American Music Awards introduces favorite K-pop artist category

The American Music Awards (AMA), one of the top three music shows in the U.S., along with the Grammy Awards and the Billboard Music Awards that annually celebrate achievements in pop music, introduces a new category for K-pop artists this year. The move is the first among the three major U.S. music awards to acknowledge K-Pop musicians.

Announcing its 2022 nominees for its 37 categories on Thursday (local time), the AMA said it introduces the new "Favorite K-Pop Artist" category. The ceremony will air live on November 20 from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Five groups were nominated for the new category: BTS, BLACKPINK, Seventeen, Tomorrow x Together (TXT), and TWICE. BTS is also nominated for the "Favorite Pop-Duo or Group" category with competitions such as Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, OneRepublic, and Måneskin. Launched in 1974, the AMA determines its winners entirely by online fan voting and is known to best represent fan-based popularity in pop music culture. American music and entertainment magazine Billboard commented about the new category as "a breakthrough for K-pop."


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