"For a english song by non-koreans ?"- Fans slam MTV VMAs 2025 for awarding Best K-Pop to BLACKPINK's Lisa, Doja Cat & Raye's 'Born Again'

BLACKPINK’s Lisa won Best K-Pop at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards for her track Born Again with Doja Cat and Raye. However, the decision has sparked heated debate online. The ceremony, held on September 7 at UBS Arena in New York, was packed with big wins.

The award for "Best K-Pop" went to Born Again, an English-language collaboration between Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye. It beat strong contenders, including BTS’ Jimin’s Who, Stray Kids’ Chk Chk Boom, aespa’s Whiplash, Rosé’s Toxic Till the End, Jisoo’s Earthquake, and Jennie’s Like Jennie.

The Rockstar singer’s win marked her third in four years, tying her with BTS for the most Best K-Pop awards since the category was introduced in 2019. While the idol expressed gratitude in a pre-recorded message, thanking fans and collaborators, the decision to place an English-language pop track under “K-Pop” did not sit well with many viewers.

Social media quickly filled with criticism. Some netizens questioned how a song with no Korean lyrics and only one K-pop idol involved qualified for the category. One X user, @freakingdreamy, wrote:

"Kpop award for a english song by non-koreans ?!?!?!"

Others argued that the VMAs were blurring genre boundaries and undermining Korean artists who had released music in their native language this year. One widely shared post read that giving a K-pop award to “three non-Korean artists for an English song” was absurd.

Another said the category seemed “rigged,” while others pointed out that the song would have been more suited under Best Pop or Best Collaboration.

More on Lisa’s win, her career, and the VMAs 2025 highlights

Despite the criticism, BLACKPINK's rapper's achievement cements her status as one of the most consistent performers in the category. She previously won Best K-Pop in 2022 with Lalisa and again in 2024 with Rockstar. Here is every winner of MTV's Best K-Pop award from 2019 to 2025:

2019: BTS (ft. Halsey) – Boy With Luv
2020: BTS - ON
2021: BTS - Butter
2022: BLACKPINK's Lisa - Lalisa
2023: Stray Kids - S-Class
2024: BLACKPINK's Lisa - Rockstar
2025: BLACKPINK's Lisa (ft. Doja Cat & Raye) - Born Again

The win also gave Doja Cat her sixth VMA trophy and marked Raye’s first-ever victory, a milestone in her career following multiple nominations last year.

Meanwhile, BLACKPINK as a group also won Group of the Year, while Rosé and Bruno Mars made history with APT., which won Song of the Year. This marked Rosé as the first K-pop artist to achieve the honor.

The Dream artist has been steadily expanding her global profile throughout 2025. Her solo album Alter Ego dropped earlier this year. She made her debut with Rockstar, followed by Born Again, both released under her label LLOUD in partnership with RCA.

She also made headlines for balancing her music career with acting, filming The White Lotus while working on her album.

Still, the decision to award Born Again under Best K-Pop continues to divide audiences. For some, it highlights the singer's impact as a global K-pop star breaking boundaries. For others, it raises questions about how award shows define and represent the genre on an international stage.

Currently, BLACKPINK is on their DEADLINE World tour.

About the author

Mantasha is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda who covers K-pop and K-drama. She has recently completed her Masters in English and has a rich 3-year writing experience where she crafted engaging content for top companies such as Unacademy, Apollo Hospitals, Adani Airports, and the Economic Times. Her experience has helped her create a strong foundation that complements her passion for creating the best content related to K-pop, K-dramas and Korean movies.

Mantasha's interest in pop culture took root when her cousin introduced her to classic Hollywood and Bollywood tunes and the rest, as they say, is history. Mantasha’s connection with K-pop supergroup BTS is a special one as their song lyrics, hard work, and dedication resonate with her like no other group does.

Maintaining accuracy, relevance, and ethics in her reporting is extremely essential for Mantasha. She prioritizes thorough research, delving deep beyond just superficial sources, to ensure comprehensive and trustworthy information.

When not writing, Mantasha enjoys journaling and doodling, watching K-dramas and listening to songs.

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Edited by Shubham Soni