BTS, BLACKPINK, CORTIS and KATSEYE Join 2026 MTV VMA Best Group Race

BTS, BLACKPINK, CORTIS and KATSEYE have added new nominations to their 2026 MTV Video Music Awards campaigns. All four acts are competing for Best Group, while BLACKPINK member Jennie and KATSEYE also appear in the separate Song of the Summer category.

MTV announced the nominees for four social categories on September 18 local time. Winners in those categories will be selected through fan voting, placing the final outcome directly in the hands of audiences during a series of limited voting windows ahead of the ceremony.

Four K-pop-linked acts enter Best Group vote

The Best Group lineup includes BTS, BLACKPINK, CORTIS and KATSEYE alongside FLO, Fuerza Regida, Geese and Twenty One Pilots. The eight-name field brings together groups working across different markets and musical styles, giving the fan vote an international scope.

For the four K-pop-linked nominees, the category adds to recognition they had already received elsewhere in the 2026 VMA lineup. Each was previously nominated in other categories, including Best K-Pop, so the Best Group announcement expands rather than begins their presence at this year’s awards.

The format also makes organization important for fans. Best Group voting is scheduled to open on September 21 at 11 a.m. ET and close on September 24 at 11 a.m. ET. Votes will be collected through MTV’s Instagram Stories, creating a three-day window rather than a vote that remains open until the broadcast.

Jennie and KATSEYE compete for Song of the Summer

Two names from the Best Group field also have entries in Song of the Summer. Jennie is nominated for ‘Dracula,’ her collaboration with Tame Impala, while KATSEYE is nominated for its latest hit ‘Hootie Frutti.’ Their inclusion gives BLACKPINK and KATSEYE supporters another category to follow after the Best Group vote ends.

The Song of the Summer voting period is shorter and begins later. It will run from September 26 at 11 a.m. ET until September 27 at 11 a.m. ET. Like Best Group, the category will be decided through fan participation, but its one-day voting period creates a more compressed campaign.

Because the two windows do not overlap, the schedule divides attention into distinct phases. Best Group voting closes first, followed by the Song of the Summer vote two days later. That structure allows fans to focus on one social category at a time while the awards broadcast approaches.

A fan-driven route to the final results

The newly announced categories differ from awards determined solely by a jury or industry panel. Social voting measures the ability of artists and fan communities to mobilize during a fixed period, making timing, platform access and participation central to the result.

The Best Group roster also illustrates the wider competition surrounding global pop groups in 2026. Established acts such as BTS and BLACKPINK share the ballot with CORTIS, KATSEYE and nominees from outside the K-pop field. The category therefore tests support across several overlapping international audiences. With every nominee using the same Instagram-based voting route, the result will reflect which communities convert attention into action during the designated window.

Jennie’s individual Song of the Summer nomination adds another layer to BLACKPINK’s showing. The group can receive votes collectively in Best Group, while Jennie’s collaboration competes on its own in a song-focused category. KATSEYE similarly has both a group nomination and a nominated track, giving the act two separate paths in the social vote.

The 2026 MTV VMAs are scheduled to air live on September 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET. By then, voting for both Best Group and Song of the Summer will have closed, leaving the ceremony to reveal how the concentrated fan campaigns translated into results.