A hiatus was no damper on fan love for BTS: The group won Artist of the Year prize at the American Music Awards Monday night, scoring that fan-voted honor for a second time, and for the first time since going on a hiatus for military service. They previously picked it up in 2021.
Katseye draws some of that same level of fan hysteria, so it was little surprise to see that group winning New Artist of the Year, although the competition for that trophy was particularly fierce, with newly minted stars Sombr, Olivia Dean, Ella Langley, Leon Thomas and Alex Warren also in the mix.
Despite missing out in the new artist category, Sombr did not go home empty-handed, following his performance on the show with trips to the podium to pick up awards for Best Rock/Alternative Song, for “Back to Friends,” and Best Rock/Alternative Album, for “I Barely Know Her.”
The fervor for “KPop Demon Hunters” did not go unrewarded, as “Golden” and its singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami picked up Song of the Year.
The AMAs made a point of only giving out awards on the CBS/Paramount+ telecast to winners who were in the house to come up and receive their trophies. So by the end of the show, viewers were still left wondering who won Album of the Year, generally considered one of the top four honors; presumably, it was not someone in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
