BBMAs Accused Of Snubbing BTS In The "Top Touring Artist" Category

This year, BTS is nominated for two awards at the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), but “Top Touring Artist” is not one of them.

On September 22, Billboard announced BTS as nominees for “Top Social Artist” and “Top Duo/Group”. BTS has won “Top Social” for three consecutive years since first being nominated for the award in 2017. Last year, they also took home the award for “Top Duo/Group”.

#BBMAs Top Social Artist:
🟣 @BTS_twt
🟣 @billieeilish
🟣 @weareoneEXO
🟣 @GOT7Official
🟣 @ArianaGrande pic.twitter.com/ajGzN9dmW7

— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) September 22, 2020

Although fans are happy to see BTS on the list of nominees, many are wondering why the group was not nominated for “Top Touring Artist” as well.

According to Billboard‘s “2019 Year-End Boxscore Charts”, BTS had the third highest grossing tour, having raked in more than $196 million.

Every other artist listed in the Top 5 for Billboard‘s Top 40 tours was nominated, as was Metallica, who ranked 6th on the chart.

#BBMAs Top Touring Artist:
🟣 @eltonofficial
🟣 @Metallica
🟣 @Pink
🟣 @RollingStones
🟣 @edsheeran pic.twitter.com/UL46cOmkbJ

— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) September 22, 2020

Why wasn’t BTS nominated? The answer lies in the eligibility period. Only shows between March 2019 and March 2020 counted towards the BBMAs‘s total for “Top Touring Artist”.

This means that BTS’s 2019 shows in Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong were not included.

As one of the highest-grossing groups of all time, it’s unfortunate that BTS’s tour sales did not earn a nomination this year, but there’s no telling what the future will hold. The 2020 BBMAs will take place on October 14.