BTS has been billed as the biggest special guest of the night at the AMAs and they finally made their live appearance about 90 minutes into the show.
The K-Pop group skipped the red carpet and later appeared on stage to present an award at the 2026 American Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Monday (May 25) in Las Vegas.
Even though it took them 90 minutes to show up live on stage, BTS did open the show with a pre-taped performance.
BTS presented an award to SZA!
BTS appeared on stage to present the award for Best Female R&B Artist to SZA, who made a surprise appearance to accept the prize.
SZA beat out Kehlani, Summer Walker, Teyana Taylor, and Tyla to win the award. When she got on stage, she took some time to introduce herself to BTS and meet them for the first time!
Why BTS didn’t perform live at the American Music Awards
The BTS performance that was shown at the beginning of the night was pre-taped and it appears to have been recorded at one of their Arirang World Tour shows in Las Vegas.
The group is currently on tour and likely didn’t have time to rehearse a brand new performance just for the AMAs, so they had cameras film their appearance on tour… right down the street from the awards show. BTS is currently in the middle of a four-night residency at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, which is down the block from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Everything you can expect for the AMAs
Make sure to tune in for the AMAs TONIGHT at 8/7c on CBS. The show will be hosted by Queen Latifah, who is returning as a host after more than 30 years after she previously hosted. We have the full list of performers and celeb presenters who will appear throughout the night, along with the nominations list led by Taylor Swift with 8 nods.
Check out more photos below and see pics of everyone who attended the show!
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