From one award-winning artist to another, Lea Salonga congratulated Korean group BTS for their historic win at the prestigious American Music Awards on November 22.
Salonga, renowned international actress and singer, expressed her cheers for the septet on Twitter.
“OH MY GOODNESS IT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations, BTS!” she said.
OH MY GOODNESS IT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations, BTS!!!!!!!
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) November 22, 2021
Salonga also quote-retweeted a post from BTS’ Twitter account where she wrote: “What a night, what a privilege to witness history being made!”
What a night, what a privilege to witness history being made! https://t.co/VjhioGflFY
— Lea Salonga (@MsLeaSalonga) November 22, 2021
BTS, comprising members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, swept all three awards they were nominated at:
- Artist of the Year
- Favorite Pop Duo or Group
- Favorite Pop Song for “Butter
They also became the first Korean and Asian act to win the Artist of the Year award, the biggest prize of the largest fan-voted award show in the United States.
The boy band from South Korea beat heavyweight winners in the American music scene Taylor Swift, Drake, Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo and The Weeknd.
This is their third time to win the Favorite Pop Duo or Group award since they made history after bagging the award in 2019.
Aside from snagging awards, BTS also performed two hit singles—their Billboard Hot 100 single “Butter” and their recent collaboration with British rock band Coldplay “My Universe.”
READ: K-pop’s BTS snags top prize at American Music Awards
Their first appearance and performance at the AMAs was in 2017. They performed “DNA” from the “Love Yourself: Her” album, their first single to reach the Billboard Hot 100 list at no. 85 for that year.
Amid the steady rise in popularity of BTS over the years, Salonga only started to become a fan following the release of “Dynamite” in 2020.
“Dynamite,” their first full English song as a group, would later become their first single to top the Billboard Hot 100.
In a previous interview, Salonga described her becoming a fan as a fall “into the rabbit hole.” Since then, she researched more about them and learned about their artistry.
“I’m a brand-new fan, well not brand new. I mean I saw them in New York’s Rockin’ Eve and I was really, really impressed. But I think it was when ‘Dynamite’ came out, that was when I was like…okay…into the rabbit hole I go and that’s it. Bye! You won’t see me for a while,” she said back then.
READ: ‘Into the rabbithole’: Lea Salonga fangirls over BTS and ARMYs are raving about it
Other musical artists who were present at the AMAs also expressed support for BTS on Twitter.
These include Becky G, who collaborated with J-Hope for the single “Chicken Noodle Soup,” Chloe Bailey, and Coldplay.
How it started ➡️ How it’s going ❤️ @BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/JK9yAS720U
— Becky G. (@iambeckyg) November 22, 2021
can you see how happy i am 😭😭@BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/KQtypPUSJl
— Chlöe (@ChloeBailey) November 22, 2021
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜@BTS_twt #MyUniverseAMAs pic.twitter.com/2xYnNO9nfw
— Coldplay (@coldplay) November 22, 2021
The hashtag #BTSxAMA, and the phrases “Artist of the Year,” “Congratulations BTS” and other related trends soon dominated conversations on Twitter.
BTS fans collectively called ARMYs (Adorable Representative MC for Youth) also cheered for them and congratulated them for their big achievements.
Former beauty queen Teresita Ssen Marquez and blogger Ana Gonzales were among the personalities who praised them online.
BTS ARTIST OF THE YEAR LET’S GO
— Teresita Ssen Marquez (@wynmarquez) November 22, 2021
“Nobody could ever bet on the odds of us being here accepting this award … except you, ARMY.” – NAMJOON 💜 #BTSxAMAs @BTS_twt #ArtistOfTheYear https://t.co/C2VRsqJnsN
— Ana Gonzales (@anagon) November 22, 2021
