BTS win Song of the Year and two more prizes at 2026 VMAs
BTS took three prizes at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, 27 September, including Song of the Year for "SWIM". The result made them the first K-pop group to win the ceremony's most recognised song honour.
The group won Song of the Year and Best K-Pop for "SWIM", plus Best Group, according to Billboard. They won all three categories in which they were nominated, as noted in a congratulatory post from MTV UK. Winners were announced from 7.30pm Eastern Time, according to MTV.
Shortly after the announcement, member j-hope posted a message thanking ARMY, the name used for BTS fans, on Weverse, the fan community platform where the group speaks to supporters directly. Billboard reported the thank-you after the group's clean sweep.
"SWIM" is the lead single from ARIRANG, the group's fifth studio album. The album was released in March as BTS's first full-length album in six years. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the US albums chart, while "SWIM" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the US singles chart, on its release.
The Best Group trophy continues a long run at the VMAs. The 2026 win was the group's fifth victory in that category, after wins in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
The Song of the Year field included Ella Langley, HUNTR/X, the trio of EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, PinkPantheress and RAYE, alongside BTS, according to the MTV voting page.
For fans, this means a return with receipts. A six-year wait for an album ended with chart-toppers, and now an awards sweep led by a category no K-pop group had won before.
