There was no single dominant winner at the 2026 American Music Awards, which took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday (May 25). Instead, seven different acts finished the night with three awards each — Bruno Mars, BTS, Cardi B, KATSEYE, Sabrina Carpenter, HUNTR/X and Sombr.
One of the biggest surprises of the night involved Taylor Swift, who entered the ceremony with a leading eight nominations but did not win any awards. Despite the shutout, Swift still holds the record for the most AMA wins in history with 40 career trophies.
BTS secured artist of the year for the second time after previously winning the category in 2021. The K-pop group became one of only four repeat winners in the category’s history. Taylor Swift leads the category overall with seven wins, while BTS is now tied with Justin Bieber and One Direction with two victories each. BTS is also tied with One Direction for the most wins by a group in the category.
The group additionally won song of the summer for “Swim” and best male K-pop artist. Those victories raised BTS’ career AMA total to 14 awards. Among duos and groups, only Alabama has earned more, with 23 wins.
Justin Bieber took home best male pop artist, bringing his total AMA count to 19 awards. That ties him with the late Kenny Rogers for the second-most AMA wins among male artists. Michael Jackson still leads male artists with 24 awards, while Bieber now stands as the living male artist with the most AMA wins.
KATSEYE won new artist of the year after previously earning a Grammy nomination for best new artist earlier this year, where they lost to Olivia Dean. KATSEYE also received awards for best music video and breakthrough pop artist. Their victory extended the streak of female acts winning the category to seven straight years. Previous winners include 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.
HUNTR/X’s “Golden” won song of the year, continuing the track’s strong awards season momentum after previous victories at the Grammys and Oscars. HUNTR/X also claimed awards for best vocal performance and best pop song.
Sombr earned three wins, including best rock/alternative song for “Back to Friends,” best rock/alternative album for I Barely Know Her and breakthrough rock/alternative artist. While the song win was widely expected, Sombr even appeared surprised by the album victory. The album peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, while competing albums by Sleep Token, Twenty One Pilots and Zach Bryan all reached No. 1. Tame Impala’s Deadbeat climbed to No. 4.
Among the other major winners, Bruno Mars collected awards for best male R&B artist, best R&B song and best R&B album. Cardi B won best female hip-hop artist, best hip-hop song and best hip-hop album. Sabrina Carpenter earned album of the year, best female pop artist and best pop album.
Taylor Swift was not the only heavily nominated artist to leave empty-handed. Olivia Dean, who received seven nominations, also failed to win, along with Warren and Lady Gaga, who each entered the ceremony with six nominations.
Karol G’s Tropicoqueta won best Latin album over several competitors, including Rosalía’s Lux. Tropicoqueta was previously nominated for best Latin pop album at the 2026 Grammy Awards. Karol G also received the international artist award of excellence.
Zara Larsson earned two awards — collaboration of the year and breakthrough album of the year — continuing her recent career momentum. She also received her first Grammy nomination earlier this year for best dance pop recording for “Midnight Sun.”
Twenty One Pilots won best rock/alternative artist for the second consecutive year and the fourth time overall. Only Linkin Park has won the category more times, with six victories since the award was introduced in 1995.
The Black Eyed Peas won the newly introduced best throwback song category with “Rock That Body.” The track was originally released as the fifth single from the group’s Billboard 200-topping 2010 album The E.N.D. Competing nominees included 4 Non Blondes’s “What’s Up” and Goo Goo Dolls’s “Iris.”
Queen Latifah hosted the 52nd American Music Awards, which aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. The fan-voted awards show was created by legendary producer Dick Clark and was first held in 1974.
Nominees for the 52nd American Music Awards were determined based on fan engagement metrics including streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay and tour grosses. These statistics were tracked by Billboard and Luminate during the eligibility period from March 21, 2025 through March 26, 2026.
The American Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a partnership between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media Corporation.