![\"Jungkook,](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/P106J7IB-e1779765435713.jpg?w=237&h=147&crop=1\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nKeith Urban, \u201cSummer Breeze\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tCountry legend Keith Urban has maintained a strong, sweet vocal tone over the years, and it\u2019s well-suited to take on Seals and Crofts\u2019 classic 1972 single \u201cSummer Breeze.\u201d Part of his 2026 album Flow State<\/em>, it\u2019s a fine cover, but does an awards show in 2026 really need a fairly faithful cover of a 54-year-old ballad? Especially as the night goes into its third hour? At the very least, it served as a salute to the late Dash Crofts (even if no one on stage mentioned his recent death), and BTS seemed to dig it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nTwenty One Pilots, \u201cDrag Path\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tNo, not a song about a drag queen\u2019s path to superstardom, but part of Twenty One Pilots\u2019 complicated lore, their universe of characters, storylines and intertwining melodies. Building from a ballad to a pummeling rocker, \u201cDrag Path\u201d feels impactful and meaningful, and the staging was cool. But for those without in-depth knowledge of the duo\u2019s lore, this performance felt a bit like walking into a movie at the 60-minute mark, watching three minutes and then leaving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nNew Kids on the Block, \u201cThe Right Stuff\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tTo plug their upcoming Las Vegas residency, which kicks off June 19 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, New Kids on the Block brought a taste of what to expect to the AMAs stage. Arriving in a white convertible and surrounded by a sea of glowing Vegas marquees, the iconic boy band brought a lot of flashy energy to \u201cThe Right Stuff.\u201d When they busted out some Morris Day-esque choreography, you know Lisa Rinna was vibing. It wasn\u2019t earth-shattering stuff, it wasn\u2019t jaw-dropping stuff, but it was the right stuff for a fun lil diversion. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nBilly Idol, \u201cEyes Without a Face\u201d\/\u201dDancing With Myself\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tHonored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the AMAs ahead of his well-deserved Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction this fall, Billy Idol hit the stage to sing two of his biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits. Opening with the melancholy \u201cEyes Without a Face,\u201d the performance \u2014 which closed a three-hour show \u2014 felt a bit muted at the start, but Idol\u2019s longtime ally, guitar pro Steve Stevens, helped push things into higher gear with his soloing. By the time they segued into \u201cDancing With Myself,\u201d Idol found a gravely punk groove and had the whole arena dancing with themselves (next to each other) until the confetti dropped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nRiley Green, \u201cWorst Way\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tFollowing a powerful salute to the nation\u2019s veterans on Memorial Day, Riley Green took the stage to sing his slow-burning country-rocker \u201cWorst Way.\u201d Green is one of the best in country music right now, and his voice perpetually smolders, but the single is two years old at this point, so it felt a bit like a throwback (perhaps fitting since Black Eyed Peas had just been on stage for their big win). A newer song might\u2019ve hit harder, but still a solid performance of a sneakily catchy tune.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nHootie & the Blowfish, \u201cHold My Hand\u201d\/\u201dOnly Wanna Be With You\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tAn alt-rock band with a long AMAs history, Hootie & the Blowfish helped open the 2026 show with the first live in-venue performance. Floating out two \u201890s classics, their debut single \u201cHold My Hand\u201d and their highest-charting Hot 100 hit (No. 6) \u201cOnly Wanna Be With You,\u201d the band was in fine form and frontman Darius Rucker\u2019s voice has lost none of its easygoing grit. Even if both songs came out well before they were born, the members of KATSEYE were rockin\u2019 along.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nMaluma, \u201cTu Recuerdo\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tWith his mic stand wrapped in the Colombian flag, Maluma crooned and shimmied his way through a charming and nostalgic rendition of \u201cTu recuerdo.\u201d As pictures from his childhood appeared on the screen behind him and his dazzling smile lit up the stage, Maluma sang the sweet salsa song backed by an effortlessly grooving band. It was a nice, warm and winning moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nTeyana Taylor, \u201cAll of Your Heart\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tAs Queen Latifah noted, Teyana Taylor took the AMAs stage fresh off an Oscar nomination for One Battle After Another<\/em>\u2013and her tripped-out, spacey performance of \u201cAll of Your Heart\u201d felt like a cinematic moment unto itself thanks to immersive staging, disorienting camerawork, eerie lighting and sci-fi-flavored choreography and costuming. The whole thing felt like a throwback to the kind of wild, wacked-out spectacles Missy Elliott was known for delivering\u2014and sure enough, Misdemeanor herself appeared halfway through the performance via video to faux interrupt the broadcast and warn us about this UFO (Unidentified Fabulous Object). \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nPussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes & Spliff Star, \u201cButtons\u201d\/\u201dWhen I Grow Up\u201d\/\u201dClub Song\u201d\/\u201dDon\u2019t Cha\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tIn skintight latex, the reunited Pussycat Dolls \u2014 Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts \u2014 hit rewind and took us back 20 years. Bending, snapping, mean mugging and, of course, harmonizing together, the trio had the arena partying like it was the mid \u201900s with \u201cButtons\u201d and \u201cWhen I Grow Up\u201d before segueing into a bit of comeback single \u201cClub Song.\u201d When the trio strutted out into the crowd for \u201cDon\u2019t Cha,\u201d it seemed like everyone at the AMAs was channeling their inner seductress and singing along \u2014 at least until Busta Rhymes\u2019 rapid-fire rhymes knocked them onto their asses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nSombr, \u201cHomewrecker\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tAs Nikki Glaser joked earlier in the show, it hasn\u2019t been that long since Sombr, who turns 21 this year, was in high school. But the New York singer-songwriter is learning fast what it means to command a stage like a pro, and during his performance of \u201cHomewrecker,\u201d he wailed and wooed his way through the lovelorn rock song, never losing his connection with the camera or the crowd. At the end of the song, a downpour from above left him theatrically drenched, his eyeliner smudged and chic clothes clinging to his body. Suffice it to say, the man knows what his fans want.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nKarol G, \u201cIvonny Bonita\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tPrior to being honored with not one but two AMAs simultaneously, Karol G demonstrated exactly why she was worthy of being handed the International Artist Award of Excellence on the AMAs stage. Moving slowly and sensuously beneath a full moon, falling particles of light and gauzy fabrics floating around her, Karol G sang \u201cIvonny Bonita.\u201d Her voice was in fine, robust form, and her body was at its acrobatic best (she could put some personal trainers to shame). Karol G had no band or backup dancers, but the well-paced choreography and her instinctive command of a crowd made it clear she didn\u2019t need any of that to own the room.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nBTS, \u201cHooligan\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tPrerecorded, off-site performances sometimes fall a bit flat during an awards show, failing to catch that in-venue excitement. That was not a problem for BTS on Sunday night. Not at all. Drenched in sleek black duds, the Bangtan Boys prowled around the stage of Las Vegas\u2019 Allegiant Stadium \u2014 where they\u2019re currently in the midst of a four-night stint on their Arirang World Tour \u2014 like hungry wildcats while delivering the devious \u201cHooligan.\u201d If they were boy-band cute before the hiatus, they\u2019re serving hot hooliganism now, whether singing, swaggering or seducing the camera. A roar of applause greeted BTS when they arrived at the MGM Grand Garden Arena about an hour later to attend the rest of the show in person, almost as if the audience had been holding in that pent-up energy since the breathtaking performance. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
\nKATSEYE, \u201cPinky Up\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\tEmerging from a giant teddy bear with subwoofers for eyes, KATSEYE (minus Manon, who is currently on hiatus from the group) burst onto the stage in an explosion of candy colors, quirky choreography and breakneck pacing. With plush toys glued to their boots, bras and armbands, the group\u2019s members spat out the hyperpop rush of \u201cPinky Up\u201d like Princess Peach rushing through a level with star invincibility protection. Bonkers and wild but still vocally impressive, KATSEYE injected the AMAs with a delightful dose of delirious adrenaline during its second half.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/lists\/amas-2026-performances-ranked-best-song\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/P106J5ME.jpg?w=1024″] The 2026 AMAs took over the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday (May 25). Hosted by Queen Latifah, the American Music Awards weren\u2019t just about American music\u2014some of the biggest roars of applause were reserved for BTS, especially when the South Korean boy band finally stormed the stage midshow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-1955254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1955254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1955254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1955254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1955254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\tCountry legend Keith Urban has maintained a strong, sweet vocal tone over the years, and it\u2019s well-suited to take on Seals and Crofts\u2019 classic 1972 single \u201cSummer Breeze.\u201d Part of his 2026 album Flow State<\/em>, it\u2019s a fine cover, but does an awards show in 2026 really need a fairly faithful cover of a 54-year-old ballad? Especially as the night goes into its third hour? At the very least, it served as a salute to the late Dash Crofts (even if no one on stage mentioned his recent death), and BTS seemed to dig it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tNo, not a song about a drag queen\u2019s path to superstardom, but part of Twenty One Pilots\u2019 complicated lore, their universe of characters, storylines and intertwining melodies. Building from a ballad to a pummeling rocker, \u201cDrag Path\u201d feels impactful and meaningful, and the staging was cool. But for those without in-depth knowledge of the duo\u2019s lore, this performance felt a bit like walking into a movie at the 60-minute mark, watching three minutes and then leaving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tTo plug their upcoming Las Vegas residency, which kicks off June 19 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, New Kids on the Block brought a taste of what to expect to the AMAs stage. Arriving in a white convertible and surrounded by a sea of glowing Vegas marquees, the iconic boy band brought a lot of flashy energy to \u201cThe Right Stuff.\u201d When they busted out some Morris Day-esque choreography, you know Lisa Rinna was vibing. It wasn\u2019t earth-shattering stuff, it wasn\u2019t jaw-dropping stuff, but it was the right stuff for a fun lil diversion. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tHonored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the AMAs ahead of his well-deserved Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction this fall, Billy Idol hit the stage to sing two of his biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits. Opening with the melancholy \u201cEyes Without a Face,\u201d the performance \u2014 which closed a three-hour show \u2014 felt a bit muted at the start, but Idol\u2019s longtime ally, guitar pro Steve Stevens, helped push things into higher gear with his soloing. By the time they segued into \u201cDancing With Myself,\u201d Idol found a gravely punk groove and had the whole arena dancing with themselves (next to each other) until the confetti dropped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tFollowing a powerful salute to the nation\u2019s veterans on Memorial Day, Riley Green took the stage to sing his slow-burning country-rocker \u201cWorst Way.\u201d Green is one of the best in country music right now, and his voice perpetually smolders, but the single is two years old at this point, so it felt a bit like a throwback (perhaps fitting since Black Eyed Peas had just been on stage for their big win). A newer song might\u2019ve hit harder, but still a solid performance of a sneakily catchy tune.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tAn alt-rock band with a long AMAs history, Hootie & the Blowfish helped open the 2026 show with the first live in-venue performance. Floating out two \u201890s classics, their debut single \u201cHold My Hand\u201d and their highest-charting Hot 100 hit (No. 6) \u201cOnly Wanna Be With You,\u201d the band was in fine form and frontman Darius Rucker\u2019s voice has lost none of its easygoing grit. Even if both songs came out well before they were born, the members of KATSEYE were rockin\u2019 along.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tWith his mic stand wrapped in the Colombian flag, Maluma crooned and shimmied his way through a charming and nostalgic rendition of \u201cTu recuerdo.\u201d As pictures from his childhood appeared on the screen behind him and his dazzling smile lit up the stage, Maluma sang the sweet salsa song backed by an effortlessly grooving band. It was a nice, warm and winning moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tAs Queen Latifah noted, Teyana Taylor took the AMAs stage fresh off an Oscar nomination for One Battle After Another<\/em>\u2013and her tripped-out, spacey performance of \u201cAll of Your Heart\u201d felt like a cinematic moment unto itself thanks to immersive staging, disorienting camerawork, eerie lighting and sci-fi-flavored choreography and costuming. The whole thing felt like a throwback to the kind of wild, wacked-out spectacles Missy Elliott was known for delivering\u2014and sure enough, Misdemeanor herself appeared halfway through the performance via video to faux interrupt the broadcast and warn us about this UFO (Unidentified Fabulous Object). \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tIn skintight latex, the reunited Pussycat Dolls \u2014 Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts \u2014 hit rewind and took us back 20 years. Bending, snapping, mean mugging and, of course, harmonizing together, the trio had the arena partying like it was the mid \u201900s with \u201cButtons\u201d and \u201cWhen I Grow Up\u201d before segueing into a bit of comeback single \u201cClub Song.\u201d When the trio strutted out into the crowd for \u201cDon\u2019t Cha,\u201d it seemed like everyone at the AMAs was channeling their inner seductress and singing along \u2014 at least until Busta Rhymes\u2019 rapid-fire rhymes knocked them onto their asses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tAs Nikki Glaser joked earlier in the show, it hasn\u2019t been that long since Sombr, who turns 21 this year, was in high school. But the New York singer-songwriter is learning fast what it means to command a stage like a pro, and during his performance of \u201cHomewrecker,\u201d he wailed and wooed his way through the lovelorn rock song, never losing his connection with the camera or the crowd. At the end of the song, a downpour from above left him theatrically drenched, his eyeliner smudged and chic clothes clinging to his body. Suffice it to say, the man knows what his fans want.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tPrior to being honored with not one but two AMAs simultaneously, Karol G demonstrated exactly why she was worthy of being handed the International Artist Award of Excellence on the AMAs stage. Moving slowly and sensuously beneath a full moon, falling particles of light and gauzy fabrics floating around her, Karol G sang \u201cIvonny Bonita.\u201d Her voice was in fine, robust form, and her body was at its acrobatic best (she could put some personal trainers to shame). Karol G had no band or backup dancers, but the well-paced choreography and her instinctive command of a crowd made it clear she didn\u2019t need any of that to own the room.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tPrerecorded, off-site performances sometimes fall a bit flat during an awards show, failing to catch that in-venue excitement. That was not a problem for BTS on Sunday night. Not at all. Drenched in sleek black duds, the Bangtan Boys prowled around the stage of Las Vegas\u2019 Allegiant Stadium \u2014 where they\u2019re currently in the midst of a four-night stint on their Arirang World Tour \u2014 like hungry wildcats while delivering the devious \u201cHooligan.\u201d If they were boy-band cute before the hiatus, they\u2019re serving hot hooliganism now, whether singing, swaggering or seducing the camera. A roar of applause greeted BTS when they arrived at the MGM Grand Garden Arena about an hour later to attend the rest of the show in person, almost as if the audience had been holding in that pent-up energy since the breathtaking performance. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \n\tEmerging from a giant teddy bear with subwoofers for eyes, KATSEYE (minus Manon, who is currently on hiatus from the group) burst onto the stage in an explosion of candy colors, quirky choreography and breakneck pacing. With plush toys glued to their boots, bras and armbands, the group\u2019s members spat out the hyperpop rush of \u201cPinky Up\u201d like Princess Peach rushing through a level with star invincibility protection. Bonkers and wild but still vocally impressive, KATSEYE injected the AMAs with a delightful dose of delirious adrenaline during its second half.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/lists\/amas-2026-performances-ranked-best-song\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/P106J5ME.jpg?w=1024″] The 2026 AMAs took over the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday (May 25). Hosted by Queen Latifah, the American Music Awards weren\u2019t just about American music\u2014some of the biggest roars of applause were reserved for BTS, especially when the South Korean boy band finally stormed the stage midshow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-1955254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1955254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1955254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1955254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1955254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1955254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Twenty One Pilots, \u201cDrag Path\u201d<\/h2>\n
New Kids on the Block, \u201cThe Right Stuff\u201d<\/h2>\n
Billy Idol, \u201cEyes Without a Face\u201d\/\u201dDancing With Myself\u201d<\/h2>\n
Riley Green, \u201cWorst Way\u201d<\/h2>\n
Hootie & the Blowfish, \u201cHold My Hand\u201d\/\u201dOnly Wanna Be With You\u201d<\/h2>\n
Maluma, \u201cTu Recuerdo\u201d<\/h2>\n
Teyana Taylor, \u201cAll of Your Heart\u201d<\/h2>\n
Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes & Spliff Star, \u201cButtons\u201d\/\u201dWhen I Grow Up\u201d\/\u201dClub Song\u201d\/\u201dDon\u2019t Cha\u201d<\/h2>\n
Sombr, \u201cHomewrecker\u201d<\/h2>\n
Karol G, \u201cIvonny Bonita\u201d<\/h2>\n
BTS, \u201cHooligan\u201d<\/h2>\n
KATSEYE, \u201cPinky Up\u201d<\/h2>\n