LAS VEGAS — South Korea’s popular boy bandBTS scored the top honor of artist of the year on Monday at the fan-voted American Music Awards in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year, cementing their status as one of the world’s biggest bands. The award, considered the ceremony’s grand prize, is just the latest crown jewel for the so-called kings of K-pop, who have been on a $1bn world tour since returning from a nearly four-year hiatus in March. BTS also won song of the summer for their album’s lead single Swim and best male K-pop artist, while label partners Katseye were dubbed new artist of the year. Golden, the viral single from the animated hit film K-Pop Demon Hunters, was named song of the year, while Sabrina Carpenter won album of the year for Man’s Best Friend. Carpenter also won best female pop artist and best pop album, while Justin Bieber was named best male pop artist. BTS prevailed in a high-powered artist of the year category that included Taylor Swift, winner of the most AMAs of any musician over her career, as well as Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga and others. “We made it once again!” BTS member RM told screaming fans inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. BTS won the same honor in 2021. “Our biggest thanks and gratitude, as always, goes to the armies all over the world,” RM added, referring to the nickname for BTS fans. “You have stood by us for the past 13 years.” The red-carpet gala, which aired live on CBS and Paramount+, opened with members of BTS in a pre-recorded performance of “Hooligan” from a recent Vegas concert. BTS went on hiatus in 2022 when all seven members took part in South Korea’s mandatory military service. In March, they returned with their fifth studio album “Arirang.” The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for two weeks, a first for a K-pop group or artist. In other AMA wins for K-pop, the song of the year award went to EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the voices behind the fictional group HUNTR/X and “Golden,” the upbeat tune from the Netflix animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters.” The trio won three AMAs in total. Katseye, a global girl group with members from four countries, also took home three awards including new artist of the year. Swift had been the leading nominee heading into the ceremony, with eight nods including album of the year for “The Life of a Showgirl” and song of the year for “The Fate of Ophelia,” came home empty-handed. And she did not attend the event. Twenty-year-old indie musician Sombr scored three trophies including best rock/alternative song for “Back to Friends.” “I wrote this song when I was 19 and depressed all by myself in my bedroom,” he said on stage. “So being here, I never would have expected that.” PinkPantheress didn’t miss out, picking up collaboration of the year for Stateside with Zara Larsson. Larsson, who performed at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland over the weekend, also won breakthrough album of the year for Midnight Sun. Rock veteran Billy Idol, an icon of 1980s rock, received the lifetime achievement award, having recently also found out he is to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 70-year-old reflected on starting a career in punk rock in 1976. “We thought it may last only about six months, let alone 50 years,” Idol said before performing rousing versions of “Eyes Without a Face” and “Dancing with Myself.” The Black Eyed Peas picked up best throwback song for Rock That Body, the single from The E.N.D., the band’s 2009 album. Singer Fergie left the group in 2018 but there was an emotional – and surprise – reunion at the event in Las Vegas. “What a moment,” she said on the stage, holding hands with her fellow former bandmates. “I want to thank all of the fans for voting for this so I can stand up here right now with my longtime friends and brothers, the Black Eyed Peas. In honour of this special song, this era, Rock That Body, there’s so many memories along the line with that. “I want to thank everyone who made TikToks and Instagram videos and making this moment possible so that my son would put our song on his playlist,” she joked. The Pussycat Dolls also took us back in time with a red-hot performance of their 2005 hit Don’ Cha, with a cameo appearance from Busta Rhymes, who also separately performed a medley of his greatest hits. Teddy Swims, who was nominated alongside David Guetta and Tones And I for Gone Gone Gone, also sang a collection of his best-known tracks, including hit Mr Know It All. Queen Latifah was the host for the evening, with other performances from artists including Katseye, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block and Twenty One Pilots. While nominees at the AMAs are selected based on commercial performance, winners are decided entirely by public ballot, with votes cast through the AMA website and social media. That means these awards largely amount to a battle of the fan bases – and there is perhaps no fan base as zealous as the so-called BTS Army. Millions of acolytes around the world devotedly follow every move by band members Jung Kook, Jimin, V, Suga, RM, Jin and j-hope – pouring into stadiums, flooding radio stations with song requests and orchestrating online campaigns to generate traffic and increase rankings on streaming platforms. The official Army fan base – standing for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth – is a decentralised group spanning dozens of countries, and has been widely credited as fuelling the group’s meteoric success.
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