Only K-pop Singers... Jungkook, SKZ, NewJeans, and Others Win at US Billboard Awards

Four New Categories Added This Year... Major Awards 'Unclaimed'
'11-Time Winner' Morgan Wallen Takes Most Awards

At the '2023 Billboard Music Awards' (BBMA), a major American popular music awards ceremony, BTS member Jungkook, Stray Kids, NewJeans, and others received awards.

The BBMA, held online on the 19th (local time), was conducted in a format where winners and pre-recorded interviews were revealed.

Group Stray Kids

On this day, Jungkook was announced as the winner of the 'Top Global K-pop Song' category for his solo debut track and Billboard main singles chart 'Hot 100' No.1 hit song 'Seven.'

In a video message, Jungkook said, "It is an honor. It is difficult to fully express my gratitude in words. I thank ARMY (BTS fandom) and everyone who loved this song. Without you, I would not have received this amazing award."

He continued, "While working on 'Seven,' I hoped everyone would enjoy this song, and receiving an award in this category means a lot to me. I am happy to share great music with everyone."

Group Stray Kids became the winner of the 'Top K-pop Album' category with their third full-length album '★★★★★' (Five Star). Including their mini-album 'Rockstar,' released on the 10th, they have consecutively topped the Billboard main album chart 'Billboard 200' with four albums. Member Changbin said, "Thank you for loving our music, albums, and performances filled with our stubbornness."

BLACKPINK was selected as the 'Top K-pop Touring Artist' for their world tour 'BORN PINK,' which attracted 1.8 million people over the past year, and NewJeans was chosen as the 'Top Global K-pop Artist.'

Group NewJeans [Photo by HYBE]

At the ceremony, NewJeans and Stray Kids performed on stage. Notably, Stray Kids performed after singer Mariah Carey, drawing attention. They wore black-and-white outfits and performed the stages for 'Special' and 'Rock.' NewJeans performed 'Super Shy' and 'OMG.'

K-pop was first invited to the Billboard Awards in 2013 when Psy won the 'Top Streaming Song' video category with the global hit 'Gangnam Style.' BTS was the first K-pop artist to perform on stage in 2018. This is the first time two K-pop groups have performed as invited acts.

This year, a so-called 'K-pop category' was newly established, consisting of four categories: 'Top Global K-pop Song,' 'Top Global K-pop Artist,' 'Top K-pop Touring Artist,' and 'Top K-pop Album.' K-pop artists did not win trophies in other major categories outside these.

Some have criticized this as an attempt to contain K-pop, suggesting that K-pop artists are being confined to a specific category. On the other hand, the establishment of the K-pop category is seen positively as it indicates that Billboard recognizes the increasing number of K-pop artists that should be formally covered.

The artist with the most awards at this year's Billboard Music Awards was American country singer Morgan Wallen, who won 11 trophies. Taylor Swift won 10 awards, including the top honor of Top Artist, making her the second most awarded artist.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.