K-Pop and K-Dramas: Don’t Mess With BTS

Hi! It’s Annie!

I’m sorry, but I can’t leave the stuff about the Grammys just yet. Especially not after the new developments from today. Because if you mess with BTS you’re going to get on the nerves of the very protective ARMY, and now we’ve actually seen some of the effects of that. Yes, BTS lost the Grammy last night, but after some results from today regarding last night’s Grammys the question becomes; did they actually lose? I know I’ve been vocal from the beginning about how I want the Grammys to die out and I don’t really think it’s relevant anymore. But still, Namjoon’s “told you so” broke all of our hearts. Somehow, that pain has all been lessened for me now.

Ratings:

The ratings for the Grammys were released this morning and we actually got to have a look at how much the Grammys was actually effected by all the boycotting. For the record, the Grammys of 2020 hit a disappointing low for the creators after they received about eighteen million views. This was second lowest just above 2006’s record low of seventeen million, and both numbers were significantly lower than the other Grammy years. This year they received just around eight million views. That is less than half of their lowest year. It is a catastrophic low for the Grammys that many news sites are reporting could mark the end for all shows of this nature. To put this in perspective ‘The Masked Singer’, which does not receive good reviews in the US, is now the most watched program on CBS over the Grammys. That’s absolutely insane.

How did BTS factor in?:

Not long after BTS’s performance in the actual show, it was dropped to Youtube just like the other performances from that day were. In a few minutes the video received more views than the entire Grammys had in it’s three hour run time. Not long after the event BTS also went live on Vlive, it was short but also ended up with more views than the Grammys in that short amount of time. In fact, BTS’s Grammy related videos have received more views than anything else from the Grammys either, including performances.

What ARMY did:

BTS’s fanbase is known for being large and passionate. Yesterday the members of ARMY didn’t really attack Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, but they still voiced their disappointment in several important ways. The hashtag scammy’s was trending all night mostly due to ARMY as well as many calling for a boycott directly after BTS lost their award in the pre-show. With the entirety of this fanbase boycotting after as well as the fanbases of several artists who called out the Grammys this year, the show had to face the problem of fandom boycott as well as the growing lack of interest for a show that is now seen as something for rich people.

Media Acknowledgement:

We have to give massive shout outs to the major media platforms who reported the ratings today as well as giving some credit to ARMY. Earlier today Forbes released an article detailing the mistreatment of BTS at the Grammys for the last several years. They included the fact that BTS was left until last to try and garner more viewers as well as how BTS should have been up for more awards. Though I have seen major K-Pop blogs and websites post articles like this, I didn’t expect such an extensive article backing up ARMY and BTS from Forbes today. But this wasn’t the only place that this backlash appeared. The anger of ARMY caught the attention of none other than Philip DeFranco, the most popular news channel on Youtube. He also discussed how BTS was only nominated for one Grammy that wasn’t in the main show despite all the records they’ve broken and talked, again, about how the Grammys led people on, only to stick BTS at the very end of the show. The mistreatment of BTS got more media time because of this event than it ever has before.

What does this mean?:

I’m not sure exactly what to make of this, but I’m absolutely certain that it will make people more aware of the mistreatment of BTS. This has added to the list of dings on the name of the Grammys, especially the many that happened this year with all of the boycotting due to various artists. But not only that, it’s statistical proof of one of the major hashtags last night. Who really needs who? The obvious answer here is that the Grammys need BTS, not the other way around. BTS has become a band that’s too big for the Grammys. And in a way all of this could effect the way any western awards shows are treated when it comes to BTS from here on out. Only time will tell what that really means.

Good job ARMY for sticking up for our boys last night! Though I know all of us including the amazing member of BTS were a little disappointed, we made much more of a impact than I think anyone thought we would. BTS may have lost last night, but today this feels a little more like a victory.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie