KATSEYE earn four 2026 MTV VMA nominations as 'Hootie Frutti' joins Song of Summer

What happened

KATSEYE are nominated in four categories at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). When MTV announced additional nominees on 18 September local time, KATSEYE were named for Best Group, and ‘Hootie Frutti’, the title track of their third EP WILD, was nominated for Song of Summer.

In the nominations list released in August, PINKY UP had already been named in two categories, Best K-pop and Best Choreography. The additional announcement brings KATSEYE’s nominations to four. JTBC, Biz Enter, Sports Kyunghyang and the Korea Times reported the same four categories.

In Song of Summer, ‘Hootie Frutti’ is nominated alongside songs by Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift. The Best Group nominees are KATSEYE together with BTS, BLACKPINK, CORTIS, FLO, Fuerza Regida, Geese and Twenty One Pilots, and the Korea Times reported that half of the category’s nominees are K-pop-linked acts.

When and where

According to Soompi, on 18 September local time MTV announced the nominees for four social categories whose winners are decided by fan voting, and Best Group and Song of Summer are among them. Voting for Best Group runs from 11 a.m. ET on 21 September to 11 a.m. ET on 24 September on MTV’s Instagram Stories, and for Song of Summer from 11 a.m. ET on 26 September to 11 a.m. ET on 27 September.

The ceremony airs live on 27 September at 7:30 p.m. ET. According to the Korea Times, it is held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and hosted by Snoop Dogg. The nominations for BLACKPINK, Lisa and Jisoo at the same ceremony are covered in the BLACKPINK VMA nominations story.

KATSEYE reach the ceremony in the middle of a tour. According to Sports Kyunghyang, KATSEYE began THE WILDWORLD TOUR in Dublin, Ireland, on 1 September, and after the UK and major European cities in September they move on to North America from October.

Why it matters

The four nominations come from different songs and criteria. Best K-pop and Best Choreography are for ‘PINKY UP’, the single released in April, Song of Summer is for ‘Hootie Frutti’, the title track of WILD, and Best Group is for the group as a whole. Biz Enter reported that with these nominations KATSEYE go for a win for the second year running. Last year KATSEYE received MTV PUSH Performance of the Year for ‘Touch’.

The nominated songs’ chart records were reported alongside. According to Biz Enter, on the Billboard charts dated 19 September WILD held the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 for a fourth straight week after its first number one, and on the Hot 100 Animal placed at number 27 and ‘Hootie Frutti’ at number 67. JTBC reported that on the UK Official Singles Top 100 ‘Animal’ stayed on the chart for an eighth straight week at number 18 and ‘Hootie Frutti’ for a fifth straight week at number 48. The WILD Billboard 200 number one is covered further in the WILD story.

The same songs carried on at Spotify. According to JTBC, on the Weekly Top Songs Global chart (11 to 17 September) ‘Animal’ placed at number 38 and ‘Hootie Frutti’ at number 82, while ICONIC BY MISTAKE, made with LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT, entered at number 161, putting three songs on the chart at once.

What you need to know

• On 18 September 2026 local time, MTV announced the nominees for four social categories decided by fan voting.
• KATSEYE are nominated for Best Group, for Song of Summer with ‘Hootie Frutti’, and for Best K-pop and Best Choreography with ‘PINKY UP’.
• Last year KATSEYE received MTV PUSH Performance of the Year for ‘Touch’.
• The 2026 MTV VMAs are held on 27 September at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by Snoop Dogg.
• KATSEYE are on THE WILDWORLD TOUR and continue in North America from October.