BTS Fans Aren't Satisfied With Their 3 VMA Nominations & They've Got A Point
Before MTV revealed the 2020 VMAs nominees on July 30, every fandom was crossing their fingers hoping their fave made it into a few categories. ARMYs were especially eager to see the list for a very important reason. Due to BTS' previous VMAs snubs, they were hoping the group would finally be acknowledged for their hard work and success in 2020. Although the group's three nominations are a step in the right direction, fans aren't entirely satisfied because they feel BTS deserved more recognition in the major categories. Considering BTS is the biggest boy band in the world and 2020 included so many achievements, these tweets about BTS' 2020 VMA nomination snubs make a point.
Before getting into this year's nominations, let's look back at BTS' history with the VMAs. After the group broke through in the U.S. in 2017 with their Wings tour and first appearance at the Billboard Music Awards, BTS had one of their most successful years in 2018 by going No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear and having the biggest 24-hour debut on YouTube with "Fake Love." You would think BTS would have swept the nominations that year, but instead, they received zero noms.
Fans were rightfully frustrated, and once the 2019 VMAs came around, they were proud to see BTS land nominations for Best Collaboration, Best K-Pop, Best Art Direction, and Best Choreography, but were also disappointed they didn't get recognized for Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, or Best Pop again. Fans criticized the Best K-Pop category, which didn't exist before 2018, because they felt it was a way of excluding BTS from the bigger categories while capitalizing on the BTS ARMYs' immense social media engagement.
That brings us to the 2020 VMAs. This year, BTS was nominated for Best K-Pop and Best Choreography again. Fans weren't surprised since BTS' mind-blowing "ON" performance deserved all the hype, but what did shock them was BTS' breakthrough nomination for Best Pop, which was long overdue. It's a small step toward progress, but BTS' snub in Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Video of the Year (and the VMAs' continued inclusion of the Best K-Pop category) didn't go unnoticed.
BTS' Map of the Soul: 7 album is their fourth consecutive record to go No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and is currently the best-selling album in the U.S. Their "ON" music video also had the biggest premiere in YouTube history, with 1.54 million concurrent views tuning in the moment it dropped, and "Black Swan" broke a major iTunes record previously held by Adele for five years. With these huge achievements, fans feel BTS belonged alongside nominees like Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and Billie Eilish.
Even outside of the major categories, fans noted BTS were left out of categories they belonged in. Since their Bang Bang Con: The Live virtual concert broke a Guinness World Record and their Dear Class of 2020 performance was one of the most highly-anticipated ones of the year, the group's absence in the Best Quarantine Performance category is particularly glaring.
Despite these snubs, ARMYs will work hard to make sure BTS wins all their nominations this year.
