On November 21, BTS attended the 2021 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, and while one may say the septet stole the show… it’s impossible to steal what is already yours. Four years after being the first Korean boy band to perform at the AMAs, BTS became the first Asian act to win the coveted Artist Of The Year award at the show. The group also took home trophies for Best Group/Duo, Favorite Pop Song for “Butter,” making it a true sweep at the world’s largest purely fan voted award show.
From the very moment nominees for the 2021 AMAs were announced, many ARMYs began to speculate whether BTS would be present at the show. After all, the group would already be in LA making preparations for their four sold-out concerts at SoFi Stadium. As ARMYs participated in their daily voting routines, it was confirmed that BTS would be performing twice on the AMAs!
Thousands of ARMYs filled the Microsoft Theater to cheer BTS on at the AMAs, including myself. It was a longtime dream of mine to attend the AMAs, and I flung myself to AXS to purchase a ticket the moment BTS were announced as nominees. However, a few days before the show I had been chosen to participate in the casted mosh pit – meaning I’d be seeing BTS up close. WAY up close. (Shout out to 1iota!) In order to participate in the pit, I was required to submit proof of my COVID-19 vaccination record to production. I was also required to take a COVID-19 test in Los Angeles the Friday prior to the show, provided for free by production. While I personally found the process to be exhausting, I was also grateful that such rigorous safety measures were put into place.
The night before the AMAs, I attended the Audiotistic Music Festival in San Diego. Yes, I totally needed to go see my all-time favorite DJ Diplo the night before having to go on a long drive early in the morning. Yes, I camped out on the barricade all afternoon for his set – as I always do. And yes, I absolutely went to LA on Friday, came back home to rave on Saturday, slept, and went back to LA on Sunday!
It was INSANELY hard to wake up on Sunday morning. I had planned to spend quite a while on my makeup, but making sure I was well rested was much more important to me. After a certain point in the morning, I decided it was time to just pull my ass out of bed, regardless of how I felt. I packed an eyeshadow palette, additional glitter, and my lashes for the car. I grabbed my leather jacket, a few small BTS pins, about three water bottles, and quickly hit the road.
The check-in process took a few hours, and I had ample time to do the rest of my makeup. I chose NOT to, and regretted it massively the moment I entered the Microsoft Theater. I was also quite dehydrated, hungry, and it was so hot outside. But my serotonin levels were still pretty high, and that was all that mattered to me in the moment.
Just before the show kicked off, ARMYs all throughout the theater helped set the mood with some of the loudest and proudest fanchants I’ve ever heard. While a few obvious naysayers let out grunts, the vast majority of the audience cheered. (Okay, here’s the deal. My intention here isn’t to be shady, but please note that some of those naysayers were in very very very close proximity to me. In the photo below, I may or may not be looking in the direction of some of them.)
Being a fan of many of the artists in attendance, there were plenty of memorable moments stacked on top of one another. Olivia Rodrigo’s rather stripped-back performance of “Traitor” was incredible. Bad Bunny walked right past me before and after his performance. The “Battle of Boston” performance with NKOTB and New Edition gave me so much life. Peeping over to see RM singing his heart out gave me even more life. But as the night went on, it became more and more obvious that a very small handful of people just weren’t with the Bangtan agenda.
Well, BTS did remind everyone in “Butter” that they’ve got ARMY right behind them when they say so. Whenever an event involves the attendance of BTS, it will also involve the attendance of ARMY. Anyone who had the means to purchase tickets to the AMAs could have, and ARMYs decided to do exactly that. It quickly occurred to me that there was a possibility some of these naysayers would call ARMYs “bots” and loudly complain about how they feel BTS’ success is “inorganic” online, but were remaining extremely silent in-person. In that very moment, all I could do was laugh.
There were two ARMYs on the other side of me, and I loudly mentioned to them how anyone who may be calling us “bots” should be calling us “BOUGHTS” if anything, since us ARMYs bought up the tickets to the AMAs. As stated earlier, it was anyone’s game – anyone could have purchased tickets to the show, as long as they had the means to do so. ARMYs also BOUGHT up all the tickets for BTS’ Permission To Dance On Stage LA concerts at SoFi Stadium for four nights, BOUGHT up all the tickets to watch a live feed of the concert right next door at the YouTube theater on opening night, and BOUGHT up BTS’ music. We’re not “bots,” but we BOUGHT… if you know what I mean.
After countless giggles, the night was starting to wind down. Two other ARMYs decided to join us in our corner, hoping to share some great energy for BTS’ “Butter” performance. During the commercial break prior to the performance, we all gushed about how cool it would be if we could extend our arms and try to get one of the members to touch our (sanitized) hands. I told the four that I would by no means be attempting to sneak videos of the performance. Not only did production make it a point that we would be escorted out of the building if we were caught recording during the show, but I just didn’t want to be worrying about how stuff looked through a screen for that moment. BTS are absolutely gorgeous in person – during their “My Universe” performance earlier in the night, a tear crept out of my left eye as I admired their beauty. There’s absolutely no photos or videos that can fully capture their beauty. I wanted to be able to take it all in one more time, before I got to do it all over again the following week at SoFi. We all agreed to just… as “they” say, live in the moment.
As the BTS members waltzed over to the extended stage, the five of us frantically waved at the guys. V quickly looked down at us, gave us a wink, a slight smirk, and went along like the smooth operator he is. As for me and my new ARMY friends, we were in complete disbelief! THE Kim Taehyung gave us a look that would make anyone and everyone’s heart flutter, all while singing “Butter.” It was a “y/n” moment I could only daydream about, and now I can safely say that dreams come true.
I can also safely say that being an ARMY is one of the greatest flexes ever, if not the greatest. While we may catch a lot of heat online, the love we all have for BTS is so much more powerful than any negative forces in the world. Almost a whole week later, I am still feeling drunk in love. I am still so full of excitement, joy, and word vomit. The excitement I felt during that moment is something I hope to be able to hang onto for a long, long, long time.
Many ARMYs will be full of those exact same feelings this weekend for the first time, as BTS kick off their four show run at SoFi Stadium. Because of my experience at the AMAs, I can now safely say that my #1 tip for seeing BTS is to take everything in. I’m not one to ever like being told to “put my phone away and enjoy the moment.” I love taking videos, trying to get the best content possible, and having an image to look back upon. We also can’t push aside the fact that I’m a concert photographer. However, the pure magic of… “that Tae moment,” as I shall call it from now on, would have never been fully captured with a video. I knew the “Butter” performance would be uploaded onto YouTube, and it was! There’s a high likelihood that at least one of the SoFi shows will be filmed for DVD, to be released sometime in 2022. Fancams and fabulous photos are important, but so are those moments when you stop and realize exactly where you’re at.
Regardless of whether you were at the AMAs or heading to Permission To Dance On Stage LA, if you’re in the BTS ARMY, you’re already exactly where you need to be. Flex that.
