BTS put K-pop on the world map and represented the industry well at the Billboard Music Awards when they took home the prize for Top Social Artist. BTS proved their mettle by winning the award against popular superstars like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grade, Selena Gomez and Shawn Mendes.
According to a report by Billboard, BTS made history by winning the award since they were the only K-pop group to be nominated in this year's awards ceremony. This was also the first time BTS attended the BBMAs magenta carpet where they met music acts like The Chainsmokers and other music influencers.
When they were interviewed on the Billboard Music Awards' magenta carpet, BTS members expressed excitement over the nomination and the warm reception of their fans who camped outside the event venue and cheered loudly when the boys finally arrived looking sleek and dapper in matching dark suits for the ceremony. The BTS fandom, known worldwide as the ARMY also cheered loudly when it was announced that their beloved K-pop idols took the prize for Top Social Artist.
"We still cannot believe we're standing here on this stage at the Billboard Music Awards," BTS leader Rap Monster said as they stepped on stage to accept the award. "Most importantly, this award belongs to the every people all around the world that shine the love and light on us by the million and make BTS proud."
While the competition was fierce, it came as no surprise that BTS won the award. As soon as the voting opened last May 1, BTS' ARMY voted non-stop and even caused the Billboard Music Awards servers to crash due to the volume of votes that they received for the BTS hashtag. It was reported that in the first 18 hours alone, ARMY managed to generate 20 million votes and trended the hashtag worldwide, proving their mettle against more established fandoms like Beliebers, Selenators, Arianators and Shawn Mendes Army, Kpopstarz reported.
