Rosé Becomes First K-Pop Artist to Win MTV VMA’s “Song of the Year” with “APT.”

Rosé of BLACKPINK became the first K-pop artist to win the “Song of the Year” award at the MTV VMA, a major American pop music ceremony. At the 2025 MTV VMA held on September 7 at the UBS Arena in New York, Rosé received this honor for her collaboration with American pop star Bruno Mars titled “APT.” This achievement marks a significant milestone in K-pop history, as BTS’s “Dynamite” was nominated in 2021 but failed to win. Wearing a golden gown, Rosé began her acceptance speech by saying, “I really can’t believe this,” before adding, “I want to thank Bruno the most for believing in me and supporting me.” She continued, “This is a reward for all our hard work and a happy moment,” and then delivered a message in Korean: “Teddy, I won an award. Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa — I did it. Thank you always, I love you.” During this ceremony, Rosé was nominated in 8 categories, setting a record for the most K-pop nominations at one VMA event. Aside from winning the Song award for “APT.,” she was also nominated for Best Video, Best Collaboration, Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and Best K-POP for the title track of her solo debut album, “Toxic Till the End.” Lisa, a member of the same group, won the Best K-POP award for her collaboration with Doja Cat and RAYE titled “Born Again.” This was Lisa’s consecutive victory in the Best K-POP category. Unable to attend in person, she sent a recorded message saying, “It is truly an honor to receive this award. I am grateful for MTV and VMA’s love and support, and I thank Doja Cat and RAYE for turning ‘Born Again’ into such a special song.” Lisa’s win for “Born Again” follows her victories with “Lalisa” in 2022 (which she attended to receive) and “Rockstar” in 2024, bringing her three Best K-POP awards in four years. This shares the record for the most wins in this category with BTS. BTS has also won this award three times since its introduction in 2019, while Stray Kids won it once in 2023. Notably, Lisa is the only artist to win every time she has been nominated in this category. Other entries in the Best K-POP competition included Jisoo’s “Earthquake,” Jennie’s “Like Jennie,” and Rosé’s “Toxic Till the End” from BLACKPINK, as well as Jimin of BTS’s “Who,” Stray Kids’s “Chk Chk Boom,” and aespa’s “Whiplash.” Doja Cat’s win for “Born Again” marks her sixth VMA award, while it is RAYE’s first VMA victory. Last year, RAYE was nominated in the “Video for Good” category for “Genesis.” BLACKPINK also won the “Group of the Year” award on that day, further demonstrating their global influence.