BTS Awes Audience at Billboard Music Awards

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Credits to Steve Granitz

Priscilla Song, Staff Writer

Fans’ chants and singing filled the crowded area. Flashing cameras blinded eyes. Screaming fans wearing merchandise held up bright and colorful signs. One would think this would be a typical scene at a concert. In reality, this is just a little bit of what BTS experienced when they landed at the Los Angeles International Airport last week. BTS has come to America once again to attend the Billboard Music Awards. They arrived in Los Angeles last Sunday and traveled to Las Vegas to perform at the award show. They won the Top Social Artist Award again this year, making this their second consecutive award from the BBMAs. They had more than 20 million votes from their fans and were up against stars like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Shawn Mendes.

The Billboard Music Awards were held on Sunday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Singer Kelly Clarkson hosted and started off the show with a powerful performance dedicated as a tribute to the mass shooting that happened at Santa Fe High School on Friday. Shawn Mendes and Khalid delivered another touching performance later on in the night, where they sang with students that survived the Parkland shooting that happened earlier this year.

BTS performed “Fake Love,” their new song that came out last Friday. Before announcing the group’s stage, Kelly Clarkson put on a pair of pink headphones to block out the sounds of the screaming fans surrounding her. Model Tyra Banks joked while presenting the next award that she was “still recovering from that performance.” She also posted various pictures that she took with the boys on her social media. Several well-known celebrities—like Taylor Swift, John Legend, DJ Khaled, Lil Pump, Zedd, and the Backstreet Boys—also took photos with BTS.

The music video for “Fake Love” has already reached over 74 million views within a span of four days. The song achieved a certified “all-kill,” which is when a song hits No. 1 in all of the Korean real-time charts at the same time. According to Billboard, “Fake Love” is officially the biggest 24-hour debut in 2018 and the third biggest 24-hour debut of all time, behind Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” and Psy’s “Gentleman.” The group showcased  “Fake Love” at The Ellen Show last Thursday, where the song was unveiled to their fans for the first time.

The group will be having a world tour later this year and performing in various locales including America, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. Originally, BTS was supposed to perform at three shows in Los Angeles, but due to high demand and tickets being sold out within seconds, they added a fourth show to the list. Tickets are now being resold with prices as high as $2,500.

During their time in America, BTS visited various news and radio stations, like Radio Disney and Buzzfeed. At Buzzfeed, they did an interview while playing with puppies and answering fans’ questions. The members of BTS have charmed their way into the hearts of fans overseas, proving once again that they won’t stop at Korea.