Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons.
BTS, a Korean boy band, was voted by fans to win “Artist of the Year” at the AMAs in November.
By Sophie MacDonald ’25
Staff Writer
Korean boy band BTS took home three awards at the American Music Awards, held at Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theater, on Nov. 21, 2021. The group won the coveted title of “Artist of the Year,” making them the first Asian artists in history to do so. Their song “Butter,” released this past summer, took home the award for “Favorite Pop Song,” and together they were crowned “Favorite Pop Duo/Group” for the third consecutive year. In addition, they also performed twice, collaborating with Coldplay for a performance of their joint-release “My Universe” and closing the show with “Butter.”
Since first appearing at the AMAs in 2017, BTS has won nine awards in total. However, this year’s ceremony was particularly historic, as the group had cemented new records. According to Paul Grein of Billboard, “BTS won artist of the year, becoming the first group to win in that top category since One Direction won back-to-back awards in 2014-15. The K-pop sensations beat [Taylor] Swift, who has won six times in the category, more than anyone else. This is only Swift’s second loss in the category. She previously lost to [One Direction] in 2015.” The wins were entirely fan voted, demonstrating BTS’ prominence in the American market.
The band’s leader Kim Nam-Joon, also known as RM, thanked their fans, known as “ARMY,” stating, “Four years ago, we had given this first-time-ever TV live performance at this stage AMAs, it was ‘DNA.’ We were too excited and nervous at the time, and it’s been a long and amazing ride since then, but nobody could have ever bet on the odds of us standing here receiving this award. Except y’all, ARMY. Seven boys from Korea, united by a love for music, met the love and support from all the ARMYs all over the world.”
Ananda Ravdandash ’25, an international student from Mongolia and longtime fan said, “I’ve been a fan of BTS since I was in middle school, and they were still big back then, but seeing them succeed on a global scale is fascinating. Although seeing them succeed makes me proud, it also makes me question their current and future music compared to their previous works because now their work is tailored to a vast population, specifically Western media.” Ravdandash added, “I do believe that BTS’ achievements will open up many opportunities [for Asian artists] because many earlier groups like Big Bang, 2NE1, Wonder Girls, SNSD [and] PSY had previously paved the way for later groups in terms of [the] U.S. and global recognition.”
Eonbi Choi ’25, an international student from Korea, did not expect the group to garner this level of success in America. “It was a big surprise to me. Korea being a small country in Asia, I’ve never anticipated that a group of singers from Korea who have different backgrounds and speak in another language could be able to influence audiences with their actions, inspire them with their songs and be beloved by them,” Choi said. “Since most K-pop songs are not performed in English and have different styles from western music and tradition, it was surprising to see them attract American audiences and win popularity in the western music industry, despite the language barrier and cultural differences.”
“I think that BTS not only represents Korea well but also globally spreads Korean culture to audiences,” Choi said. “After BTS became popular as a K-pop band, I see that they have worked to expose American audiences to certain cultures of Korea, in an effort to present Korea as a country with its own unique identity and aspects to the world.”