BLACKPINK, BTS, SEVENTEEN sweep prizes at 2022 MTV Video Music Awards
Members of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK pose at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Sunday (local time). AP-Yonhap
By Dong Sun-hwa
Three K-pop groups honored at one of most prestigious music awards in US
By Dong Sun-hwa
K-pop bigwigs BLACKPINK, BTS and SEVENTEEN took home multiple prizes at this year's MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), one of the most prestigious music awards in the U.S., Sunday (local time).
BLACKPINK, which was the first K-pop girl group to bag a trophy at the VMAs in 2020, took two awards this time.
The quartet received the Best Metaverse Performance award for its in-game concert, “BLACKPINK the Virtual,” on PUBG Mobile, after competing with BTS, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. “BLACKPINK the Virtual” was held in July.
Member Lisa nabbed the Best K-Pop award for her debut solo album, “LALISA,” which hit shelves last September. Fronted by the namesake lead track, “LALISA” has been acclaimed for fusing K-pop and Thai culture.
This is the second time that the group has been recognized at the VMAs, after it won the Song of Summer award in 2020 with its hit, “How You Like That.”
“We are so grateful to our fans and the VMAs for honoring us,” BLACKPINK said in its acceptance speech. All four members attended the awards ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and performed “Pink Venom,” its new hip-hop track that came out on Aug. 19. BLACKPINK is also the first K-pop girl group to perform at the VMAs.
“We will strive to showcase a better version of ourselves,” the group added. “We will pay back our fans' love through our upcoming full-length album, 'BORN PINK,' and our world tour.”
The YG Entertainment stars are scheduled to drop its second studio album on Sept. 16 and embark on a world tour in October, performing in front of 1.5 million spectators.
K-pop titan BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Music
BTS won the Group of the Year award for four consecutive years after edging out Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons, City Girls and Maneskin, among others. The septet, however, did not attend the awards ceremony that took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The Big Hit Music singers earned nominations in six categories including the Best Choreography and the Best Visual Effects. Last year, they unleashed a series of hits like “Butter” and “Permission to Dance,” and in June, they took the global music scene by storm with “Proof,” an anthology album chronicling their nine-year career. “Proof” sold more than 2 million copies on the first day of its release.
K-pop act SEVENTEEN / Courtesy of Pledis Entertainment
The Push Performance of the Year award went to SEVENTEEN for its performance of the song, “Rock With You.” It is the lead single off the 13-piece act's ninth mini-album, “Attacca,” which was released last October.
“This is our first time to notch an award at the VMAs,” SEVENTEEN said in a video message. “We are truly thankful. We think we will have a great night tonight. We will try to return our fans' love to them.”
SEVENTEEN, which put out its fourth studio album, “Face the Sun,” in May, is currently on a world tour.