#ThePeopleChooseBTS Trends as Fans Are Outraged by BTS People's Choice Awards Snub

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Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel, health, home/interior design and property/real estate. Soo covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively from 2020 to 2022, including several interviews with the chief medical advisor to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Soo has reported on various major news events, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the U.S. Capitol riots, the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. and Canadian elections, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Soo is also a South Korea expert, covering the latest K-dramas—including the breakout hit Squid Game, which she has covered extensively, including from Seoul, the South Korean capital—as well as Korean films, such as the Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Past Lives, and K-pop news, to interviews with the biggest Korean actors, such as Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game and Star Wars, and Korean directors, such as Golden Globe and Oscar nominee Celine Song. Soo is the author of the book How to Live Korean, which is available in 11 languages, and co-author of the book Hello, South Korea: Meet the Country Behind Hallyu. Before Newsweek, Soo was a travel reporter and commissioning editor for the award-winning travel section of The Daily Telegraph (a leading U.K. national newspaper) for nearly a decade from 2010, reporting on the latest in the travel industry, from travel news, consumer travel and aviation issues to major new openings and emerging destinations. Soo is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York and the journalism school of City University in London, where she earned a Masters in international journalism. You can get in touch with Soo by emailing s.kim@newsweek.com . Follow her on Instagram at @miss.soo.kim or X, formerly Twitter, at @MissSooKim .Languages spoken: English and Korean

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BTS' losses at this year's People's Choice Awards has caused outrage among devoted fans.

The K-pop boy band walked away empty-handed after losing out to K-pop girl group Blackpink in all three categories in which it had been nominated, including Best Group of 2019.

BTS was also nominated for Music Video of 2019 for their song "Boy With Luv" featuring Halsey and Concert Tour of 2019 for their Love Yourself, Speak Yourself tour, while Blackpink's "Kill This Love" and the Blackpink 2019 World tour won awards in both those categories.

The awards snub has caused outrage among BTS fans—collectively known as the ARMY—who took to social media to express their disappointment using the hashtag #ThePeopleChooseBTS, which has been trending on Twitter, along with #ARMYsChoiceBTS and #ThePeopleChoiceBTS.

Several cited the band's chart-topping accomplishments. ". @BTS_twt landed 7 #1 hits on the World Digital Song Sales chart in 2019 alone than any other Korean Acts has throughout their entire careers,"wrote @shadow_twts.

"It is also a major accomplishment for any act on any one of Billboard's weekly lists. - Forbes #ThePeopleChooseBTS #ARMYsChoiceBTS," the user added.

User @Ishra_twt noted: "3 #1 albums on BB200 in a year, revenued $4.65B for south korea in 2018 alone, sold out all 64 concerts from their tour, with 1.8M tickets and $170M in revenue, currently #1 best selling album of 2019 with 4.1M copies#ThePeopleChooseBTS @BTS_twt."

• 3 #1 albums on BB200 in a year
• revenued $4.65B for south korea in 2018 alone
• sold out all 64 concerts from their tour, with 1.8M tickets and $170M in revenue
• currently #1 best selling album of 2019 with 4.1M copies#ThePeopleChooseBTS @BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/0nIzNTFcHC

— ᴊɪɴᴊɪɴᴊɪɴᴊɪɴᴊɪɴ (｡♡‿♡｡) (@Ishra_twt) November 11, 2019

"Number don't lie tho hmm since they pay to win so bangtan was robbed. Let's work even harder for the boys @BTS_twt #ThePeopleChooseBTS #ARMYsChooseBTS," wrote @bangporahae.

Number don't lie tho hmm since they pay to win so bangtan was robbed. Let's work even harder for the boys ? @BTS_twt #ThePeopleChooseBTS #ARMYsChooseBTS pic.twitter.com/doOwKJMhDP

— ᴮᴱcici⁷ ⟭⟬ (@bangporahae) November 11, 2019

Others also commented on the sold-out BTS concert tours that have been overlooked.

"Remember when bts sold out wembley stadium TWICE in like 90 minutes,,, nobody is doing it like them #ThePeopleChooseBTS," wrote @moonchildpjms

"So you got the audacity to tell me this didn't win tour of the year? A joke..#ThePeopleChooseBTS @BTS_twt," wrote @yootaekook

so you got the audacity to tell me this didn't win tour of the year? A joke..#ThePeopleChooseBTS @BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/tHB0TuEqkf

— yootaekook (@yootaekook) November 11, 2019

"Don't drunk to make a chart.Tell me how @BTS_twt didn't win concert when they sold out Stadiums left and right!! #ThePeopleChooseBTS," wrote @FKhukumoni

Don't drunk to make a chart.Tell me how @BTS_twt didn't win concert when they sold out Stadiums left and right!!#ThePeopleChooseBTS pic.twitter.com/RxxKmvGK1c

— Farjin Khukumoni (@FKhukumoni) November 11, 2019

"Don't be discouraged Army. Keep on fighting. @BTS_twt I love you so much #ArmyChooseBTS #ThePeopleChooseBTS," wrote @Loveedesy.

"You can buy the awards, but you can't buy our hearts. #ThePeopleChooseBTS @BTS_twt," wrote @yonkisuga.

"No matter what happen, you guys are still my choice #ThePeopleChooseBTS#ARMYsChoiceBTS @BTS_twt," wrote @YanTae2.

BTS Seoul Music Awards 2019
South Korean boy band BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, pose on the red carpet at the 28th Seoul Music Awards in Seoul on January 15, 2019. Getty Images

Earlier this month, BTS won several awards at the MTV European Music Awards, including Best Group and Best Live Act.

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About the writer

Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel, health, home/interior design and property/real estate. Soo covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively from 2020 to 2022, including several interviews with the chief medical advisor to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Soo has reported on various major news events, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the U.S. Capitol riots, the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. and Canadian elections, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Soo is also a South Korea expert, covering the latest K-dramas—including the breakout hit Squid Game, which she has covered extensively, including from Seoul, the South Korean capital—as well as Korean films, such as the Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Past Lives, and K-pop news, to interviews with the biggest Korean actors, such as Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game and Star Wars, and Korean directors, such as Golden Globe and Oscar nominee Celine Song. Soo is the author of the book How to Live Korean, which is available in 11 languages, and co-author of the book Hello, South Korea: Meet the Country Behind Hallyu. Before Newsweek, Soo was a travel reporter and commissioning editor for the award-winning travel section of The Daily Telegraph (a leading U.K. national newspaper) for nearly a decade from 2010, reporting on the latest in the travel industry, from travel news, consumer travel and aviation issues to major new openings and emerging destinations. Soo is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York and the journalism school of City University in London, where she earned a Masters in international journalism. You can get in touch with Soo by emailing s.kim@newsweek.com . Follow her on Instagram at @miss.soo.kim or X, formerly Twitter, at @MissSooKim .Languages spoken: English and Korean

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Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more