BTS Fans Are So Over MTV Snubbing BTS In These Major VMAs Categories

Due to the success of BTS’ single “Butter,” ARMYs thought the group would be a shoo-in for several of the main categories at the 2021 VMAs, including Artist of the Year and Video of the Year. However, when MTV announced this year’s nominations on Wednesday, Aug. 11, fans were shocked to see the septet hadn’t been recognized in either category. While they did receive five other nominations, ARMYs argued it wasn’t enough. These tweets about BTS' 2021 MTV VMAs nominations explain why fans believe the group deserved more.

Following the release of “Butter” on May 21, the single was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks before it got replaced by BTS’ latest track “Permission To Dance.” The song topped the chart for a week before “Butter” took the top spot back. In total, “Butter” stayed atop the Hot 100 for 9 non-consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running No. 1 single of 2021. The track also made BTS the quickest group to achieve four No. 1 singles since the Jackson 5 in 1970. And that wasn’t all! BTS’ “Butter” music video also had the biggest YouTube premiere in history with 3.9 million concurrent viewers, and it broke the YouTube record for the most-viewed music video in 24 hours with over 108 million views. Despite all the records they set in 2021, BTS didn’t get nominated for Artist of the Year or Video of the Year. They’ve actually yet to receive noms in either category at all even though they’ve been making history, particularly with their music videos, for years.

BTS got nominated for Song of the Year (“Dynamite”), Best Pop (“Butter”), Best K-Pop (“Butter”), Best Choreography (“Butter”), and Best Editing (”Butter”), but ARMYs argue the group should have been on par with artists like Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion, who swept this year’s VMAs nominations with seven nominations and six nominations respectfully. ARMYs are also not happy that MTV continues to nominate BTS for Best K-Pop, despite the controversy surrounding the category. (ARMYs feel it was created to exclude BTS from major categories.)

Here’s how fans reacted to BTS’ 2021 VMAs snubs:

While fans are thrilled about the awards BTS were nominated for, at the end of the day, it’s unclear what is preventing award shows like the MTV VMAs from acknowledging BTS in categories like Video of the Year and Artist of the Year when you stack them up against their peers. It can’t be video views — BTS have every other artist beat in that department (“Dynamite” has crossed 1 billion views while every other artist in the “Video of the Year” didn’t reach half of that with their nominated vids). It also seems like it can’t be chart performance: “Butter” has spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboarsd Hot 100 while the Video of the Year-nominated video for Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits,” for example, never hit the coveted spot once (it peaked at No. 5). So, what is it?

ARMYs need answers.