Korean pop is nothing new to many people. It has been popular for quite some time now, but Sunday night BTS, a South Korean boy band, made history after becoming the first K-pop group to win a Billboard Music Award.

Before delving into the events that transpired at the awards ceremony, let me provide some details as to who BTS is. I will admit that I am a major fan of K-pop, and BTS is my all time favorite group, but I will be unbiased. BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, is a group made of seven boys. Their aliases are Rap Monster, J-Hope, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, Jimin, and V. Their real names are Kim Namjoon, Jung Hoseok, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Jeong Jeongguk, Park Jimin, and Kim Taehyung. BTS made their debut in 2013 with their album 2 Cool 4 Skool, followed by O!RUL8,2? (2013), Skool Luv Affair (2014), Dark & Wild (2014), The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1 (2015), The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 (2015), The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever (2016), Wings (2016), and You Never Walk Alone (2017). Billboard magazine recognized BTS as one of K-pop’s top competitive music producers of today: “Co-writing and producing on nearly every track, the K-pop phenoms proved how they can compete with top pop acts.” All seven members of the group actively participate in composing and producing the group’s songs.

So Sunday night BTS won the Top Social Artist award, defeating US favorites Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes, and Ariana Grande.

Rap Monster stated, “We still cannot believe that we’re standing here on this stage at the Billboard Music Awards. It is so great to see all the artists we admire, and we feel honored to be in this category with all these great artists right in front of us.”

I’d just like to say that I am very proud of BTS, and they deserve all of their success.