From 2017 until now, BTS has won a total of 12 wins at BBMA and become the Kpop group with the most wins in the history of this awards ceremony. That shows how big BTS's influence has been in recent years at one of αmєrícα's biggest music awards.

However, in reality, in the early years when BTS was nominated for this award, the group's position was different from what it is now. Even RM confessed in an interview about his fear at that time and thanks to ARMYs, BTS received "better" treatment by the BBMAs.

Looking back at that time, we can see how hard both BTS and ARMYs tried and always accompanied each other during the most difficult times:

Billboard Music Awards is no longer an unfamiliar award to BTS fans. This seems to be the first Big Three awards that BTS has received nominations as well as wins in the US - opening a new era for the group's global domination.

In 2017, BTS won the Top Social Artist award, dethroning Justin Bieber and setting a unique record as an Asian artist. This moment is considered one of the biggest turning points in the group's career as they went on to win other major music awards in the US in the following years.

But in reality, BTS did not have an easy start at this award like everyone thought it was a stroke of luck. In a recently released interview, BTS leader RM shared for the first time the different attitude of the organizers of this award towards the group the first time they attended the event. This differential treatment occurs based on the effect of the group's fans.

If you don't remember, in May 2017, 7 BTS members appeared for the first time at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to attend the BBMA awards ceremony. At this time, K-Pop had not achieved the global recognition it has today and BTS was not a Kpop superstar who had established a position in αmєrícα. Appearing as relatively new faces in the αmєrícαn industry, not yet getting much attention, RM confessed that he felt nervous when he stepped on stage.

However, right after that, RM was overwhelmed by the appearance of fans. According to him, BTS was treated a little differently at the awards ceremony. Reflecting back on that exciting day, RM remembered the moment he stepped onto the bright red carpet and was immediately greeted by the resounding cheers of about 400-500 fans present at the venue. That loud cheering drew everyone's attention to BTS, and even though they were unfamiliar with the group, they treated them “carefully,” seeing how they had such a strong local fanbase.

He shares: "I was really scared because of what I was doing. Actually, at first I was so scared that I went. It's so scary. What should I do? What do we do? I went and did it. But Jin told me first red carpet. At that time, it was now called magenta carpet. The moment you step onto the magenta carpet...There is a lot of shouting. As far as I know, 400 to 500 people came. No one knows who we are. First of all, what is it? Who are they?...They don't even know who we are anymore. Treating soṃệẗḧing so carefully...Somehow these guys have fans locally too. It seems like a very famous group overseas. There was a part where they really treated us a little better..."

Not only that, the BTS leader said that ARMY's noisy presence also affected the interviewer that day. They were even more curious to know about the group because it was the first time they witnessed such a fandom. Obviously, ARMYs turned BTS into global stars right at that time of year.

In addition, the BTS members also fondly recalled the ARMYs who diligently cheered for them inside the venue. When they received the award, everyone stood up and applauded even though they knew nothing about them. RM added that many αmєrícαn celebrities approached them to take photos just because of how enthusiastically ARMY cheered for them. What's interesting is that BTS was also unfamiliar with many of the celebrities they took photos with, but thanks to their fans, they later became friends with many of those stars.

The members concluded that it was thanks to the enthusiasm of ARMY who came to support them that day that BTS had an enjoyable experience at their first awards ceremony in the US. It cannot be denied that both ARMYs and BTS have tried a lot for today's successes!