It’s almost VMAs time. The MTV VMAs performances of 2020 were announced on Tuesday, August 4, and the list includes BTS, Doja Cat and more. Along with their first-ever performance at the VMAs, BTS’ members—Jungkook, V, Jimin, Suga, J-Hope, RM and Jin—will also perform their new single, “Dynamite,” for the first time ever at the awards show. “Dynamite,” which will be released on August 21, was recorded completely in English.
Along with their VMAs debut, BTS was also nominated for three categories at this year’s awards show: Best Pop, Best K-Pop and Best Choreography for their February single “ON.” This year’s VMAs, whose nominees also include Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga, will also introduce two new categories inspired by social distancing guidelines around the world: Best Music Video From Home and Best Quarantine Performance.
News of BTS’ performance at the VMAs also comes after many ARMYs protested the 2019 awards show because of the band’s lack of nominations. (BTS went on to take home two awards for Best Group and Best K-Pop for their single “Boy With Luv” with Halsey.) Much of the outrage was also caused by the VMAs new K-Pop category, which was introduced in 2019. As many fans argued, the category separated K-pop artists like BTS from other genres, which contributed to the othering of non-English music in the United States. “[The K-pop category] just reiterates a tendency in Western awards shows to ‘celebrate’ non-Western, non-English speaking, non-white artists by separating them away from their accepted, non-othered counterparts,” Teen Vogue’s Aamina Khan wrote in July 2019.
This year, there are six artists nominated in the K-pop category: BTS (“ON”), Exo (“Obsession”), (G)I-dle (“Oh My God”), Monsta X (“Someone’s Someone”), Red Velvet (“Psycho”) and TXT (“9 and Three Quarters (Runaway)”)
The backlash over the VMAs’ K-pop category has been similar this year, with fans also criticizing the awards show’s Latin category. “its like annual thing for @vmas to be xenophobic now coz what the fuck is latin pop and k pop doing as diff genres???? languages does not restrict the songs from being included in the actual “pop” genre,” Twitter user @THICCMINY00NGI wrote.
The 2020 MTV VMAs airs on Sunday, August 30, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Ahead are the 2020 MTV VMAs performers announced so far.
BTS
Doja Cat
J Balvin