The group BTS won ‘Artist of the Year’, the grand prize equivalent, at the ‘American Music Awards’ (AMA), one of the three major U.S. popular music award shows. This marks the second time BTS has received ‘Artist of the Year’, coming about five years after they became the first Asian act to win the award in 2021.

At the ceremony held on the 25th (local time) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, BTS prevailed over formidable nominees including Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift to take home ‘Artist of the Year’.

Leader RM said, “The ‘ARMY’ (fandom name) made it happen once again. Thank you for giving us the honor of receiving this precious award once more after all members completed their military service,” and added, “As always, we extend our deepest thanks to ARMY around the world who have been with us for the past 13 years. We are so grateful.”

Jimin spoke in Korean, saying, “To all ARMY who always give us support and love, thank you so much and we love you,” and bowed to the audience. BTS also won in the ‘Song of the Summer’ and ‘Best Male K-pop Artist’ categories that day, making them triple winners.

CatsEye, a global girl group that debuted through a collaboration between HYBE and the U.S. label Geffen Records, received ‘New Artist of the Year’. Member Sophia said, “We would like to give a special thank-you tonight to BTS, who inspired us to showcase our culture on a global scale.” The only Korean member, Yoonchae, also delivered her acceptance remarks in Korean, saying, “I am grateful to be able to share this moment with the members.” CatsEye went on to take three awards, winning the ‘Breakthrough Pop Artist’ category and, with the track ‘Nalli’ released last year, taking ‘Best Music Video’.

The Netflix animation <K-Pop Demon Hunters> and its original soundtrack (OST) ‘Golden’ also achieved a triple crown, taking ‘Best Soundtrack’, ‘Song of the Year’, and ‘Best Vocal Performance’. Singer Lee Jae, who took the stage to accept the award, said, “This song and film drew great strength from the fans,” adding, “We closed the door. Thank you to the fans and the <K-Pop Demon Hunters> team.” ‘Golden’ had previously won at major global award ceremonies including the Grammy Awards, the Academy Awards, and the Golden Globes.

The ‘American Music Awards’ is regarded, along with the ‘Grammy Awards’ and the ‘Billboard Music Awards’ (BBMA), as one of the three major popular music award shows in the United States. Among them, the American Music Awards is distinguished by selecting winners in each category through fan voting.