#Jimin and RM nominated for an AMA

[jimin-bangtan]

The Grit & Persistence of Jimin & His Fans

NOTE: Feel free to skip down to the Jimin-specific section below the fold.

BTS is the only reason I am involved in KPop. All of the traditions and vocabulary of Kpop were new to me when I became their fan. I was aware of Kpop but never engaged with it. I had heard a bit about it, and what I had heard wasn't flattering. Mainly I was concerned about the training process and the pressure that seemed to be put on the young artists.

I have written in my BTS experience post (See my Archive or Masterlist.) that my sister found BTS first and introduced me, mainly through performances. I found them all extremely talented and interesting. I happen to continually find myself watching Jimin.

I got to know BTS's story and about how challenging their plight had been. I heard of the unfair treatment and disregard that was cast upon them. I also learned of the intentional sabotage and harm that was done to them in the music industry. Still, they continued to succeed.

I found out more about Jimin too. I found out about his short training period, his misdirected start as a rapper, and his lack of vocal lessons in spite of the piercing high notes he was given to sing. I was concerned for all of their wellbeing and safety as I watched documentaries and saw how hard they worked.

Over time, I discovered more about the unprofessional and disrespectful treatment they received from the media, Kpop colleagues and their fans, as well as the general public. To the present time, more and more information continues to come out about intentional actions done against them.

One of those intentional actions was the Break Wings project, which was a plan designed by some fandoms, companies, or entities to attempt to ruin BTS's achievement for their coming Wings album and beyond. The planners basically were attempting to erase BTS from the competition. BTS was, after all, from a new company that would be competing against the 3 longstanding, "big" Kpop companies. Up to that point, BTS had not yet broken through but had made an impression and their potential was obvious.

BREAK WINGS PROJECT (2016)

credit: Sonyeonstan

The organized project, dispersed throughout social media and in private communications, not only put a target on BTS's back, but it also instructed competing fan groups, or just the general public, exactly how they could unite in force to tear down anything BTS attempted. It really is a hateful way to use energy.

Instead of using their energy to focus on their own groups to help them rise and conquer. They expended their energy trying to destroy BTS. And boy, did it backfire - OR maybe it worked exactly as the poorly devised plan should have. With their energy off of their own groups and on BTS, BTS kept thriving. In comparison, their groups kept declining in achievement and relevance, which caused the targeted hate to escalate.

The relentless hate caused BTS to choose to turn toward each other in closer unity and to work even harder. Their performances were innovative and astonishing. Their plans were intricate and well-designed. They got more and more attention. They won more and more awards, and they broke through more and more barriers. Their achievements have far surpassed anything Kpop had or has ever achieved, even now reaching into the Western market and opening the doors for others to follow. Their records are historic and exceptional.

Surprisingly, now in 2025, the hate against BTS still has not subsided. They have earned more respect, even if begrudgingly, but the industry, competing fans, and the media still attempt to minimize BTS's achievements and mere presence at times. After all of the economic, cultural, and political gains BTS has made for Korea, Kpop, and Asia, there is still animosity and overall jealousy and contempt for them. And what's worse is that I can't figure out anything BTS did to earn this reaction - except to exist and succeed.

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH JIMIN?

Well, if you read the strategy above of the Break Wings project, the tactics sound very much like the organized actions that have been used against Jimin for years. And what is really shocking to me is that as I became more involved in the fandom, I realized it was coming not from people outside of the fandom but literally from within the same OT7 ("We love all 7 members.") fandom that I had once read took on abusers and foes of BTS, in unison. I was so impressed in reading how the fandom had unified to become such a productive force for BTS. BTS always spoke of this fandom with such pride and love because they appreciated all that the fandom did while they were struggling to survive.

I shake my head as I write.

I will admit that I realize that the Break Wings project included a plan to infiltrate BTS's ARMY fandom and to pretend to be them and start trouble and create strife in different places, including within the fandom. I do now believe that some of what is happening to Jimin is because of outside forces pretending to be BTS fans. HOWEVER, where is that protective, loving, united force I had once read about? Why are they not unifying to protect all of their members EQUALLY? Why are they silent when any one of their 7 is being attacked - and with death threats!!! Where are they when family members of any member are being attacked? Where are they when support is being withheld to prevent any BTS member from achieving? EQUALLY!

Since I have been a part of the BTS scene, I have even seen the fandom do it for other members or at occasional times, but I noticed that it did not happen equally and for all members. Early on, I had asked my sister a few times, as I was watching material, why it appeared that Jimin was treated a bit differently. She never could explain. She still can't. I can't either.

I can only imagine that it's for the same reason BTS was targeted. Because he dared to exist and succeed.

The companies back then saw young BTS's grit, talent, and fight and were afraid. (Research current conversation about SM's plan for BTS's American Hustle Life appearance) Before they tried to destroy BTS, they first attempted to obtain them as their own. When that didn't work, they moved on to destruction. As much as people may hate BangPD for other things he has or has not done, he did not fold on BTS when money was tight, pressure was high, or circumstances seemed bleak. BTS did not fold, and Jimin did not fold. In fact, Jimin, like BTS, excelled and exceeded all expectations for him in the group and during this solo era.

Like with BTS, in spite of Jimin's contributions to the group and the attention they received because of him, the hate continues. Remember the forces were trying to tear down BTS. What better way than to tear down members one by one and start with the ones whose loss would change the dynamic, attention, or work of BTS?

This long overdue post is because Jimin has recently been nominated for an AMA, an AMERICAN Music Award (Favorite KPop Artist). Both of his solo albums were huge successes in America (U.S.), and his main track from his most current solo album just went quadruple (4X) platinum in the U.S. That same song, WHO, became the longest charting Kpop song ever on the AMERICAN Billboard Hot100 chart. Yet the "fans" are plotting to vote against him for this award. They are plotting to NOT vote for a BTS member to guarantee he loses to another nominated BTS member or, I suspect, to anyone else. I get the sense that they really don't want him to win again. Their idea is not to let the chips fall where they may but to intentionally plot his loss. I wish I could say this was the first time.

And worse, the plotters are trying to appear noble by using excuses that sound justifiable to those who may not think it through, so it seems like a reasonable consideration. "He's won enough awards." "He would want his bandmate to win instead of him." Wouldn't his bandmate also be happy for Jimin to win too? Has Jimin not earned his nomination and possible win - with receipts?

While the achievements in the U.S. are not comparable, Jimin's bandmate, RM, also deserves his nomination for his creative, alternative rap album, and people are free to vote for him too. My problem would not be RM winning legitimately. My problem is the organized plot to vote AGAINST Jimin - just like the Break Wings project. If these current people think they are in any way better than those who participated in that plot against BTS, they are wrong - and they are worse - especially if they actually believe themselves to be true BTS fans.

It is exhausting being Jimin's fan, and it's not because of Jimin. He actually makes it easy to love and support him and his work. It is because of BTS's fandom that really has disappointed me in some ways. These hateful "fans" do NOT represent the BTS members I have come to know. BTS would not condone or accept this as part of the message they have worked to present. They have loved and supported each other through all the turmoil. They worked tirelessly to cultivate this fandom and to succeed. The OT7 idea for this fandom, at this point, appears to be a myth.

All of the shipping divisiveness, hateful comments to BTS members and to other fans during Lives and on social media, organizing plots against BTS's own members, and the harassment of members' families are just distasteful demonstrations. This is just not the BTS way. At least that's what I thought.

Again, I shake my head.

Jimin's fans will continue to fight for him, using his attitude and efforts as models. It would be great to feel he was supported by the entire fandom, as all the members should be, but in honesty, I have seen too many situations where that does not seem to be true.

I am not a solo. I truly love and support all the guys. My support for Jimin does not include hating on the other members. I wish them all well and appreciate the work they do. (That doesn't mean I can't have honest thoughts about what they do or say, including Jimin.). However, I understand the feeling of solos - those who do not hate on or damage other members or the group - even if they don't actively support the other guys. It has been a tough journey watching from a Jimin supporter's point of view. The fandom can do better. It should do better - for all of the members.

I am presently working on a post where I explain that I feel it is time for BTS to address their fandom. It is out of hand, and it is costing them new fans, old fans, positive fan experiences, their reputation, and their legacy. If the problems are mostly from those outside of the fandom, the fans within should not allow this to be the atmosphere of this legendary group's fanbase. BTS should not be diminished by their own fandom by either actions of destruction or by inaction of allowing the destruction to remain unchecked.

[sirensoul-min]

I'm sorry but I can't take this seriously. How does someone who has no success whatsoever in the US (or anywhere else for that matter) gets an US award? It doesn't even make sense that he got a nomination in the first place considering the AMAs themselves said they choose the nominees based on chart performance, mainly in the Billboard charts.

Jimin had one of the best years anyone in k-pop has ever had in the US in 2024. He has a solo Hot 100 number #1. Has the longest charting k-pop song in the Hot 100. He is the longest charting k-pop soloist in the Artist 100 chart and the only one to ever top it. He has the longest charting album by a k-pop soloist in the Billboard 200. He was the best selling k-pop soloist in the US in 2024. He is the only k-pop soloist with 2 songs having sold 2 million units in the US and only one of three k-pop acts to have a song that sold 4 million (BTS and Psy being the other two). In the US Spotify charts he holds the record for most streamed k-pop song and album and is the most streamed soloist (and soon to be most streamed k-pop act overall surpassing BTS). All this and there's still a bunch more I'm not mentioning.

And RM has what exactly? His highest placement in the Hot100 is #36 and that's with Megan's song he's only a feature in because none of the songs from the album he released the same year even entered the chart (mind you Megan has 3 number #1s and 40 entries so you know who's carrying who). Same thing with Spotify US, he only got an entry with Megan's song but none for his own songs including the one he recently released that only lasted one day on Global Spotify. But he deserves this US award because...?

Because armys were sorry they don't give a shit about his music and that he has no accomplishments while Jimin has countless. So they decided to give RM a pity award and guilt-tripped everyone into voting for him like it's an obligation while harassing anyone that wanted to vote for Jimin because apparently that's anti behavior.

Are they really proud of this? Is RM? Will he look at a shelf of US achievements that is completely empty aside from this one award and tell himself he deserved it? Deserved it more than his bandmate he knows should've and would've gotten it instead if their fandom wasn't so infested with people who are so bitter about his success and people who hate him simply because they blame him for a couple they made up in their minds not being together they way they wanted?

Is this RM's real achievement? Not being a threat like Jimin? Being so irrelevant and unsuccessful that people can't even be bothered to work against him? Winning only because bitter fans wanted Jimin to lose?

What a thing to celebrate...

i get you, anon. it hurts especially because it's still so fresh. i tried to keep my expectation low, but when you invested a lot, it's going to sting no matter what. what hurts even more is how armys are celebrating the 'win' as if we didn't witness what had happened or as if we didn't know how jimin deserves that win the most; as if jimin was an enemy that deserves to be eliminated and disposed. it sucks. this is the lowest of the low that you can expect from them.

from the start of the nomination, RM's nom has always been mysterious (i think i got an ask abt it but idk where it went) because afaik his album (except that collab with megan) didn't do much in US aside from those reviews and awards (w/c are more on the filmography rather than the music). we can't exactly pinpoint where his nomination came from. i'm not opposed to the idea that it was bought, bc again, it seems like it sprouted out of thin air, but we don't have the enough data for now; so i guess only time can tell.

RM and armys can convince themselves that he deserves it and that he earned it all they want. but they cannot convince us and other people who really saw jimin's impact and doubts AMAs credibility; especially since compared to jimin, he's had far less support, numbers, and popularity. it's a pity award; no sugar-coating could change that. the meaning and worth of that award is RM's burden to carry and prove, and judging by how he is celebrating his 'win', he's loving every moment of it. let's see how far he can go.

it's valid to be angry, upset, frustrated, and sad. a lot of things had been said and many more will be said. it's going to be an endless back and forth, but it's up to us how we're going to get through this. needless to say, armys will gloat all they want. we can't fully stop them, but let's clock them from time to time; they deserve it 😉. however, trying to fight them all the time will be emotionally exhausting and a waste of energy in the long run (but you do you), so let's pick our battles.

the best way to treat this experience is to see it as a pivotal moment in jimin's career and to us as his supporters. it's another obstacle that we need to conquer and surpass in order to be tougher and wiser. (god knows we still have so many to face.) we can fight fire with fire while also being level-headed and patient. go on and do whatever you feel will help release those negative emotions as long as it'll give you a little comfort. but please, let's not forget to give ourselves more time to regroup. definitely no time for regrets though because we worked for jimin 101%.

for me (and i'm sure to other pjms), this isn't exactly a defeat. jimin may not have gotten that physical trophy and title, but we gained and are gaining so much more from this experience. our fandom is growing stronger and united, armys (and the members) are showing their true colors clearer and louder than ever, we're gaining better insights on how to advocate for jimin effectively, and so much more. no amount of awards should stop jimin from conquering the world. no amount of awards and mediaplay should steal jimin's spark when he has us supporting him. he deserves the love and support. don't give his antis, hybe, and armys the satisfaction.

let's reflect, give ourselves time to breathe, and try to channel our emotions to something more productive. we have songs to streams, polls to win, and jimin to welcome back (!!!)

i'm proud of jimin and i'm proud of us (he's going to be proud of us too). let's keep moving forward, onwards. steadily.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Jimin is lucky he has a solo fanbase. Otherwise imagine what would have happened.

Why everytime he's nominated for awards alongside another member, armys be writing paras about how the other member is more deserving?

Melon... they said Jungkook is more deserving cause he worked very hard on his album.

MTV.. they said the same

Mama... they said the same

Tma... they said Suga is more deserving cause they couldn't give him a higher bb debut.

Now Ama, RM and JM are nominated and they are saying RM is more deserving cause he has no awards.

I was reminded of that one award poll that happened a year ago. Just some 2 people announcing from their living room. JM stans decided not to participate because it's a "fake engagement farming poll". But armys did and 6 members won something and they trended hashtags congratulating the 6 proudly. Iam sorry, but I had a good laugh seeing that because it's so evident no army voted for JM in that poll. He wins nothing when left solely to them.

Anyway, I hardly participate in such votings. So will watch what happens from the sidelines.

Oh yeah, Jimin wouldn't win any fan-based voting award if it were just for army (=taekookers). All his chances come from pjms pulling their weight and jikookers who are not into the ot7 kumbaya shtick and who can stick up for Jimin when needed. Everyone else is either not doing anything or actively sabotaging his chances.

I've seen the reactions today to the AMA nomination. I wasn't surprised at all. The cult is throwing pity parties for a man who made sure to put himself first before congratulating Jimin on his first album, so you understand what kind of people they all are.

I wish I would have the patience and the time to do some quantitive research that would undoubtely prove that the bts fandom is actively rejecting Jimin on all platforms and online mediums. You know, excel sheets with the type of comments on yt, twitter, IG, tiktok that can be found under every Jimin video/topic and every ship involving him, which would then be compared to the comments about the other six people and all the ships connected to them.

I know that mostly all subgroups in the fandom are now in too deep and brainwashed to be open to this (from solo stans, to shippers, to anyone else), but I'm 100% sure that empirical evidence would prove all that I've said. I'm certain that no one is saying "but what about Jimin, he deserves it too, or he is better" under any other member post. I'm sure that no one is going under ship/duo posts of Jimin with any other person except Jungkook and calling it fanservice, gross, that one is a creep and a leech, etc. I have zero doubts.

[abcthv9597]

250424 - bts_bighit on Twitter:

Honored to be nominated for 'Favorite K-Pop Artist' at the 2025 @AMAs! Thank you, #BTSARMY 💜 Find more information below.

🔗 How to: theamas.com/how-to-vote/

🔗 Web: billboard.com/amasvote/

🔗 Instagram: instagram.com/p/DIyc4xpJVJu/

#RM #Jimin #지민 #BTS #방탄소년단 #A   MAs

[aricastmblr]

bts_bighit X 24abr2025

Honored to be nominated for 'Favorite K-Pop Artist' at the 2025 @ AMAs ! Thank you, #BTSARMY 💜 Find more information below.

🔗 How to: https://theamas.com/how-to-vote/ 🔗 Web: https://billboard.com/amasvote/ 🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/p/DIyc4xpJVJu/

RM #Jimin #지민 #BTS #방탄소년단 #AMAs

¡Es un honor haber sido nominado a "Artista K-Pop Favorito" en los Premios @ AMAs 2025! Gracias, #BTSARMY 💜 Más información a continuación.

🔗 Cómo hacerlo: https://theamas.com/how-to-vote/ 🔗 Web: https://billboard.com/amasvote/ 🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/p/DIyc4xpJVJu/

RM #Jimin #지민 #BTS #방탄소년단 #AMAs

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[starryjkoo]

The most ridiculous thing for me about this whole voting situation is the constant attempts at shaming and guilt tripping for wanting to vote for Jimin? As if that makes people not “true armys” or whatever phrase they use. Why are people who vote for Jimin automatically solos/fake bts fans? He is literally Jimin of BTS. Not to mention, the concept of *true fans* is already stupid because no one has actual authority to declare what makes that in the first place.

I’ve been around army spaces for years as a Jimin biased fan, and it’s definitely escalated as time goes on with how much shaming is enabled/encouraged if you don’t follow the general fandom’s consensus of the members’ “places” for lack of a better term.

The members were boxed into specific frameworks years ago by the fandom, yet those ideas still stick around as new fans adopt them too. So when Jimin deviates from what’s expected of his “place”, (being more successful than expected) there’s always pushback because some people are really weirdly intense about having a say in that. Some fans genuinely see him only as the ever-supportive cheerleader for everyone else. Jimin can be successful, but only if he doesn’t outshine anyone. Successfully breaking out as much as he did puts him on the chopping block now.

I like the RL members but a lot of their fans have strange superiority and victim complexes. They can’t seem to accept that the solo ventures will not be equally as popular which is a given. Different genres attract different audiences, it’s common sense. You’d think they were told their bias is talentless with the way words are constantly twisted. I don’t understand the intensity for this AMA voting in particular when NJ was also nominated for 2 other awards. I barely see any support for those, yet when it involves Jimin fans suddenly have to take sides? It’s stupid

Sorry for the rant but for me this voting fiasco is just a culmination of way older issues

They’re losing their minds at anybody voting for Jimin because they know that if even a small amount of ARMYs vote for him he’ll win. They absolutely do NOT want that to happen considering they’ve turned this whole voting situation into an opportunity to unleash their pent up resentment over “ML privilege” and ��RL neglect”. It’s also turned into a very heated battle against solos (despite the fact that there are plenty of non-solos wanting to vote for Jimin too). All of that is why they’re being extremely aggressive, antagonistic, and controlling about this. There’s a certain desperation in making sure no one votes for JM which is extraordinarily gross to witness. All of the “don’t split the votes or we’ll lose!” comments are actually “don’t split the votes or JM will win and RM will lose!”. They're just too spineless to say that, but that’s what they actually mean.

& yeah, it’s definitely about it being JM specifically for a lot of reasons, one of which is all the people who are still stuck on TMA (they need to touch grass and get some therapy). He’s had a lot of recent wins and JK hasn’t had an official release since 2023, so Jimin has been at the forefront of this whole “ML favoritism” discourse.

There are a lot of RL diets in this fandom but they never get called out because it’s normalized to victimize RL so they feel legitimized in their open bitterness. They disguise their shady JM anti tweets behind a smokescreen of “justified anger for the RL neglect” but no… they're just being bitter losers because they're overly biased and internalizing RL success and want them to have the kind of success that they value (mainstream awards, big numbers) because they spend too much time in stan spaces.

The members were boxed into specific frameworks years ago by the fandom, yet those ideas still stick around as new fans adopt them too. So when Jimin deviates from what’s expected of his “place”, (being more successful than expected) there’s always pushback because some people are really weirdly intense about having a say in that. Some fans genuinely see him only as the ever-supportive cheerleader for everyone else. Jimin can be successful, but only if he doesn’t outshine anyone. Successfully breaking out as much as he did puts him on the chopping block now.

I agree entirely, and you put it perfectly. A lot of ARMYs really have this warped relationship with BTS that feels so controlling and entitled. I think it shows in how a lot of accounts have this weird tone where they act like they’re an official spokesperson for the group or something. A lot of fans find comfort in BTS (me included) but I think that can lead to some feeling even stronger about keeping them in specific parameters that they find comfortable and familiar. It’s pretty dehumanizing. So many ARMYs are also overly biased and get weird when one of the members that are not part of their bias line/ship succeeds too much, and that’s Jimin for a lot of them.

The perception they have of him is very odd in general but I still remember pretty vividly how at the beginning of CH2 a lot of people were pretty blunt in saying they thought tkk would have the most successful solo careers. After FACE era there were soooo many posts and comments in all ARMY spaces that were basically like “just wait until tkk debut!” basically saying if Jimin managed to do all that, tkk were about to be off the charts insane. And then when Layover came out and THs numbers for the most part lagged a good bit behind JM there were all these crash outs in ARMY spaces (not solo or diets even, ARMYs) because they couldn’t understand how he could be so solidly third when their mental rankings and fandom narratives had his popularity dwarfing JMs.

There were all these think pieces about the fandom not appreciating non-pop and punishing TH for xyz reason and it was genuinely so odd because THs numbers weren’t bad at all, they just weren’t Jikook’s numbers, or I imagine specifically Jimin's. Anyone who has actually payed even… a little bit of attention to past music releases would have always known Jikook were the most likely to have the biggest chart success because historically their solo songs have ALWAYS been first or second in popularity (JM 2/3 most popular if we just count the official BTS solos which is why it’s bizarre ppl had low expectations for him).

I like the RL members but a lot of their fans have strange superiority and victim complexes. They can’t seem to accept that the solo ventures will not be equally as popular which is a given. Different genres attract different audiences, it’s common sense. You’d think they were told their bias is talentless with the way words are constantly twisted. I don’t understand the intensity for this AMA voting in particular when NJ was also nominated for 2 other awards. I barely see any support for those, yet when it involves Jimin fans suddenly have to take sides? It’s stupid

Honestly the RL thing… I think I’m probably one of the least sympathetic people on that whole issue which is kind of funny and surprising because I really do like RL. I’ve seen people who are even more overly biased than me acknowledging that the fandom lets them down and I’ve just never really felt that way about it even though I agree the fandom could do better and I get wanting a convo on that. But I guess because

RL are extremely respected in the industry. ARMYs make it sound like they’re really just these sad sacks out there, but they have a lot of respect and are spoken of very highly by a lot of people in the industry. Their specific choices might not always lead to high numbers, but the tradeoff is they gain a lot of clout from creatives. Look at all the critical praise for RPWP for example (I think VL have a lot of respect too don’t get me wrong, they’ve just had less time working on their solo careers).

Maybe because… I actually listen to alternative indie music? And it’s never had high numbers, like ever. When I listened to RPWP I really liked it but I knew it probably wasn’t going to chart well. It might suck a bit for RM because he’s used to charting high with BTS (and I think he said in his docu that he’s someone with a lot of contradictions or something like that) but I think that’s just the reality of putting out music like that unless you get very lucky or go viral. His streams and support for making that kind of music are miles ahead of the majority of artists who do, and there really are a lot of ARMYs who openly enjoy, appreciate, and stream it.

sort of on a similar note there’s a lot of reasons why it’s particularly difficult for a non-english speaking person to break into the western rap scene and if someone doesn’t understand that, and refuses to acknowledge it, they’re just being purposefully obtuse. I’m not saying it’s impossible or not to try but it’s way more difficult and that’s just how it is.

ARMYs clearly do love RL, they get hit tweets and lots of engagement on social media and look at the response to JH’s tour. It’s ridiculous to argue otherwise. The main difference in support has always come from solo fans and casual stans, not ARMYs

ARMYs can lash out at someone bringing up the genre argument but it's always going to play a key role in chart performance and that’s simply how it is. They think ARMYs can just brute force these songs to have high numbers but we've never been great at longevity and the people who zombie stream have always been a minority. There’s also less and less willing to do all that as the hiatus goes on. Also very obviously having a big solo fanbase is key here, but they won’t acknowledge that either so…

And on the pretension it’s extremely obnoxious and misplaced but I guess it’s how some of them cope. I think it’s super weird when ARMYs specifically start openly shading pop music and putting it down as a way to uplift RL. They really don’t have to do all that but it’s their own insecurities about charts and numbers because so much of this fandom was built around that I guess. VL music isn’t inferior because it’s “pop” imo FACE was one of the most complex and interesting works to come out of CH2 and JM specifically did something very unique in his artistry by having the choreo play a big role in the storytelling, and he deserves more kudos for that.

Anyways yeah ARMYs have allowed all this open resentment for Jimin to fester and form in the main fandom and this is the culmination of that for me. It’s so toxic because a lot of the “RL deserves better” posts won’t actually work to get anyone to support them, it just makes people more openly resentful and antagonistic towards ML (particularly Jikook). That’s why this current situation isn’t people rallying for Namjoon, it’s people rallying against Jimin. That’s what a lot of the RL stream discourse is about at the end of the day, because you’re 100% right about the whole ARMYs being controlling thing. They can’t get the RL support to go up no matter how much they try, so they want to tear Jimin down instead to equalize things because that is something they can control.

Successfully breaking out as much as he did puts him on the chopping block now.

Yeah, I was thinking about this. It’s sad because if Jimin loses a few awards and his next release flops you’d see ARMYs start being nicer to him again and I think that’s incredibly toxic. They really don’t want him to be TOO successful and in a way he’s being punished for having a big solo fandom too. CH2 has really brought out the worst in this fandom, it’s just so sad to see.

Not to mention, the concept of true fans is already stupid because no one has actual authority to declare what makes that in the first place.

Oh and I meant to say I 10000000% agree with this!!

(and never apologize for ranting, I enjoy reading rants. Sorry for rambling all over the place in my response lol)

(also obviously it's not ALL ARMYs but it's a lot of them this time and it's hard not to feel pessimistic)

[jmsoiju]

HII ARMIES!! :)) DO YOU KNOW JIMIN AND RM IS NOMINATED FOR AMRICAN MUSIC AWARDS (AMA) AND DID YOU VOTED? NOT YET!?. IT'S OK IT'S NOT TOO LATE SO FASTLY VOTE THEM!!

(ALSO SPREAD THIS POST/REBLOG) SOO EVERYONE CAN VOTE THEM! TUTORIAL IS HERE:

> 𝚅𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜

> 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜

> 𝚃𝚄𝚃𝙾𝚁𝙸𝙰𝙻: 𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝚃𝙾 𝚅𝙾𝚃𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙰𝙼𝙰𝚜

> * 𝚃𝚊𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎, 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢

> * 𝙻𝚘𝚐 𝚒𝚗

> * 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 "𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝙺-𝙿𝚘𝚙 𝙰𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚝" 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚢

> * 𝚅𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙹𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚗/𝚁𝙼 (𝟷𝟶 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜)

> * 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝟷 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎

> * 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗!

> * 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝟸 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎. 𝙾𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝!

> (𝙸 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝)

> 𝚄𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎.

> 𝚅𝙾𝚃𝙴 𝙰𝚂 𝙼𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝙰𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙲𝙰𝙽!

> 𝙲𝙾𝚁𝚁𝙴𝙲𝚃 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙺

> @𝙱𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙱𝙾𝙰𝚁𝙳.𝙲𝙾𝙼

[fromtenthousandfeet]

hello, responding to your question regarding how and why RM is nominated for AMA. My knowledge is that nominations are made based on a criteria that includes streams and sales. They need 5 nominees who are on top of the list in sales and streams from within a given time frame. Rose makes the list because of APT, Ateez and SKZ had two No 1 Billboard albums. Jimin is Jimin with 4x platinum song and a 100K+ album. So it’s possible that these 4 were pretty close in terms of units and then the 5th one was RM who is very much behind but still made the cut. he had his album come out and also possibly NevaPlay was a factor. But yeah it’s most certainly odd. I would have assumed Lisa to be in the list with her many collabs and a dozen album versions. If it’s a fair nomination, then Kpop has had a bleak year in the states lol.

So odd. Now I need to go back and look at what was released between March 2024 and 2025.

[peachjagiya]

How jk is not nominated for AMAs ??

I think the eligibility period seems to be 22nd March 2024 through to 20th March 2025.

So other than Never Let Go, there's no reason for him to be nominated. Jimin and RM are up for favourite kpop as they released albums with music videos etc.

You could argue that favourite pop artist is kind of not determined within those dates but I think you'd have a hard time proving Jungkook was an active and visible pop star over that time period. At the moment, unfortunately, capitalism has determined that JK, with the exception of Never Let Go, is doing 18months on legacy popularity and good will from having made great pop songs.

That's why him having his solo debut cut short was so cruel. He should be riding that wave and he's not.

[armynoonas]

Honored to be nominated for 'Favorite K-Pop Artist' at the 2025 @/AMAs!

Thank you, #BTSARMY 💜 Find more information below. 🔗 How to: https://theamas.com/how-to-vote/ 🔗 Web: https://billboard.com/amasvote/ 🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/p/DIyc4xpJVJu/ #RM #Jimin #지민 #BTS #방탄소년단 #AMAs

[250424]

[sirensoul-min]

Many of us who were voting on IG knew something felt off when AMAs posted that BTS picture (where Jimin got cut off) celebrating a past win, with an emphasis on RM's face. From the moment that went down, we all got a bad feeling that we were slowly seeing another Scammys situation where the scammy official acc AND scooter braun uploaded the same pic where Jimin was also cut off to only show OT6.

We know the drill, everytime scooter or Bongo are behind the scheme they upload or share Ot6 group photos intentionally excluding Jimin. They do it like clockwork. That award had scooter's dirty money all over it.

I feel a type of cynical pity for all the "armys" celebrating this win, thinking their 50K accs did something against the 370K+ accs on pjms side. When in reality it was MONEY that did the talking.

before the awarding took place i was lurking on twt and also saw some pjms talking about how this photo was like a premonition. seeing how everything is sus then and now, i don't blame them and anon for feeling the same. that photo may or may not mean anything, but, at the risk of sounding conspirational (😅), it's weird that of all of bts' photos in AMAs history, they chose this one and not another photo that has all the members in it. it could be that they did not find one that fits IG's new layout, yes, but you're telling me there's not a single photo of the entire group looking shocked when they were announced as winners? they have been attending AMAs since 2017 and began winning in 2018, and not one photo of them all in the frame was available? (that photo was also taken during bts' last appearance on AMAs in 2021, but the photos of the other winners weren't (at least halsey's).)

using that photo was a choice. but was it done with malice or not? we can't be sure. regardless, it indeed fueled the doubts and speculation that started due to RM's questionable nomination.

the data from jimin's fanbases and armys did not help either. like what anon has said, they show the massive difference of the number of accounts they have distributed, and the lead that we've always had in IG. we don't have the final tally of valid votes, but those numbers should warrant one to at least pause and think about the results.

one can draw conclusions about the validity of the results from all these, as well as from the overall results from other categories; the reactions of the media and critics, insiders, viewers, and fans; and from the politics (and people) behind this award. scooter (and bangpd) isn't known as a saint and a fair person in the industry, and knowing the things that he did in the past (particularly his and hybe's shady behaviour towards jimin), it's unsurprising if he indeed pulled some strings.

all these could be coincidental and yes, they do not make the theory 100% true, but they do not debunk it either. the recent AMAs could very well be like the grammys, especially if the questionable noms and results would be the recurring pattern from now on.

let me reiterate though that pointing out these things does not make us sore losers, or us just beating the dead horse. we've worked hard for this and we have numbers, among others, to back us up. we aren't so delusional to make accusations that has little to no claim. we can also admit that we most likely will never get to prove the theory (unless something happens in the future) and we have to accept that. maybe it's all water under the bridge, but we could also use all that's happened during and after AMAs as a learning experience and as a motivator to support jimin, especially now that more people are working against him.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

AMA makes usual posts for every nominee. Armys under Jimin's nomination post on IG saying "We'll vote for RM. STAY MAD", had me laughing. Why will AMA be mad about them voting for RM and not voting for Jimin? Like AMA would care. They are such an immature bunch of people. I am embarrassed for them.

Not just that, they were mad because the post had this as well

And they thought it was the AMA showing favoritism to Jimin and them asking for RM, as if Favorite K-Pop Artist is not literally the category name.

It's illiteracy mixed with stupidity. Plain and simple.

[sherwynphilip]

⚠️ BTS becomes 1st Asian act in history to ever be nominated for 'Artist of the Year' at AMAs

2021 American Music Awards (211028)

BTS are in contention for the top award at this year's AMAs. They are nominated in 3 categories overall, namely:

🏆 Artist of the Year

🏆 Favorite Pop Duo/Group

🏆 Favorite Pop Song (Butter)

While nominations are decided by the awards organizers themelselves, winners of the AMAs are decided fully by the fans. And thus, it is no surprise that BTS have had quite a streak at the first music awards show where they were first invited to perform on US television.

BTS' first nomination (and win) came in 2018 for 'Favorite Social Artist.' They have been nominated 5 more times in the next two years. They've won ALL their AMA nominations since their first award three years ago.

BTS' total trophy on AMAs so far:

2018

🏆 Favorite Social Artist

2019

🏆 Favorite Duo or Group Pop/Rock

🏆 Favorite Social Artist

🏆 Tour of the Year

2020

🏆 Favorite Social Artist

🏆 Favorite Duo or Group Pop/Rock

To vote, visit the 2021 AMAs voting page on the Billboard website HERE, or via TikTok HERE.

Voting ends on 16th Nov, 11:59 PM (EST), or 17 Nov, 2 PM (Korean Standard Time).

The voting rules are as follows:

The American Music Awards are set to air Sun., Nov. 21, 2021, live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.

#BTS #방탄소년단 #BTSx2021AMAs

Congratulations, BTS! Now let's go win those trophies. 👏👏👏

[voxyldy]

11.28.2021

[NEWS]

The full transcript of the global press conference BTS held this afternoon in LA regarding their present and future.

Source: The kpop Herald

[miraculousandbts]

BTS | AMAs

P.S. The story is in y/n's perspective. Just because I wanted to.

Summary: You get your first big nomination, but you just had to stumble into a very handsome stranger.

Pairing: OT7 X Reader (Platonic)

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 2.2k

Warning: Reader’s train of thought goes crazy every once in a while. I feel like this should be a warning.

I was hugging my manager and jumping in circles with her, as a way of expressing my happiness. Ashley was not only my manager, but also one of my closest friends, always supporting me and believing in me since the start. Both of us were ecstatic with the news, and this was our way of showing it. Aside from jumping, we both were also screaming very loudly. I had never been so thankful for having a house near the forest area without neighbours.

Oh, wait! I never introduced myself; how rude of me. (Yes, I was thinking about the Thea Stilton books...) I'm y/n, a singer and songwriter. I live in LA. Me and Ash were just watching the American Music Awards nominations, and we just couldn't control our excitement when they took my name. This was my first nomination for an award. It wouldn't be that big of a deal for an experienced artist or someone who has been in the industry for long, but I'm still a rookie, debuting only two years ago.

Me and Ashley finally calmed down when a very startled guard came in and told us that we screamed so loud that he saw bats fly away from deep inside the forest. We sheepishly apologised, and decided to go to sleep. I had been recording a song the whole day, while she had been busy with manager duties, so we both were exhausted. I had actually known her for the last four years, and she often stayed over. So often, in fact, that my guest room had become 'Ashley's Room' very quickly.

After bidding each other happy good nights, we both went to bed in our respective rooms, falling asleep speedily.

*****

Taylor was applying my makeup, while I sat in the stiff makeup chair. This had been going on for the past hour, despite me telling her that I wanted light makeup and a simple dress. Instead, she and my stylist Ben decided to go against my wishes for once. Ben had prepared an extravagant dress too fancy even for a royal ball, and I was thankful it wasn't pink or blue or yellow; I absolutely did not want to look like a princess, that just wouldn't be me. Taylor kept on applying a little too much makeup on my face for my liking. She was very talented, so at least I was sure I wouldn't look bad.

Right now, she was working on my eye makeup, expertly putting on eyeliner and...something. I'm not good with this stuff. Taylor's assistant, whose name I always forgot, was painting my nails. I looked at her working. She was a pro at this. She smoothly glided the brush over my nails, effortlessly painting them purple, and then decorating them. She used as less materials as possible, knowing I hated it when even my nails felt heavy; my face was enough.

After two more hours of torture, I was finally ready. I looked breathtaking, but if I had an option, I would still go with something lighter. After another hour of sitting in the limo, we were finally there.

I got out, and there were cameras in my face. All I saw were purple blotches, because the camera men couldn't use their brains enough to shut off the flash. Or maybe those cameras didn't have an option to shut off the flash.

Anyway, I struck a few poses, blew some kisses, and walked ahead. And then I saw Dan. He was a reporter for such gigs, and I often did short interviews with him. He wasn't like the others; he didn't ask about rumours or made new ones, he didn't ask controversial questions to increase their channel's TRP.

I gave him a grin and walked towards him.

"Hey, Dan."

"Y/n! Looking beautiful as always."

"Oh, you flatter me." I kept a hand on my chest.

"Okay, stop with the over dramatics, girlie." You grinned.

He motioned his cameraman to start recording. I tuned out the whole introduction, and focused when he asked me a question, the said question being how was I feeling about being here even though it hadn't been long since my debut. "It's all thanks to my fans. I love making music, and I believe that if you do something with true passion, you will be successful. I guess this is destiny's way of showing me that what I'm doing is right. And not gonna lie, it feels like I've been feeling like I'm on a sugar rush since the nominees were announced, because of the adrenaline."

After some more questions and smiles, I finally went in.

I was too focused on not tripping on my own feet because of the long dress, so the first thing I did after entering was bump into someone. Great! I wasn't even surprised anymore, knowing how I was. "I am so sorry!" I looked up with wide eyes, only to meet kind brown ones. It took me a second to register that he wasn't alone, six other men behind him. They seemed familiar. I could tell they were from east Asia. I glanced at all of them, and then looked at him, apologising again.

"It is okay." He had a cute accent to his English, and I internally smiled, not only because of his accent, but also because he wasn't mad. I must've smiled in relief, because he looked amused. Now that I was looking at him properly, he was handsome, with a capital H. Little round face, pretty eyes, cute boop-able nose. And then he smiled. And then I died. It was the cutest smile I had ever seen!

Thankfully, I wasn't the kind of gal who would stand there checking him out. All of this took me a second, and I excused myself after thanking him.

*****

"Oh, hey!" I heard a smooth deep voice as soon as I sat down. I looked to my side and found one of the friends of the man I had bumped into earlier. I was right, my brain didn't forget. I smiled a small smile. "Hey."

Extending my hand towards him the old fashioned way, introduced myself. "Y/n."

He shook my hand, seemingly unfazed by my apparent childish behaviour. "Kim Namjoon, more commonly known as RM."

That's when it clicked. RM. K-Pop. BTS. My eyes must've widened; I was always terrible at hiding my emotions. "Everything okay?" He brought me out of my stupor. "Uh, yeah. Just, when I stumbled into one of you guys before, you all seemed familiar, I just couldn't place your faces anywhere." I replied honestly. "Oh." He simply leaned back into his chair and nodded.

"So, in which category are you nominated?" He continued.

"Top social artist. You?"

"Same. It'll be a four year streak for us if we win again."

"Ooh, really. Well then, I hope you win."

"Don't you want to win?"

"Coming here already feels like a dream. I don't think I can handle the adrenaline if I do win."

"So basically you want us to win for completely selfish purposes, huh?"

You both laughed at that remark, and continued making small talk for a while. Then he said he had to use the washroom. I hummed in his direction, and as soon as he got up, I saw the guy I had ran into in the chair next to his.

He had noticed Namjoon getting up too, so he was looking on my direction. He grinned at me, and sat in Namjoon's chair. "Hello."

"Hey."

"I am sorry. My English is not that good. Only Namjoon speaks English." He sheepishly rubbed his neck. "Why are you apologising for that?" I was genuinely curious. It was okay to not know perfect English. Even though I was a native English speaker, I still made mistakes. Everyone did. And the said language wasn't even his first language. "At the entrance, I wanted to talk."

"Oh. Well, You should have, I don't judge because of stuff like this." He smiled at that. "I will introduce you to them." He gestured to his band mates who were very engrossed in the show. Before he could do that, I interrupted him. "Hey, sorry. I haven't been in the industry for long, and I've only ever heard your guys' name, so...I only know RM and V? Is that right? So, yeah, I don't know your name."

I cursed at myself internally. Way, to go y/n! So damn awkward. He must've sensed my hesitation, because all he did was offer me his hand. Ooh, the old fashioned way. Good to know I wasn't the only one.

"Suga."

"Y/n." I shook his hand. Namjoon came back at that moment and him and Suga said something to each other in Korean. Wait, Suga? That does not sound right. Oh, right! It must be his stage name.

And then I facepalmed. Literally. I didn't think before my hand met my forehead. I must've made a pretty loud smack, because both of them were now looking at me like I was some weirdo. I sighed and slowly hid my face in my hands. "These kind of things always happen to me..." I mumbled.

I looked up when I heard them chuckling. I pouted, but I knew they could see the relief on my face that they didn't think of me like I was demented. "Don't worry, we've been living with these guys for the past eight years, these kind of things don't faze us anymore." Namjoon gestured to the other guys, who were still oblivious to their surroundings, absorbed in the performances.

I let out a breathy chuckle at the fact that they were so openly dissing their own friends. Namjoon, by now, was seated in the chair in which Suga was previously sitting in.

"So, I refuse to believe that Suga is your real name. And I would rather be literal friends with you guys, rather than two artists who just know each other."

"Yoongi. Min Yoongi." The way he said it reminded me of how Geronimo Stilton introduced himself. 'Why my brain has to go down completely random memory lanes is beyond me...and why am I thinking about a kid's book series?'

Within the next hour, I had been introduced to the other guys, and all of us were conversing about anything and everything. Seokjin was very happy that I was loving his dad jokes, Hoseok was a little too excited about my proposal of shooting a dance cover on one of mine or their songs, Jimin, Taehyung and me got along very well, as we were all the same age, and Jungkook had offered to teach me boxing, after I expressed my wish to learn it.

All in all, I was getting along very well with them. They were fun to be with, and it was absolutely adorable how they sometimes got flustered over their mistakes while talking. After the fun night ended, I congratulated them on their win, and went home, completely exhausted.

*****

"Noona!" Jungkook was the first to notice me. With wide eyes and a happy grin, he came to hug me. I had decided to surprise the boys by coming to Korea. Right now, I was standing in their dance studio. Even after four years, we were still going strong. It felt like now I had four elder brothers, two twins, and a kid. '...that was a terrible reference...god, please tell me what is wrong with me.'

Soon, all the boys came to hug me, though I tried running away to avoid their sweaty hugs, but Jungkook held me at one place, while I tried to squirm away. I should've just waited in their dorm.

"Kookie!" All I got in reply was a mischievous giggle. He really was a baby. Later that day, a collaboration between us was confirmed, and I couldn't have been happier.

Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton might be kids’ books, but they’re still the best!! Change my mind, I dare you.

[bangtanitalianchannel]

[INTERVISTA] Incontrate i candidati per la prima volta ai GRAMMY: i BTS parlano estasiati dei GRAMMY Award 2021 e del rappresentare la Corea e il K-Pop su un palcoscenico globale

“Prima della loro esibizione ai GRAMMY Award 2021 e per celebrare la loro nomination per la migliore performance di gruppo/duo pop per ‘Dynamite’, GRAMMY.com ha incontrato i BTS, superstar del pop mondiale. 

Il 2020 è stato un altro anno importante per i BTS. Il settetto sudcoreano (formato da RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V e Jungkook) era già un fenomeno mondiale prima ancora della sua prima nomination ai GRAMMY per la Best Pop Duo/Group Performance ai GRAMMY Award 2021 per il singolo da primo posto ‘Dynamite’. Tuttavia, è stato il successo senza precedenti di suddetta canzone che ha spinto il mondo della musica in generale a prestare un’attenzione maggiore. Non solo la nomination è una grande novità per loro, ma è anche la prima nomination ai GRAMMY per un artista K-pop.

I BTS hanno pubblicato il loro album ‘BE’ nel novembre 2020 in risposta alla pandemia del COVID-19, e il singolo ‘Life Goes On’ è diventato la prima canzone non inglese a debuttare in cima alla Billboard Hot 100. Dopo l'uscita di ‘BE’, i BTS sono diventati il ​​gruppo più veloce a guadagnare tre canzoni numero 1 in tre mesi dai Bee Gees che avevano segnato il record più di 42 anni fa. Per finire, i BTS sono il gruppo più veloce dai tempi dei Beatles ad aver avuto cinque album da primo posto e il primo gruppo ad avere due album in cima alle classifiche negli Stati Uniti nel 2020 (con l’album ‘Map of the Soul: 7′).

I BTS, che il TIME ha nominato ‘Intrattenitori dell'anno 2020’, sono un gruppo che ha familiarità con i primati. Basta guardare il modo in cui hanno sconvolto l'industria della musica pop americana nel corso degli anni, il che è stato un piacere. Ogni anno sono diventati sempre più importanti proprio sotto ai nostri occhi. Nel 2017 sono diventati il ​​primo gruppo pop coreano a esibirsi in una premiazione americana, nello specifico agli AMA. Come se non bastasse, il 2018 ha visto poi non solo il gruppo vincere il Top Social Artist Award per la seconda volta consecutiva (questo è ormai diventato un evento ricorrente) ai Billboard Music Award, ma anche tenere un discorso alle Nazioni Unite.

Nel 2019 i BTS hanno fatto la storia come il primo gruppo coreano a presentare ai GRAMMY, occasione in cui hanno consegnato a H.E.R. il premio per il miglior album R&B, e l'anno successivo sono diventati il ​​primo gruppo coreano a esibirsi sul palco dei GRAMMY quando si sono uniti al remix-multiverso di ‘Old Town Road’ di Lil Nas X. Torneranno sul palco dei GRAMMY anche quest'anno, ma per esibirsi da soli e, questa volta, con l'aggiunta del titolo di candidati a un premio.

I loro messaggi universali e toccanti vanno oltre le arti. Il gruppo ha, ad esempio, appena rinnovato il proprio impegno a proseguire con la campagna benefica ‘LOVE YOURSELF’ con l'UNICEF, con cui collaborano dal 2017 in occasione del rilascio dell’album ‘LOVE YOURSELF 承 Her’. Questa collaborazione, oltre a canzoni allegre come ‘Dynamite’ o album come ‘BE’, ha confermato l’autenticità dell’impegno dei BTS a mettere in pratica ciò che predicano. I fan dei BTS, alias gli ARMY, sono cresciuti enormemente e hanno sostenuto con passione le superstar per anni da quando la band ha espresso per la prima volta interesse per una vittoria ai GRAMMY.

La loro nomination ai GRAMMY per la Best Pop/Duo Group Performance non è soltanto un evento storico, ma anche prova del fatto che l’onestà, il duro lavoro e fan dedicati sono gli ingredienti base della ricetta per il successo. Il settetto ha ottenuto innumerevoli riconoscimenti e distrutto così tante barriere che è ormai difficile tenere il conto, ma ciò che colpisce è che in tutto questo i membri siano rimasti dei ragazzi estremamente umili.

Come ha detto durante la nostra intervista RM, il leader del gruppo, sono solo ‘sette ragazzi coreani qualunque’, e con i loro sforzi per fare bene e catturare e spiegare la complessità della vita hanno dato conforto a molti, indipendentemente dalla lingua. I BTS hanno conquistato internet, ottenuto il riconoscimento dei loro illustri predecessori e colleghi, mostrato tanti lati di sé agli ARMY e in tutto ciò hanno continuato a rilasciare musica eccezionale. L’impatto culturale e il ruolo dominante dei BTS nell’industria musicale continueranno a essere determinanti e loro non smetteranno di aprire la strada a tutti quegli artisti che appartengono a gruppi etnici per cui fino a ora lo spazio per emergere è stato ridotto. 

In occasione della 63esima edizione dei GRAMMY Award, GRAMMY.com ha potuto discutere con i BTS dell’importanza della nomination da loro ricevuta, del significato della rappresentazione in spazi diversi e di molto altro.

-DOMANDA- Come vi state preparando alla cerimonia dei GRAMMY Award 2021? Cosa vi passa per la testa con l'avvicinarsi della data?

V: Con l'avvicinarsi della premiazione, l'entusiasmo e le aspettative aumentano. Non riesco ancora a credere che siamo stati nominati e che ci esibiremo. Ottenere una vittoria sarebbe ancora più sorprendente.

-DOMANDA- ‘Dynamite’ era una canzone per i fan, per rallegrare le loro vite in un momento difficile. Eppure è stata questa spontanea autenticità che vi ha fatto ottenere la vostra prima nomination ai GRAMMY.  Come vi sentite a riguardo? È questa [canzone] a catturare meglio il cuore dei BTS?

J: Il fulcro dell’operato dei BTS è raccontare le nostre storie in modo genuino attraverso la musica. ‘Dynamite’ rappresenta tutto ciò. È una canzone che ci dà forza e incarna il messaggio che vogliamo trasmettere ai nostri fan. Crediamo che la sincerità arrivi sempre.

-DOMANDA- Questa nomination è la prima non solo per i BTS, ma anche in generale per un gruppo K-pop. Molti artisti vi ammirano per i vostri successi nell'industria occidentale. Cosa significa per voi avere così tanti giovani che vi vedono come coloro che stanno spianando la strada agli artisti coreani all'estero? Come ci si sente a essere i rappresentanti globali della Corea?

JK: Siamo sopraffatti dall'essere considerati i rappresentanti della Corea. Siamo semplicemente grati per il supporto e l'attenzione che abbiamo ricevuto non solo dai nostri fan, ma anche dai nostri colleghi. Continueremo a lavorare di più per portare sul palco musica e performance ancora migliori. Ed è un incredibile onore essere i primi artisti pop coreani a essere nominati per un GRAMMY, speriamo che questo sia solo l'inizio. Una vittoria sarebbe significativa non solo per noi, ma anche per molti che perseguono la diversità nella musica.

-DOMANDA- ‘BE’ è il vostro progetto più personale fino a oggi e tutti voi avete contribuito a crearlo per gli ARMY. Come mai avete deciso di incanalare le vostre frustrazioni sulla pandemia in un album?

JM: Abbiamo sentito il bisogno di dire agli altri che condividiamo le loro stesse emozioni e mostrare loro in che modo siamo rimasti coerenti alle nostre vite quotidiane che sono cambiate così bruscamente, perché la vita va avanti. Quello che potevamo fare era fare musica ed esibirci, così abbiamo creato l'album ‘BE’ nella speranza che le persone si relazionassero e fossero confortate dalla nostra musica.

-DOMANDA- Come avete passato il vostro tempo negli ultimi mesi? Cosa non vedete l'ora di fare una volta finita la pandemia?

JH: Abbiamo lavorato sulla nostra musica. Penso di poter parlare per tutti noi quando dico che la prima cosa che vorremo fare una volta che la pandemia sarà finita sarà andare in tour ed esibirci davanti ai nostri fan. Voglio guardarli negli occhi e gridare: ‘Vi amo ARMY!’

-DOMANDA- Il grande pubblico potrebbe conoscervi come idol del K-pop, ma la vostra musica ha trasceso quei confini e la vostra fanbase è ampia e diversificata, tanto che conta, ad esempio, anche il presidente della Corea del Sud. Cosa ne pensate dell'etichetta di K-pop posta sulla vostra musica? Come vi descrivereste come artisti, con parole vostre? 

RM: ‘K-pop’ è un termine che in origine era usato per riferirsi alla musica popolare coreana, ma che a un certo punto è diventato un genere a sé stante. In realtà è abbastanza difficile definire cosa sia il K-pop. A essere onesti, siamo solo molto grati e felici di mostrare la nostra musica e le nostre performance ai fan e di ricevere così tanto amore. Per descriverci brevemente, direi che siamo solo sette ragazzi coreani qualunque. 

-DOMANDA- Spesso siete gli unici artisti provenienti dall’Asia dell’Est a partecipare agli eventi musicali più importanti o a essere menzionati nelle discussioni circa la cultura pop mainstream. Come vi sentite a riguardo? Come vorreste che i vostri traguardi cambiassero il panorama musicale anche per gli altri, se non del tutto? 

SU: Siamo testimoni sempre più spesso di movimenti che spingono verso la ‘diversità’, nell’industria musicale globale. Speriamo vivamente che il corso di questi cambiamenti subisca un’accelerazione e vada oltre. Nella stessa Corea ci sono tantissimi altri artisti, oltre a noi, che creano musica eccellente, e sono sicuro del fatto che la cosa valga ancora di più su scala globale. Speriamo davvero di poter essere d’aiuto affinché le persone si abituino sempre di più a essere esposte a musica diversa e più musicisti possano essere conosciuti a livello globale. 

-DOMANDA- Secondo le vostre opinioni personali, a quali canzoni o album della vostra discografia dareste un GRAMMY? Per le persone che potrebbero non aver ancora esplorato in profondità tutta la vostra musica, di quali dei vostri lavori precedenti siete più fieri e perché? 

RM: Mi sento di consigliare di ascoltare ‘LOVE YOURSELF: 轉 TEAR’ perché è un album grandioso e lo abbiamo rilasciato nel 2018 in un periodo per noi estremamente difficile. Personalmente, poi, ‘Spring Day’ è il singolo a me più caro ed è molto speciale. 

-DOMANDA- Cos’hanno in serbo per il 2021 i BTS? Musica nuova? Progetti da solisti? 

RM: Come abbiamo fatto con ‘Dynamite’, speriamo di poter diffondere ancora una volta, attraverso bella musica e belle esibizioni, un messaggio di speranza e conforto in tempi in cui la pandemia ancora aggrava le vite di tutti noi.

J: Stiamo lavorando sodo per rilasciare nuova musica, quindi aspettate con impazienza le novità future! 

SU: Speriamo che la situazione pandemica migliori così da poter fare un tour nel 2021 e che sia qualcosa che state aspettando anche tutti voi [fan]. 

JH: Vogliamo confortare le persone e donare loro gioia attraverso esibizioni sensazionali e nuova musica, quindi questo è ciò su cui stiamo lavorando più duramente, al momento. 

JM: Considerando la situazione attuale, non possiamo stabilire con sicurezza quando riusciremo a rivedere di persona i nostri fan, ma faremo del nostro meglio per accorciare le distanze con loro e stare loro quanto più vicino possibile, non importa se lo faremo attraverso un album o altro tipo di contenuto. 

V: Spero che potremo essere come una brezza che soffia sulle persone portando loro conforto e un senso di empatia. 

JK: Nel 2021 ci esibiremo sul grande palco dei GRAMMY, continueremo a fare ciò che possiamo e a mostrare i lati migliori di noi. Inoltre, vorremmo dare prova ancora di più ai nostri fan della nostra versatilità musicale”. 

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