BTS Named TIME's 2020 Entertainer of the Year

In addition to TIME naming BTS the 2020 Entertainer of the Year, the magazine dubbed LeBron James the 2020 Athlete of the Year. Scroll on to see the shortlist for Person of the Year.

By Elyse Dupre Dec 10, 2020 5:39 PMTags
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Ready for some dynamite news? BTS was just named TIME's 2020 Entertainer of the Year! The magazine announced the honor on Thursday, Dec. 10. 

Ever since the K-pop group was formed in 2010, its members—RM, 26; Jin, 28; Suga, 27; J-Hope, 26; Jimin, 25; V, 24; and Jung Kook, 23—have experienced enormous success. They've had three no. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, racked up billions of YouTube views with their music videos, formed an ARMY of fans and secured their first Grammy nomination. They're also activists, donating $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraging their followers to match this amount earlier this year.

"We're not sure if we've actually earned respect," RM told the magazine. "But one thing for sure is that [people] feel like, OK, this is not just some kind of a syndrome, a phenomenon….These little boys from Korea are doing this."

And there's no telling what's next for the stars. "There are times when I'm still taken aback by all the unimaginable things that are happening," Suga said. "But I ask myself, 'Who's going to do this, if not us?'"

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Your Guide to K-Pop From BTS and Beyond

In addition to naming BTS Entertainer of the Year, TIME declared LeBron James Athlete of the Year. The Los Angeles Lakers star has won four NBA championships over the course of his career. He's also a leader off the court, launching the nonprofit More Than a Vote and the I Promise School.

John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

As for who will be dubbed Person of the Year, readers will just have to wait and see. Although, the shortlist includes President-elect Joe Biden, President Donald Trump, the movement for racial justice and Dr. Anthony Fauci and the frontline health workers.

The winner will be revealed during the NBC TIME Person of the Year special, which airs Thursday, Dec. 10 at 10:00 p.m. EST. There will be a number of celebrity guests, too. E! News can exclusively reveal that Bruce Springsteen, Matthew McConaughey, Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Bryant will appear on the special. Issa Rae, Yo-Yo Ma, John Cena, Mark Cuban and Katie Couric will be a part of the show, as well.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family).