The South Korean superstar music group BTS was named artist of the year at the American Music Awards on Sunday. It was the group’s first time taking the top prize.

Taylor Swift, Drake and The Weeknd were also nominated for artist of the year.

BTS has been one of the most commercially successful bands in the world over the past several years. The group’s 2020 album “Be” was its fifth album to reach the top of the Billboard 200 music charts. It was the fastest any group has released five albums at the top of the Billboard 200 charts since The Beatles in the 1960s.

BTS member RM said Sunday after receiving the award, “Seven boys from Korea, united by love for music, met the love and support from all the armies all over the world.”

The biggest BTS fans are called the group’s “army.”

“This whole thing is a miracle,” RM added. “Seriously, we would never take this for granted.”

The seven-member K-pop group won three awards Sunday. It was also named favorite pop group or duo. The group's hit “Butter” won the favorite pop song award.

The group performed their number one single “My Universe” with the rock group Coldplay. They ended the show with a performance of “Butter,” which also went number one.

BTS has now won nine American Music Awards. The fan-voted awards show was broadcast live from Los Angeles, California. Nominees were based on streaming, album and digital sales, radio play and social activity.

I’m Dan Novak.

The Associated Press reported this story. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional reporting from Forbes. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

Words in This Story

commercial — n. concerned with earning money​

chart — n. a list that shows which music recordings have sold the most during a recent period of time​

miracle  — n. a very amazing or unusual event, thing, or achievement​

take for granted — v. to fail to properly notice or appreciate ​

duo — n. two people who perform together, are usually seen together, or are associated with each other​

streaming  — adj. playing continuously as data is sent to a computer over the Internet​

digital — adj. using or characterized by computer technology​