AMAs 2026: Taylor Swift leads nominations; BTS earns nods weeks after return

Taylor Swift leads this year's American Music Awards with eight nominations, including artist of the year, song of the year for "The Fate of Ophelia" and album of the year for "The Life of a Showgirl," organizers said on Tuesday.

The pop superstar, who has won more AMAs than any other artist in the show’s history, received six nominations last year.

Close behind Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, SOMBR and Morgan Wallen each earned seven nominations. Carpenter is also in the running for artist of the year, while Dean and SOMBR picked up their first-ever AMA nominations, including for new artist of the year.

Meanwhile, BTS, fresh from hiatus, earned three nominations: Artist of the Year, Song of the Summer for "Swim," and Best Male K-Pop Artist. The South Korean supergroup made a massive comeback with their album "Arirang" only last month.

Katseye also got three nominations: New Artist of the Year, Best Music Video, and Breakthrough Pop Artist.

Other nominees include the singing voices behind Netflix’s Oscar-winning animated musical "KPop Demon Hunters.” EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami received nominations for song of the year, best vocal performance and best pop song for “Golden,” a chart-topping hit from the film. A win in any category would mark the group’s first American Music Award.

Fans will vote for the winners, which will be revealed at a live ceremony hosted by actor and singer Queen Latifah in Las Vegas on May 25. The show will air live on CBS and Paramount+ PSKY.O.

A Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe winner, Queen Latifah has been a fixture in music, film and television for decades, with credits including hip-hop albums and an Oscar-nominated film role.

Nominations were determined by the AMA organizers based on performance on Billboard music charts, streaming and album sales, radio airplay and social media engagement. —REUTERS