Industry observers point to fandom power, shifting media habits and changing Western pop landscape BTS wins artist of the year during the American Music Awards, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Monday. (Reuters-Yonhap) K-pop artists and related acts claimed a combined 11 trophies at the American Music Awards in Las Vegas on Monday, one of its strongest showings yet at a major US awards ceremony.The night was led by BTS, which won all three categories in which it was nominated, including the top honor artist of the year, best male K-pop artist and song of the summer with "Swim," from the group's fifth studio album Arirang.Katseye, the global girl group formed by Hybe and Geffen Records, also won all three categories it was nominated in, including new artist of the year.Meanwhile, virtual girl group Huntrix from Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters" won song of the year, best pop song and best vocal performance, while the series itself took home the best soundtrack award. Twice also won best female K-pop artist, bringing the total number of trophies won by K-pop and K-pop-related acts to 11.From the outside, the results appeared to signal that K-pop has firmly entered the mainstream. The AMAs are considered one of the US' three major pop music awards alongside the Billboard Music Awards and the Grammy Awards.To some extent, industry figures say that assessment is accurate. K-pop is now consumed widely beyond Korean and Asian audiences. At the same time, BTS defeating global pop stars such as Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga for artist of the year — while K-pop acts collectively matched or surpassed the combined wins acts in of pop, R&B, hip-hop or rock — also raised broader questions about how fan-driven music awards are evolving. Katseye poses with the new artist of the year award at the winners' room of the American Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, Monday. (EPA-Yonhap) One K-pop agency official pointed to physical album sales and fandom participation as key drivers behind the results."K-pop's expansion into the North American market led to a huge increase in physical album sales. We also can't overlook streaming numbers, social media engagement and platform activity," the official said. "This year's AMAs showed the overwhelming participation and purchasing power of K-pop fandoms."According to rules published by AMAs organizer Dick Clark Productions, award nominees are selected based on commercial performance data tracked by Billboard and data partner Luminate, including streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay and tour revenue. Winners, however, are determined entirely through fan voting.Music critic Lim Hee-yun viewed K-pop's strong AMAs performance through a broader cultural lens."As public taste becomes increasingly fragmented, social media and recommendation algorithms grow stronger, and entertainment options expand far beyond music into short-form content, it no longer feels like general public attention is concentrated on a handful of top artists the way it once was," Lim said. "In an era where attention is divided into smaller niches, K-pop artists have managed to maintain highly loyal fandoms that actively support artists whenever organized participation is needed, including at awards shows like the AMAs."Lim also argued that the Western pop market currently lacks the kind of iconic performance-driven superstars once represented by artists such as Michael Jackson — a space K-pop artists are increasingly filling."Artists like Sabrina Carpenter are closer to choreography-based performers, but there's no pop star today with the same type of performance presence Michael Jackson once had," Lim said. "The strong interest surrounding the upcoming Michael Jackson film in the US and UK also reflects how audiences still crave that kind of iconic performer. K-pop artists seem to be filling part of that demand." Ejae and Rei Ami of Huntrix, winners of the song of the year, best pop song and best vocal performance awards for "Golden," appear backstage on the winners walk during the 52nd American Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, Monday. (UPI-Yonhap)