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BTS takes the stage at the 2021 American Music Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles after winning Artist of the Year. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

“Four years ago, we gave this first-time ever TV live performance on this stage, the AMAs [American Music Awards],” said BTS leader RM on Sunday evening as the group became the first Asian act in history to receive the Artist of the Year prize at the 2021 American Music Awards (AMAs) during this year’s ceremony in Los Angeles.

“It was [a performance of the song] ‘DNA.’ We were, like, too excited and nervous at the time. 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,” he continued.

BTS captured three of the top awards at the ceremony that evening, including Favorite Pop Song and Favorite Pop Duo/Group in addition to Artist of the Year. The AMAs are considered one of the US’ top three popular music award ceremonies, alongside the Grammys and Billboard Music Awards.

The competition for Artist of the Year was as fierce as it has ever been. To win the honor, BTS beat out US pop star Taylor Swift — the most honored artist in the history of the awards with 32 prizes to date — along with such big names as Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, Drake and The Weeknd.

“We just wanted to make people happy with our music,” BTS member Jungkook said in his acceptance speech.

“We believe that this opens up the beginning of our new chapter. In the past few years, we learned that each and every moment is precious.”

BTS poses for photos with the three trophies they won during the 2021 AMAs, in Los Angeles on Sunday. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

BTS has now won awards at four straight AMAs dating back to 2018. The group has won the Favorite Pop Duo/Group award for three years running. It has also set a record by winning in every category where it has been nominated to date.

As RM indicated in his acceptance speech, the AMAs were where BTS made its US television debut. The group introduced itself to US viewers with a performance of their song “DNA” at the ceremony in 2017.

It was the same year that BTS made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with the same track, which peaked at No. 67.

Four years later in 2021, BTS topped the chart for 10 weeks with its song “Butter” and reached the top spot with its follow-up “Permission to Dance” and their collaboration with Coldplay, “My Universe.”

With the AMAs victory, the group has finally snagged a top prize at one of the top three popular music award ceremonies four years after its US debut. Analysts see this as a sign that BTS hasn’t just succeeded in the world’s pop capital — it has established itself as the world’s top pop act.

“Over the past few years, the US music industry has been trying to use BTS to invigorate the industry as a whole, and now BTS has become the very face of the US music industry,” said popular music critic Kim Young-dae.

“This award marks the zenith of the 20-year history of ‘global K-pop,’” he said.

Since 2006, the AMAs have selected winners by popular vote rather than expert ballots. This year’s results appear to be an especially strong reflection of Gen Z members voting by way of TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms in the US today.

“The AMAs select [winners] entirely through fan voting, so this award is very symbolic in terms of popular appeal,” Kim said.

BTS performs with Coldplay on Sunday evening in Los Angeles at the 2021 AMAs. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

Park Sun-hwa, who operates a YouTube channel out of the US, said, “The fact that a Korean act won a top award at one of the US’ top three awards ceremonies in the US itself— the toughest music industry around — is a source of great strength and courage to us Koreans.”

“They won the ‘hat trick of hope,’ giving us a sense of pride in Korean DNA,” she added.

Park also said, “While the award itself is important, it’s also very symbolic that [BTS] broke the glass ceiling in a powerful country like the US.”

“BTS shows that if you have the talent, you can overcome [barriers of] race and nationality,” Park said.

Lee Jeong-yoon, a senior at the University of California, Los Angeles, said, “It’s amazing that a Korean act is producing notable results at major award ceremonies, but it also feels like something we’re getting more and more used to.”

“It felt like a lot of my US friends liked BTS, but this trifecta of awards really drives home how popular K-pop is,” Lee said.

The AMAs are also seen as something of a dry run for the 64th Grammy Awards, which take place on Jan. 31 of next year. Grammy nominees are scheduled to be announced Tuesday.

At the 2020 Grammys in March, BTS became the first Korean act nominated in the category of Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, although it did not end up winning.

Kim Young-dae said, “It looks possible that [BTS] could be nominated for one of the top four Grammys, and it may well win in the genre category of Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.”

By Jung Hyuk-june, staff reporter

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