BTS and Coldplay
James Marcus Haney, Hae Jae Young, Kim So JungBTS will be working overtime at the American Music Awards on Sunday Nov. 21. They will perform “My Universe” with Coldplay in addition to performing “Butter” with Megan Thee Stallion, as was previously announced. Both songs topped the Billboard Hot 100 this year – “Butter” for 10 weeks and “My Universe” for one.
The pairing is billed as the two groups’ “first live performance together” of “My Universe.” Hosted by Cardi B, the AMAs will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
This will mark BTS’ third performance on AMAs. They sang “DNA” in 2017 and closed last year’s show with a performance from Korea of “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On.” This will be Coldplay’s first AMAs performance since 2015, when they sang “Adventure of a Lifetime.”
BTS is nominated for three awards at Sunday’s show – artist of the year, favorite pop duo or group and favorite pop song. They won favorite pop duo or group the last two years. If they win again this year, they’ll become just the third duo or group to win three years running in this category. The first two were Daryl Hall & John Oates (1983-85) and One Direction (2013-15).
Coldplay and BTS (x 2) join previously announced performers Bad Bunny with Tainy and Julieta Venegas, Olivia Rodrigo, Carrie Underwood with Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, New Edition and New Kids on the Block, Diplo, Måneskin, Mickey Guyton, Tyler, The Creator, Walker Hayes and Zoe Wees.
This year, for the first time, fans could vote for all AMA categories, once per category per day, globally on TikTok by searching for “AMAs” in-app. Voting closed Tuesday (Nov. 16) at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Nominees are based on key fan interactions as reflected on the Billboard charts, including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partner MRC Data, and cover the time period Sept. 25, 2020, through Sept. 23, 2021.
MRC Live & Alternative and Jesse Collins Entertainment are producing the 2021 American Music Awards. As the world’s largest fan-voted awards show, the AMAs will air globally across a footprint of linear and digital platforms.
The AMAs will air live on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on ABC and will stream the following day on Hulu. Tickets are now on sale at www.axs.com
The American Music Awards are produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC. MRC and Penske Media are co-parent companies of Billboard.
The world leader, who has repeatedly faced criticism for featuring songs from artists who do not want their music connected to his political views, shared a viral clip of We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) that focused on the lyric: “Me and my truth we sit in silence.”
The footage shows Trump at a rally while the statement “Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports” appears on screen.
The Team Trump TikTok account posted the video with the caption: “This shouldn’t be controversial! #trump #arianagrande #maga.”
Ariana responded in a comment that was later removed, saying: “Never use my music again. Also, your truth is false.”
Trump has a well known record of opposing transgender rights, and the US Supreme Court recently ruled that states can prohibit transgender women from taking part in women’s sports. In a 6 to 3 ruling, the justices determined that such laws do not breach Title IX or the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
The decision in June came after several other actions by the Trump administration involving transgender policies. Earlier in May, the Supreme Court also permitted the administration to continue with its “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” order, which would prevent transgender individuals from serving in the US military.
Ariana’s statement arrived soon after Taylor Swift also took steps to stop Trump from using her music on TikTok. Trump had featured a number of her songs in his social media posts, including a video of him and his wife Lady Melania Trump watching fireworks accompanied by August.
The song was later taken off the post and replaced by a notice that read: “This sound isn’t available.”
Trump appeared to deliberately select Taylor’s track, adding the message: “I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song!”
He also responded to the Team Trump video with: “Mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president.”
Other Taylor Swift songs that were removed from Trump’s TikTok content included The Fate of Ophelia and Father Figure.
Trump previously made headlines when he wrote “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on Truth Social after the singer publicly announced that she planned to support Kamala Harris in the previous presidential election.
