BTS didn’t exactly bomb Sunday at the 2021 Grammy Awards telecast.
Sure, the Korean boy band’s hit English-language single “Dynamite” earned them the first-ever Grammy nod for a K-pop crew — but their rushed performance at the 63rd annual awards ceremony was less than explosive.
And the septet from Seoul ending up losing their sole category of the night to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s “Rain on Me.”
Still, they made history as the first K-pop act to perform one of their own nominated songs at the Grammys. (BTS provided an assist to nominee Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” during 2020’s telecast.)
Their performance was almost drowned out by the online outrage of #BTSArmy fans who were crying #Scammys after their loss — but let’s look on the bright side here.
Isolated at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, BTS dropped “Dynamite” on their quarantined fans as a gift. The gift has returned to them — in the form of their first Grammy Award nomination.
The nod officially made BTS the first K-pop act to compete for a golden gramophone.
“A lot of people were sad and down and out because of the COVID situation and it was sort of our suggestion to pick (everyone) up,” BTS frontman Jin recently told The Associated Press. “We were supposed to do the whole stadium tour all over the world. There was no plan to release a single like ‘Dynamite,’” RM explained. “‘Dynamite’ gave us huge success in Korea, of course, a 2021 Grammy Award nomination, a performance, so you know, life is really interesting.”
“Dynamite” became the seven-member group’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart when it was released in 2020. After years of logging Top 40 hits, breaking YouTube viewership records and selling out arenas and stadiums, BTS competed for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
“It’s really hard to express in words,” fellow BTS member Jimin said of their virgin nod. “Even now we can’t still believe that we were nominated, and we’ll be able to perform at the Grammys. So, we’re thankful. We’re honored.”
BTS’ explosive hit battled Gaga and Grande’s No. 1 smash — as well as Top 10 successes like Taylor Swift and Bon Iver’s “exile” and Justin Bieber and Quavo’s “Intentions.” J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Dua Lipa’s “Un Dia (One Day),” which topped the Billboard Hot Latin songs chart, rounds out the five nominees.
“I always listen to ‘Rain on Me.’ It’s so great to listen to that song on the treadmill. It was a hit. It was fire last year,” RM said. “And, of course, ‘Intentions,’ ‘Exile’ was crazy. And J Balvin and Dua Lipa.”
“We’re nervous and actually, frankly, we’re not expecting (to win) so much because we don’t want to get disappointed because Lady Gaga, Taylor, Bieber, all the big names (are nominated). So, we’re kind of confused. It’s like rollercoaster — back and forth, back and forth, up and down.”
Their Grammy performance marked their second on “music’s biggest night” — they also assisted Lil Nas X when he sang “Old Town Road” last year.
BTS has revealed that they are currently working on new music — as a group and soloists. They said the Grammy nod does create some pressure to deliver for fans, but they’re not letting success get to their collective heads.
“We try to stay down to earth and put our feet to the ground and do what we do,” RM told the AP.
With Post wires