KATSEYE Sweeps 2026 AMAs: Triple Win, BTS Shoutout, and a Faith Moment

KATSEYE did not just win at the 52nd American Music Awards. They swept it.

The global girl group walked away from Monday night's ceremony at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with three awards: New Artist of the Year, Breakthrough Pop Artist, and Best Music Video for "Gnarly" - making them one of the biggest winners of the entire night, tied with BTS, Sombr, and Sabrina Carpenter.

They beat out Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, and Sombr for the top New Artist prize - becoming the first girl group to win New Artist of the Year since the category launched in 2004.

Earlier in the show, the group performed their hit "Pinky Up" - bursting out of a giant pink teddy bear on stage in one of the night's most talked-about performances. 

When group leader Sophia Laforteza stepped to the mic, she thanked HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk and the HYBE-Geffen team - then turned to their labelmates BTS, who were in the room after winning Artist of the Year.

Her words: "for inspiring us to represent our culture on a global scale."

That word - culture - was deliberate. 

Sophia was born in Queens, New York, and raised in Manila, Philippines. She was selected from over 120,000 applicants worldwide to compete in the Dream Academy and finished first. She became KATSEYE's leader and the first Filipino artist ever signed to HYBE Labels. 

She is also openly Christian - a faith that has shaped her public identity, including a cover of the Christmas hymn "Angels We Have Heard On High" performed alongside KATSEYE. For a young woman raised in faith and Filipino culture, standing on one of the biggest stages in American music and thanking culture was not a casual word choice. 

KATSEYE is a six-member global girl group from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States. They appeared Monday as five members, with Manon Bannerman still on hiatus. The AMAs marked their first major awards show performance since the 2026 Grammys. 

Their "Pinky Up" AMA performance - complete with floating stuffed animals and a giant boombox bear - trended nationally overnight.