Facts About BTS’ on Grammy Awards 2019
Who hasn’t heard of BTS? This global musical sensation has been number one on iTunes in over 65 countries, is the first K-pop act to enter the Billboard 200, and are the first K-pop band EVER to top the US album charts. Debuting under the small company Big Hit Entertainment back in June 13, 2013, the boys have since rocketed to global stardom in a very short period of time. Because of their accomplishment, in February, 2019, BTS was exclusively invited to present at the 2019 Grammy Awards. How did our boys do at the event? Keep reading to find out more!
#BTSxGrammys! : BTS’s First Appearance At The 2019 Grammys
In 2018, the boys won a Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist, beating huge names like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Selena Gomez. They were the first K-Pop group to win one. But that’s not all. BTS is also the first Korean group to have performed at the American Music Awards, which they did back in November 2018, with their single, DNA. Being the first K-pop group to perform at such a big event, BTS etched another mark on history as the first K-pop group to present at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
The boys made their Grammys debut appearance on Sunday, February 10th, 2019. If you saw the #TearItUpBTS hashtag floating around, you can attribute it to their worldwide fandom. They made their appearance while wearing tuxedos designed by South Korean designers. According to Vogue, JayBaek Couture designed custom suits for Jungkook, Jin, Jimin, Suga, V and RM, while J-Hope’s suit was designed by Kim Seo Ryong. The boys also rolled up to the event in a Hyundai, a South Korean car manufacturer, to pay homage to their country. Later it was revealed that they were seated for the night’s show next to stars like Camila Cabello, Miley Cyrus, and Dolly Parton.
While seated in the audience amongst the constellation of music stars, the seven members of BTS were also moved by the performances that took place that night. A fancam recording apparently captured Jungkook wiping away his tears during one performance. What made it even more memorable was when his fellow members started to laugh and tease him after realizing that he had shed some tears.
BTS on Red Carpet Interview
In the past, BTS’s Suga (Min Yoon-Gi) has expressed interest in attending the Grammys. During the group’s appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in the fall, when the host asked what goals are left for the guys to accomplish, Suga offered, “Go to the Grammys“. Well, it looks like the dream came true! BTS’s appearance that night caused a stir both on the red carpet and on social media. The group caused mayhem when they showed up to pose for photos and participate in pre-show interviews.
The leader, RM, said that being at the awards show was a huge honor “We’re livin’ the dream. So, I should say thanks to all the Armies, they give us force”. The group was also asked if their upcoming album will have a theme attached to it, to which RM responded that he couldn’t say, but that it will be about giving back to their fans. “The concept is paying off,” he said. “So I just hope that they love it, and they listen to it, and they like it. That’s all!”.
Also faced with the question of whether or not the album would be a trilogy, RM said “Um…that’s a secret! Come on, that’s an important part! Come on, Billboard, you know what we do!” The seven band members also said that they had always dreamed about ‘being on the Grammy stage’ adding that they would ‘be back’.
BTS Present Best R&B Album
Over the years, the group has always had an active role in the genesis of their albums, whether it is in lyric-writing, song composition or production. They have also produced material around various themes starting with the ‘School’ trilogy. This was followed by the ‘Most Beautiful Moment in Life’, ‘Wings’, and most recently, the ‘Love Yourself’ series. While many K-pop songs are about relationships and love, BTS covers subjects that other bands may not. Their lyrics are emotionally vulnerable and socially conscious, sometimes bordering on angry, and speaking out against like bullying and elitism, and promoting mental health.
BTS snagged their first Grammy nomination back in December 2018, when their album “Love Yourself: Tear” was nominated for Best Recording Package. The award ended up going to Willo Perron for St. Vincent‘s album Masseduction. Meanwhile, at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, BTS presented the award for best R&B album to H.E.R., which was the most-tweeted-about moment of the night. BTS may not have won any awards during Sunday night’s 61st annual Grammy Awards ceremony, but they definitely won over social media.
Though BTS didn’t take home an award of their own that night, they did receive a very exclusive invitation that is rarely, if ever, given to anyone outside of the winners’ circle. Yep, BTS was honored with an invitation to take a portrait at the Grammy Backstage Studio. This speaks volumes because only Grammy winners are allowed to have their portraits taken by the famous photographer Danny Clinch. Many ARMYs who have heard the news consider this another big win for BTS, and they’re hoping that the next time BTS has their portrait taken by David Clinch, it will be as Grammy Award winners.
BTS’s Grammy Awards Afterparty
After leaving the awards ceremony, BTS planned to host a private afterparty for ARMYs, but things didn’t go as planned. Instead of hanging out with Hollywood stars, BTS continued their long tradition of celebrating with their fans following attendance of award shows through a live stream. They had previously done it with the 2017 American Music Awards and the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, among many others.
BTS greeted fans in a broadcast after they left the ceremony; they were all smiling and chatting with fans. However, the camera resolution was poor, it turns out it was because VLive’s servers were close to crashing. In the past, these parties went off without a hitch, but this time an insane number of virtual guests flooded the live stream’s website and app the moment BTS’s notification came up.
The video was cut short. The boys sat down in a hotel room to chat with fans and three minutes into the broadcast Jungkook noticed that the connection wasn’t stable. He thought it was because of the unstable internet connection. In less than 5 minutes, ARMYs caused the broadcast to go off-air, and fans were forced to wait until Vlive recovered from their all-consuming, server-crashing love for BTS. A minute later, a black screen replaced the boys and the connection was cut short.
ARMY was shocked because this rarely happens with VLive, whose servers are usually very good and stable. However, BTS came back again with another video which had much better resolution. RM said, “Too many fans came to watch it [the broadcast], and the server was overloaded”. Fans waited patiently and, thankfully, the livestream finally aired sometime later without any other issues cropping up. The boys talked for almost 14 minutes about the award show, describing their favorite moments and the performances they enjoyed the most.
Netizens Reaction on #BTSxGrammys
Some netizens said that the Grammys are known for being the feast of the white people, so it’s surprising that an Asian boy-band was invited. Thus, the fans felt thankful because BTS was acknowledged for their influence. While it may have been a bit disappointing for the BTS Army to kick off Grammy night by finding out that the group didn’t win an award, the fans still had many fun and adorable moments to obsess over when the boys hit the red carpet. For example, a ton of the BTS Army expressed their excitement over hearing Jungkook speak in English, which is a relatively rare occurrence.
