BTS sweeps all 3 nominated categories at 2026 MTV VMAs
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BTS performs at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Sept 18.
REUTERS
SEOUL – BTS swept all three categories in which it was nominated at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept 27, taking home song of the year, best K-pop and best group despite not attending the ceremony in Los Angeles.
The septet’s biggest win of the night came in song of the year for Swim, the lead track from its fifth LP, Arirang.
The category, one of the VMAs’ major honours, also included nominees such as Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter’s Bring Your Love, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s Stateside and Raye’s Where Is My Husband!
The win made BTS the first K-pop group to take home song of the year at the VMAs, five years after it became the first Korean act nominated in the category with Dynamite in 2021.
BTS thanked fans in a statement released through Big Hit Music, calling Arirang an album that marked “a new beginning” for the group.
“We sincerely thank Army (BTS’ fandom) for always sending us unwavering love and support,” the members said through a press release issued by Big Hit Music.
“We believe we were able to receive such a major award as song of the year with Swim thanks to everyone who has loved our music.”
The group also won best group, extending its own record in the category. BTS previously won the award for four consecutive years from 2019 through 2022, before the members began suspending group activities to complete their mandatory military service.
The Sept 27 win marked the group’s fifth best group trophy, the most by any act in the category, and came in the same year the seven members resumed full-group activities following the completion of their service.
Swim also earned the group the best K-pop award after competing against Blackpink, Cortis, Katseye, Le Sserafim and Lisa.
Released in March, Swim topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart, while reaching No. 2 on the UK Official Singles Chart upon release.
BTS returned to full-group activities in March with Arirang, its first album following the members’ military hiatus. Since then, Swim has won song of the summer at the American Music Awards in May, while the group has been on a world tour since April.
The tour is set to continue with its South American leg beginning in Bogota on Oct 2, followed by stops in Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK