BTS lands 3 nominations at 2026 MTV VMAs, including Best Group and Song of the Year
BTS landed a Best Group nomination on Sept. 18, bringing their 2026 VMA haul to three categories—and extending their all-time record in that category.
Three categories, one week
BTS enters the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards with nominations in three categories: Best Group, Song of the Year, and Best K-Pop. The Best Group nod came September 18 (local time), joining two earlier nominations for SWIM, the title track from their fifth studio album ARIRANG.
BTS holds the all-time wins record in Best Group: four consecutive wins from 2019 to 2022. Their Best K-Pop record is tied at three consecutive wins from 2019 to 2021. The Song of the Year nomination carries weight too. BTS became the first Korean act nominated in that category at the 2021 VMAs with "Dynamite."
J-Hope picked up a separate Best K-Pop nod for his feature on LE SSERAFIM's "SPAGHETTI (feat. j-hope of BTS)," so the BTS camp appears twice in that category.
There's a complication. On August 29, BTS declared a boycott: "We hope that music can be heard and loved for the music itself rather than being divided by region or language." They haven't withdrawn from the nominations.
The 2026 VMAs take place September 27 at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
ARIRANG keeps charting
The nominations arrive as ARIRANG sustains its chart momentum. Released in March, the album has now charted on the UK Official Albums Top 100 for 26 consecutive weeks—a new group record—sitting at No. 98 on the September 18–24 chart, up one spot from the prior week. On the same period: No. 63 on Official Scottish Albums, No. 65 on Official Physical Albums, No. 70 on Official Album Sales.
On Spotify's Weekly Top Albums Global (September 11–17), ARIRANG held No. 2 for a fifth straight week. SWIM ranked No. 14 and album track "NORMAL" ranked No. 88 on Spotify's Weekly Top Songs Global in the same period.
First iHeartRadio set in six years
BTS performed at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 18—their first festival appearance since 2020. The set aired live across iHeartRadio stations nationwide and streamed on Disney+ and Hulu.
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