Monday marked the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. And while we got Lil Nas X clowning us with his giant scroll speech and Lizzo being an absolute queen, there was a distinct absence of one thing — BTS.
That's not to say the massively popular group didn't win any awards. Oh no, they cleaned up, taking home "Best Group," as well as the newly minted "Best K-pop" category for their single "Boy With Luv" featuring Halsey. But the wins, while expected, were bittersweet for their fanbase, the BTS ARMY.
Fans had been vocal about the creation of an entirely new category dedicated to K-pop. As with the controversial award show history of separating categories like "Latin Pop" and "R&B," many felt the VMAs were preventing BTS from being successful among other mainstream players in the music industry, despite their ability to garner millions of music video views on YouTube. ARMY quickly called the VMAs out for their gatekeeping of non-white artists, trending tags such as #VMAsRacist and #VMAsXenophobic.
But ARMY went beyond sparking a necessary conversation for the industry. Pulling off the ultimate flex, they ignored the VMAs completely, running their own BTS Music Video Awards on Twitter.
The fan-award project was run by Twitter account @Highlight_Army, which created a website where fans could vote for nominated BTS music videos in categories such as "Best Choreo," "Favorite Music Video," and "Best Bop That Deserved [an] MV."
They even had their own "red carpet," which consisted of a photoshopped BTS-themed backdrop and a purple carpet, trending the hashtag #PurpleCarpet before the festivities even began. Fans edited everyone in, from BTS themselves to the BT21 mascots, BTS' pets, and even some fun fandom in-jokes.
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Tweet may have been deletedSEE ALSO:BTS is taking a two-month break and their fans are being so supportive
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The massive undertaking started with a simple tweet posing the idea of doing something besides watching the VMAs to celebrate BTS. In an interview with Mashable, Day, the writer of the original tweet and the creator of the BTSMVAs, explained that once they started building the details for an actual event, "ARMYs started messaging me about wanting to help, and next thing I knew I had a team of website developers, graphic designers, a social media team, and an outreach team!"
Day says there are people who serve as gatekeepers in the music industry, such as the showrunners for the VMAs. "Considering that BTS get more real time views during their [livestreams] than the VMAs get for their whole night's viewership...? I personally don't think the VMAs are [relevant anymore.]"
"There are times where it’s necessary for our fandom to flex our power. Not only do we (as a fandom) know that BTS deserve a seat at the table, but we have the stats to back it up too."
You can't argue with the numbers — ARMY used the hashtag #BTSMVAs and #BTSMVawards and ended up trending over 700K tweets during the entire event, on par with the actual VMAs hashtags.
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"Some of these songs have gotten me through my darkest moments, and I want to help share that with the world. It was wonderful how [the BTSVMAs] came together, and it was very true to our fandom," Day said. "We can get a little overwhelming for some people, but I can always count on them to have a good time."
The BTSMVAs brought some serious fun to the event, too — they created bumper clips to announce the winners on Twitter, and even designed a trophy using images of BT21 mascot Van (who represents ARMY) and the ARMY Bomb (BTS' lightstick).
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Much like regular award shows, the BTSMVAs even had their own mini voting scandal. Some fans got upset when the MV "Blood Sweat Tears" swept most of the categories. "I understand why so many people got frustrated because BTS’ discography has so much more to offer than BST," Day said. "But also ... BST is an iconic moment in BTS history [winning their first Daesang (grand prize at K-Award Shows)] and must be acknowledged as so."
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After the show ended, the organizers thanked fans for participating and posted a message congratulating BTS on their actual VMA wins on the social network Weverse. ARMY even continued (unprompted) into the night with the hashtag #BTSMVAsAfterParty, and encouraged other fans to stream their discography and MVs.
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But Day wanted to remind everyone that the fans aren't just here for their music. "In our little ARMY Mikrokosmos we raise funds for charity, we bring awareness to current social issues, and we use our fandom power to speak out when we know something is wrong."
The awards might've been for fans' enjoyment, but the message rang loud and clear — the industry can't blockade BTS forever. If music big-wigs keep ignoring their rising success, as well as the success of other non-Western, non-white acts, well, fans will just have to make them listen. And maybe have a little fun along the way.
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