The 2019 MTV Video Music Awards’ introduction of a new K-pop category this year immediately sparked controversy. Fans took to social media to voice concerns that the new “Best K-Pop” award was sidelining the South Korean genre out of the major categories.

Even so, the addition of the award is a big acknowledgement that the rise and influence of K-pop in America can no longer be ignored. In that spirit, Shannon Locke, host of the podcast “Ask Me About Kpop,” breaks down what you should know about the six nominated acts.

BTS: “Boy With Luv” (featuring Halsey)

Far and away the biggest K-pop success in the US, the seven-member boy band reached an impressive No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 with this airy track.

“Their lyrics are about overcoming hardships and learning to love yourself,” says Locke of the group that’s the heavy favorite to take home the Moon Person.

BLACKPINK: “Kill This Love”

The only girl group nominated, BLACKPINK took Coachella by storm in April, and its four badass beauties have collaborated with Dua Lipa.

“They’re the ideal version of what we call ‘girl crush concept,’ which is not necessarily the girls that the boys want to date, but girls that [other] girls want to be like,” says Locke.

Monsta X: “Who Do U Love?” (featuring French Montana)

“Monsta X is what we in the K-pop world call a ‘beast idol group,’ in that they’re very manly,” says Locke of the seven-member band. “Two of [them] are some of the buffest K-pop boys out there, so they have a ‘man’ vibe, as opposed to a ‘cute boy group’ vibe.”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER: “Cat & Dog”

The newest group to enter the scene, TXT just launched earlier this year with the bona fides of coming from the same agency as BTS.

“They’re little babies,” Locke says affectionately of the five young guys that wear animal ears in their nominated video. “It’s very much innocent.”

NCT 127: “Regular”

One unit of a large K-pop collective called Neo Culture Technology, this ten-member group scored a nod for a braggadocious hip-hop song that features a CGI tiger in the video. The 127 in their name refers to the longitude line that passes through Seoul, Korea.

EXO: “Tempo”

“Before BTS came along, EXO was ‘the’ group,” says Locke of the eldest act nominated.

EXO currently has nine members, but two of them are adhering to South Korea’s mandatory military enlistment law. That fate awaits many male K-pop performers, who must serve by age 28.