The 2026 American Music Awards delivered one of the most unpredictable results sheets in recent memory. Held May 25 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and broadcast live on CBS and Paramount+, the 52nd annual fan-voted ceremony leaned heavily toward breakout acts and unexpected category upsets, producing a night filled with genuine shockers.
While established stars including Taylor Swift, BLACKPINK and Morgan Wallen entered the evening with strong momentum, it was first-time winners like KATSEYE, Sabrina Carpenter and HUNTR/X who ultimately defined the conversation. Here are the biggest surprises that reshaped this year’s AMAs narrative.
Taylor Swift Leaves Empty-Handed
No result stunned viewers more than Taylor Swift’s complete shutout.
Entering the night with eight nominations, Swift was widely viewed as one of the ceremony’s safest bets. The pop icon remains the most decorated artist in American Music Awards history, and the commercial impact of her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl made her absence from the winners’ list particularly striking.
Released to historic numbers, the project produced major chart successes through “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite,” both of which dominated streaming throughout late 2025 and early 2026. Many expected her to reclaim top honors in categories including Album of the Year, Best Pop Album and Best Female Pop Artist.
The fan-voted nature of the AMAs helps explain her loss in Artist of the Year, where BTS’ global voting power proved decisive. Still, seeing Swift leave without a single trophy — especially after one of the most commercially dominant eras of her career — immediately sparked debate across social media.
KATSEYE Wins Every Category They Were Nominated In
KATSEYE didn’t just win big — they swept.
The global girl group claimed all three of their nominations: New Artist of the Year, Best Music Video for “Gnarly,” and Breakthrough Pop Artist. Their clean sweep capped off a breakout year driven by their second EP Beautiful Chaos, which propelled them into mainstream pop’s upper tier.
Their New Artist of the Year win carried particular weight. Olivia Dean, fresh off her Grammy victory for Best New Artist earlier this year, entered as a serious contender.
Still, KATSEYE’s international fan mobilization and rapidly expanding streaming footprint proved impossible to ignore. For a group only beginning to establish itself in the U.S. awards ecosystem, the sweep signals a major shift in fan-voting power.
Sabrina Carpenter Overtakes Taylor Swift in Pop’s Biggest Categories
Sabrina Carpenter’s first AMA wins came with serious consequence.
The singer secured three of her seven nominations, including Album of the Year for Man’s Best Friend, Best Pop Album, and Best Female Pop Artist. Each victory represented a direct upset over Taylor Swift, who had been favored across multiple pop fields.
Man’s Best Friend capped an extraordinary 2025 for Carpenter, arriving after the global success of the Short n’ Sweet Tour and further establishing her as one of pop’s defining commercial forces.
Even with that momentum, many expected Swift’s cultural dominance to translate into category sweeps.
HUNTR/X’s “Golden” Takes Song of the Year
This may have been the night’s most divisive result.
The Singing Voices of HUNTR/X — EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI — took home Song of the Year and Best Pop Song for “Golden,” extending one of the most remarkable awards-season runs of 2026.
Their victories followed major wins at the Grammys, Golden Globes and Oscars, confirming “Golden” as one of the year’s most decorated songs.
Commercially, the win makes sense. The track became a streaming juggernaut throughout 2025 and maintained enormous crossover appeal. Yet because AMAs are fan-voted, many expected Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter to dominate these categories through sheer fandom scale.
Megan Moroney Upsets Morgan Wallen for Best Country Album
Country delivered one of the ceremony’s most unexpected reversals.
Megan Moroney won Best Country Album for Cloud 9, released February 20, 2026. The project marked her third studio effort and became her first Billboard 200 No. 1.
Its victory was significant, but the larger headline was who lost.
Morgan Wallen’s I’m The Problem had spent more than 10 weeks atop the Billboard 200 and ranked as 2025’s biggest country release. Wallen still secured Best Country Male Artist, making his loss in the album category all the more surprising.
TWICE Defeats BLACKPINK in Female K-Pop
TWICE’s victory over BLACKPINK in Best Female K-Pop Artist immediately became one of the night’s most discussed outcomes.
The category featured aespa, ILLIT, LE SSERAFIM and BLACKPINK, with the latter widely considered the frontrunner following their highly publicized reunion and 2025 comeback campaign.
JENNIE, JISOO, LISA and ROSÉ returned together last summer after a lengthy group hiatus, generating massive global engagement and record-breaking tour demand.
That made TWICE’s win all the more significant.
The group secured their first AMA victory by leveraging years of consistent fan engagement and sustained international visibility, proving that longevity and organized fanbases remain decisive in fan-voted spaces.
Photo: Lara Raj, Janice Joostema, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae of KATSEYE accept the New Artist of the Year award onstage at The 52nd American Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada./Dick Clark Productions
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