BTS returns to AMA stage after five years

(CBS)

South Korean boy band BTS will return to the American Music Awards (AMA) stage for the first time in five years, marking a major comeback at the U.S. music awards show.

U.S. entertainment outlet Deadline reported Wednesday, local time, that BTS will make a special appearance at the 52nd AMA, to be held on Monday in Las Vegas.

The group is nominated in three categories, including Artist of the Year, Best Male K-pop Artist, and Song of the Summer for its title track “Swim.” They will compete for Artist of the Year against nine artists, including Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga.

The AMA holds added significance for BTS and its fans. In 2017, the group made its first U.S. television appearance at the awards with “DNA,” becoming the first K-pop group to perform at the show.

Following the awards ceremony, BTS will continue its world tour schedule, including a global cinema broadcast of its Busan concert.

Their label Bighit Music said Thursday that the group’s Arirang world tour show at Busan Asiad Main Stadium on June 13 will be broadcast to more than 3,800 theaters in over 80 countries.

In Korea, the concert will be screened live at major multiplex chains CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox. In North America, South America and Europe, it will be shown on a delayed basis within one to two days to account for time differences.

In particular, June 13 – the second day of the concert – marks the date BTS debuted in 2013, making the event especially meaningful for fans.

This will be BTS’s first performance at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in nearly four years since the 2030 Busan World Expo Bid concern in October 2022.