The 2026 AMAs took over the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday (May 25). Hosted by Queen Latifah, the American Music Awards weren’t just about American music—some of the biggest roars of applause were reserved for BTS, especially when the South Korean boy band finally stormed the stage midshow after a pretaped performance which had kicked off the evening. Colombian powerhouse Karol G made major waves on the AMAs stage, too—reflecting the fact that at the AMAs, the largest fan-voted awards show, it’s all about what the fans want, regardless of borders.

Taking place on Memorial Day, the AMAs—which partnered with 11 military & veterans’ services organizations this year—took care to salute American servicemen and servicewomen for their sacrifices at several points during the show, with host Queen Latifah and Darius Rucker sharing heartfelt appreciations for active-duty service members and veterans. (Rucker also performed as part of Hootie & the Blowfish, the alt-rock band that rocketed him to stardom back in the ’90s.)

By the time the show wrapped, BTS took home the top honor of the night, artist of the year, as well as two other AMAs; Sombr also walked away with three AMAs. You can check out the full winners list for the 2026 AMAs here. But who had the night’s best performance? Below, see our take on all the 2026 AMAs performances, ranked from least favorite to absolute best.

The American Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.