The 2026 αмєяι¢αn Music Awards was, from beginning to end, unmistakably marked by the presence of BTS. The opening stage was set with the group’s performance of “Hooligan,” broadcast through a live video feed from their recent concert at Allegiant Stadium. αмєяι¢αn rapper and actress Queen Latifah, who served as the host of the ceremony, also devoted much of her opening speech to praising BTS. She enthusiastically shared, “How about BTS performance? And they're so pretty. D*mn. How they do that. And if you think its loud now. Just wait because BTS is on their way right here right now.”
At this year’s ceremony, BTS achieved a hat trick of awards, taking home trophies for “Artist of the Year,” “Song of the Summer,” and “Best Male K-pop Artist.” The group lifting the prestigious AMA trophy once again after suspending activities due to mandatory military service since 2022 is proof that their fandom power in the United States remains incredibly strong. As of last year, BTS had accumulated a total of 11 AMA awards, ranking second among the groups with the most wins in the show’s history, behind only Alabama with 23 trophies. Following this year’s ceremony, that number has officially risen to 14.
After the event, the BTS members went live to celebrate with fans and shared several entertaining behind-the-scenes stories. One of them involved the moment when the members appeared visibly “confused” while going onstage to present the “Best Female R&B Artist” award.
A video recorded by fans showed that when the members walked onto the stage, RM initially said soмєтнing to the others. The members then kept glancing around in confusion as if searching for soмєтнing. The moment only lasted a few seconds before everything continued normally with RM’s speech.
During the livestream, j-hope explained the situation: “To tell you a behind story, when Namjoon was presenting and we were all going up together and were supposed to read soмєтнing but he didn't so we were all not sure what to do.” According to the members, the show staff had handed RM a cue card that was… completely blank before they went on stage.
RM later elaborated that the staff had told him to simply look at the teleprompter for the script. The problem, however, was that he genuinely could not find it anywhere: “It was so dark I couldn't see. They said ‘just look at the teleprompter’ but I couldn't see it at all” — leading to what fans jokingly called “panic mode, part two.” To make matters worse, RM was also wearing a pair of dark sunglαѕѕes, which made his visibility even more “disastrous.”
j-hope even demonstrated the situation by saying, “I was looking for the teleprompter like this!” and a fan-captured clip of his expression at the time quickly went viral for how hilarious it was.
At the same time, the members also admitted they were extremely nervous standing on the AMA stage, despite already being veteran idols. Jimin shared, “I was so nervous, it felt like when we were going up for our first stage.” Meanwhile, j-hope agreed, saying, “I was nervous again in a new way.”
In the end, however, everything was handled flawlessly! BTS completed the presentation professionally and personally handed the “Best Female R&B Artist” trophy to SZA!
Notably, the interaction between SZA and BTS quickly became one of the most memorable moments of this year’s AMAs. As soon as her name was announced and she stepped onto the stage, the “Kill Bill” нιтmaker could barely hide her excitement upon seeing BTS standing in front of her. Even before embracing the trophy, SZA turned toward the group and emotionally shared, “It’s so nice to meet you formally in person.”
The singer repeatedly looked toward BTS in disbelief and confessed, “It’s crazy that this is the moment, so I had to take this moment to just let this be the moment.” Her adorable confession delighted viewers worldwide. The image of one of the biggest divas in the global pop market suddenly turning into a full-fledged “fangirl” in front of BTS further highlighted the astonishing influence of these global K-pop superstars!
