Asian and Asian American artists' AMA wins signal changing music industry

K-Pop sensation BTS won major recognition at the AMA awards show.

Asian and AAPI artists dominated the American Music Awards, smashing records and rewriting the narrative on mainstream music's biggest night. From K-pop global icons to R&B heavyweights, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community didn't just show up—they swept.

Here is how our community made their presence known at the AMAs:

In the midst of their first tour since fulfilling their mandatory military service, the global phenomenon BTS continued their historic AMA legacy, adding three more massive trophies to their collection:

• Artist of the Year
• Best Male K-Pop Artist
• Song of the Summer for their track "SWIM"

Filipino-Puerto Rican superstar Bruno Mars continues his reign as an R&B powerhouse, dominating the genre categories with major wins:

• Best Male R&B Artist
• Best R&B Album for The Romantic
• Best R&B Song for his track "I Just Might"

Next-Gen AAPI trailblazers take the stage

The night also belonged to first-time AAPI voices and collaborative powerhouses who broke barriers in the general fields:

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• The Singing Voices of HUNTR/X (Featuring Korean-American vocalists Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI): Took home the coveted Song of the Year, Best Vocal Performance, and Best Pop Song for their breakout track "Golden". Singer EJAE also secured Best Soundtrack for “KPop Demon Hunters”.

• KATSEYE: The recognition as New Artist of the Year cemented the Kpop-inspired girl group's rising global presence. The group won Best New Artist, Best Music Video, Breakthrough New Artist.

• Raja Kumari: She shattered glass ceilings as the first artist of Indian origin to win an AMA, recognized for her stellar collaboration on the track "Renegade (We Never Run)."

• During their acceptance speech, the Filipino American Sophia Laforteza took a moment to acknowledge the artists who helped pave the way for globally minded groups like Katseye. “We want to give a special shout-out to BTS tonight for inspiring us to represent our culture at a global scale,” she said , closing her speech with “Maraming, maraming salamat!”

During KATSEYE's acceptance speech, Filipino American member Sophia Laforteza took a moment to acknowledge the artists who helped pave the way for globally minded groups like Katseye. “We want to give a special shout-out to BTS tonight for inspiring us to represent our culture at a global scale,” she said , closing her speech with “Maraming, maraming salamat!”

Perhaps the emotional highlight of the evening was the reunion of the Black Eyed Peas. Fergie reunited on stage with will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap to accept the newly created AMA for Best Throwback Song for their 2009 hit, "Rock That Body."

During the AMA show, Black-Eyed Peas' Apl.de-ap thanked the group's Filipino fans.

 Apl.de.ap gave a proud shoutout to Filipino fans during the broadcast, stating, “Thank you to all the fans around the world who voted for this song, ‘Rock That Body.’  “Maraming salamat, mahal ko kayo, mabuhay ang Filipino.”

        FYI: For the complete list of AMA winners, click here.

Fergie, who left the group in 2018 for a solo career, gave a sweet shoutout to her 12-year-old son Axl and told the group she was "so happy to be reunited again with my brothers."

The announcement of their award was greeted with a standing ovation and sparked a social media frenzy hoping for a permanent reunion but no announcement about getting back together was forthcoming.

View from the edge

Forget the days when a global act would score a flash-in-the-pan debut, only to plummet into obscurity the following week once the superfans stopped clicking. In 2026, our community is exhibiting some serious staying power on the Billboard charts, and the mainstream industry has no choice but to change the way it counts the numbers.

Mega-groups like BTS are proving that international acts possess long-term commercial endurance. Their 2026 track "SWIM" didn't just spike upon release; it went on to become the longest-charting song of the year in the Top 10 of both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US charts.

Over on the Billboard Hot 100, the trio of Asian American powerhouse singers EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami (the voices behind Netflix's K-Pop Demon Hunters) completely took over the airwaves. Their anthem "Golden" locked down the #1 spot for eight weeks, a history-making run that deservedly earned them Billboard’s 2026 Women of the Year honors.

KATSEYE, performed 'Pinky Up' at the AMA show.

Instead of waiting for traditional Western record labels to slowly "incubate" or introduce foreign acts to the American public, a new wave of mobile-first fandoms is launching artists onto the charts instantly. Multilingual groups like KATSEYE, Stray Kids, and aespa are landing on U.S. streaming charts on day one, erasing the historic "lag time" between overseas success and American recognition.

The sheer volume of global streams has forced major trade publications to adapt. With platforms altering data collection metrics to track 360-degree, multi-platform engagement, our digitally native, highly organized fandoms are leading the charge in how modern chart success is measured.

Groups like BTS are attracted thousands of fans in Mexico City in short notice to an appearance with Mexico's President and during their California stops on their worldwide tour, the group had their diverse fans singing along in Korean.

The Billboard 200 albums chart is increasingly occupied by hybrid localized acts. By mixing Western pop styling with international production and multilingual lyrics, these cross-border entities are proving that multiculturalism is highly marketable to general American audiences.

The best example of this international fusion was when  R&B artist Bruno Mars joined Black Pink's Rose for their international hit APT.

Change in the music industry, in terms of representation, is occurring at the speed of light. It can't come soon enough. Now, if only the Grammys will catch up to the international nature of the music industry.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.