(2nd LD) BTS wins three Billboard Music Awards, marking 6th year to win an award

(ATTN: UPDATES with more background info in para 5; CHANGES tense in paras 2, 7; ADDS quote from BTS in 8th para)

SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korean boy group BTS has won three prizes at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), one of the three biggest pop music honors in the United States, Billboard said.

The septet won top duo or group, top song sales artist and top selling song (for its 2021 smash hit "Butter"), marking its sixth consecutive year to win at least one award at the BBMAs, the U.S. music magazine said Sunday (U.S. time), ahead of the awards show held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

BTS was nominated for seven awards in six categories with two songs, including "Permission to Dance," nominated in the top selling song section.

In the top duo or group category, the K-pop supergroup clinched the trophy, beating out two strong competitors, such as Silk Sonic, the American R&B duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak that won four honors from the 64th Grammy Awards, and British rock band Glass Animals. It marks BTS' third time to win top duo or group at the BBMAs following 2019 and 2021.

The band is tied with One Direction, a British-Irish male vocal group that has also collected three trophies in the category.

BTS also proved its strong presence by winning top song sales artist for the second consecutive year, beating other global stars, such as Adele, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and Walker Hayes.

BTS members, however, did not attend the ceremony, reportedly due to their busy schedules for a new album set to be out next month.
"Won #BBMAs for 6 consecutive years! Thank you for listening to our music and your support," the band wrote on its official Twitter account.

One of the three biggest U.S. pop music awards, along with the American Music Awards and the Grammy Awards, the BBMAs chooses winners based on Billboard charts.

This year's BBMAs reflected charts dated from April 10 last year to March 26 this year.

BTS has secured at least one trophy at the annual event every year since 2017. Last year, it was nominated for four awards and won all four.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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