BTS has once again made history at the MTV Video Music Awards, with the global K-pop supergroup winning Song of the Year for “SWIM” at the 2026 ceremony and becoming the first K-pop group to take home one of the VMAs’ most prestigious awards.
The victory was part of a three-award sweep for BTS at the 2026 MTV VMAs, held on September 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The group also won Best K-Pop for “SWIM” and Best Group, meaning BTS won in every category in which it was nominated. The group did not attend the ceremony because of scheduling commitments.
“SWIM” is the lead single from BTS’ fifth studio album, ARIRANG, which was released on March 20, 2026. The Song of the Year victory marks BTS’ first win in the category after previously becoming the first Korean act to receive a Song of the Year nomination with “Dynamite” in 2021.
The 2026 win also represents another major milestone for K-pop at the VMAs. BTS is the first K-pop group to win Song of the Year. BLACKPINK’s Rosé became the first K-pop artist to win the category in 2025 for “APT.”, her collaboration with Bruno Mars. BTS therefore became the second K-pop act to claim the award, while making history as the first group from the genre to do so.
That distinction is important because Song of the Year is one of the major competitive categories at the MTV VMAs. BTS’ “SWIM” faced competition from songs including HUNTR/X’s “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Bring Your Love”, Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas”, Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need”, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Stateside” and RAYE’s “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”.
“SWIM” becomes another record-breaking BTS song
The Song of the Year victory adds to the impressive run “SWIM” has enjoyed since its release.
The track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving BTS its seventh chart-topper on the U.S. singles chart. ARIRANG also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, giving the group simultaneous No. 1 positions on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 for the first time since BE and “Life Goes On” achieved the feat in 2020.
“SWIM” also reached No. 2 on the UK Official Singles Chart and spent 25 consecutive days at No. 1 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart, according to reporting following its release.
The success of “SWIM” has therefore extended well beyond the K-pop category, establishing the song as one of BTS’ biggest releases of their post-military-service era.
BTS swept every category they were nominated in
The 2026 VMAs were particularly significant because BTS won all three categories in which it received nominations.
The group first secured Song of the Year for “SWIM”. It then won Best K-Pop with the same song before taking Best Group.
That Best Group victory was another record-breaking moment.
BTS had previously won Best Group, later known as Group of the Year, four consecutive times from 2019 through 2022. Their 2026 victory brought their total to five Best Group wins, the most in the history of the category.
The latest win also marked BTS’ return to the category after the group’s period away from full-group activities.
Their Best K-Pop victory was equally significant. BTS won the category in 2019, 2020 and 2021, making “SWIM” their fourth Best K-Pop-winning song at the VMAs.
BTS’ MTV VMA journey began with a historic debut
BTS’ relationship with the MTV VMAs began in 2019, when the group received its first nominations and immediately took home two awards.
At the 2019 ceremony, BTS won Best Group and Best K-Pop for “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey. The group also received nominations for Best Collaboration, Best Art Direction and Best Choreography.
The following year proved even bigger.
At the 2020 MTV VMAs, BTS won four awards, including Best Group, Best K-Pop, Best Pop and Best Choreography. The victories came for “ON”, while the group also delivered the first television performance of its global hit “Dynamite” at the ceremony.
Their Best Pop victory was particularly historic at the time. BTS became the first Asian act to win the highly competitive Best Pop category, defeating nominees including Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers.
In 2021, BTS continued its dominance.
The group won Group of the Year, Best K-Pop and Song of Summer, with the latter two wins connected to “Butter”. BTS also received nominations for Song of the Year for “Dynamite”, Best Pop, Best Choreography and Best Editing.
The 2021 Song of the Year nomination was especially important because it made BTS the first Korean act nominated in the category. “Dynamite” ultimately lost to Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license”, but the nomination established another milestone in the group’s VMA history.
In 2022, BTS won Group of the Year for the fourth consecutive time, extending what was already a record-setting run in the category.
The military-service hiatus makes the 2026 victory even more significant
The latest VMA success comes after a major period of change for BTS.
The group’s members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service before reuniting as a full seven-member act in 2026. Their return officially entered a new chapter with the release of ARIRANG on March 20.
The album arrived after a hiatus of approximately three years and nine months from full-group activities. According to Yonhap, BTS described the success of ARIRANG as a “great honor” and credited their fans for supporting the group during the break.
Rather than simply marking a return to the music scene, ARIRANG became a major global commercial success.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while “SWIM” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. That gave BTS another simultaneous album-and-song chart achievement in the United States.
The group has also taken its comeback onto the road with the BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’, which began in South Korea and is continuing internationally.
The tour includes dates across Asia, North America, Europe and South America, with the South American leg scheduled to begin in Bogotá on October 2 before continuing to Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.
From “Dynamite” to “SWIM”
There is also a clear connection between BTS’ previous VMA history and its latest achievement.
“Dynamite” was the song that first pushed BTS into the Song of the Year conversation at the VMAs. In 2021, it became the first song by a Korean act to receive a nomination in the category.
Five years later, BTS returned to the category with “SWIM” and finally took home the trophy.
That journey reflects how dramatically BTS’ presence at the VMAs has evolved. The group went from being a first-time nominee in 2019 to winning multiple genre and group awards, becoming the most-awarded act in the Best Group category and eventually claiming Song of the Year.
The progression also mirrors K-pop’s expanding presence within the VMAs’ major categories.
BTS continues its record-setting VMA legacy
With the 2026 ceremony now complete, BTS’ VMA record includes major victories across multiple categories.
Their first two awards came in 2019 with Best Group and Best K-Pop. In 2020, they added four more trophies: Best Group, Best K-Pop, Best Pop and Best Choreography. In 2021, they won Group of the Year, Best K-Pop and Song of Summer. In 2022, they added another Group of the Year victory.
The 2026 ceremony added three more trophies: Song of the Year, Best K-Pop and Best Group.
Their Best Group total now stands at five, the highest in the category’s history, while their Best K-Pop total has reached four.
Most importantly, BTS now has a Song of the Year victory to accompany its long list of VMA milestones.
A new chapter for BTS
BTS’ 2026 MTV VMA triumph arrives at a point when the group is once again operating as all seven members.
After years of individual activities and mandatory military service, the release of ARIRANG, the success of “SWIM” and the group’s ongoing world tour have established the next chapter of BTS’ career.
The Song of the Year victory adds another historic achievement to that comeback.
BTS first entered the MTV VMAs as a groundbreaking K-pop act in 2019. Seven years later, the group has returned to the ceremony’s biggest categories and claimed Song of the Year with “SWIM”, becoming the first K-pop group to win the award.
For ARMY, the achievement also represents a full-circle moment: the same group that once made history simply by becoming the first Korean act nominated for Song of the Year has now returned after its military-service hiatus and taken the trophy home.
And with “SWIM” already reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ARIRANG topping the Billboard 200 and BTS extending its Best Group record to five VMA wins, the group’s 2026 comeback has become another major milestone in its already record-filled career.
BTS’ MTV VMA wins at a glance
- 2019: Best Group, Best K-Pop, “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey
- 2020: Best Group, Best K-Pop, Best Pop, Best Choreography
- 2021: Group of the Year, Best K-Pop, Song of Summer
- 2022: Group of the Year
- 2026: Song of the Year, Best K-Pop, Best Group, “SWIM”
With its latest three victories, BTS has further strengthened its status as one of the most successful K-pop acts in MTV VMA history, while “SWIM” has become the song that delivered the group’s long-awaited Song of the Year breakthrough.
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