K-Pop is taking up some serious space at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, with half of the Best Group nominees connected to the K-Pop scene.
BTS, BLACKPINK, CORTIS and KATSEYE have all been nominated for Best Group, joining British girl group FLO, and U.S. acts Fuerza Regida, Geese and Twenty-One Pilots in the race.
MTV announced the nominees for four social media voting categories, setting up an interesting Best Group Race. For BTS, it could make a return to a category the group once dominated, while BLACKPINK enters this year after taking home the trophy last year.
BTS Could Add Another Best Group Win
The new nomination brings BTS ‘total to three at this year’s VMAs.
The septet had already earned nominations for Song of the Year and Best K-pop with ‘SWIM,’ the lead track from their fifth studio album, ‘ARIRANG’.
Best Group is also familiar territory for BTS. The group won the award four years in a row from 2019 to 2022, giving them the most wins by any act in the category’s history.
CORTIS And KATSEYE Join the Race
Rookie boy group CORTIS is also up for three awards this year. Last month, the five-member group received its first-ever VMA nominations for Best New Artist and Best K-Pop for its April release, ‘REDRED’.
Having launched just over a year ago, CORTIS is also the most recently debuted act among this year’s Best Group nominees.
Meanwhile, KATSEYE has four nominations in total. Along with Best Group, the global girl group is nominated for Song of the Summer with ‘Hootie Frutti,’ while ‘PINKY UP’ is in the running for Best Choreography and Best K-Pop.
BLACKPINK Is Showing Up as a Group and Soloists
BLACKPINK’s presence at the VMAs goes beyond its Best Group nomination.
The group is also nominated for Best K-Pop with ‘Jump, while members Jennie and Lisa have earned recognition for their solo work.
Jennie is nominated for Song of the Summer with ‘Dracula’, a remix of Australian act Tame Impala’s hit featuring her vocals.
Lisa, meanwhile, had already picked up four nominations for ‘DREAM,’ featuring Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi.
Fans can vote for Best Group through MTV’s Instagram Stories, where voting will take place in a bracket-style format from Monday to Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.
This year’s MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by American rapper and songwriter Snoop Dogg, will take place Sunday, 27th September at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.
With BTS looking to add another Best Group trophy, BLACKPINK returning after last year’s win, and newer names like CORTIS and KATSEYE joining the lineup, K-Pop will have a major presence in this year’s race.
Sources: The Korea Times
