Lisa beats Taylor Swift to win best pop at 2026 MTV VMAs, a first for Asian solo artists

Blackpink member Lisa has claimed a trophy at one of American pop music's biggest awards nights, beating out some of the genre's reigning queens and becoming the first Asian solo artist in history to win the category — a milestone in a field that BTS opened for Korean acts as a group in 2020.

Lisa took home the best pop award at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, held live Sunday (local time) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles starting at 7:30 p.m., for "Dream," her single recorded with Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi.

Accepting the award, Lisa opened with a greeting in Thai — "Sawasdee ka" — before dedicating the win to her fans. "The dreams I held onto late every night brought me to this stage today," she said. "Thank you to the Lilies. I could not have stood here without you."

This year's ceremony has been dominated by female artists. The best pop category alone drew nominations for Taylor Swift, who led all acts with 11 nods, Sabrina Carpenter with nine, and Ariana Grande and Olivia Rodrigo with eight each.

Lisa earned four nominations in total for "Dream" — a single that blends an original sound with a cinematic narrative — including best pop, best cinematography, best editing and best K-pop.