrough Pop Artist in their first year of eligibility. HUNTR/X featuring EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami took Song of the Year for “Golden” and Best Vocal Performance. The K-pop and K-pop-adjacent presence across the winners list was impossible to miss — a sign of just how far fan-voted shows have tilted toward global audiences.

Queen Latifah Ran the Night

Queen Latifah hosted the 52nd AMAs, returning 31 years after she first co-hosted alongside Tom Jones and Lorrie Morgan in 1995. She wore a floor-length fur coat on the red carpet in 94-degree Vegas heat and brought the room together between a delightfully strange mix of performances: nostalgia from Hootie & the Blowfish and New Kids on the Block with Keith Urban and Billy Idol, balanced against the now of Karol G, Maluma, Teddy Swims, Teyana Taylor, and Twenty One Pilots.

The AMAs partnered with 11 military and veterans’ services organizations this year, with Latifah and Darius Rucker sharing tributes to active-duty service members throughout the broadcast.

BTS closed the night where they started it — center stage, holding the biggest trophy of them all.