Reputable American media Variety recently published an article titled "BTS' 10 Top Moments of 2020 That Brought Them to the Grammys," listing 10 major reasons which led BTS to their first-ever Grammy stage and nomination.

One of the reasons listed is "Rising Public Profile," where several major milestones achieved by BTS in 2020 which strengthened their presence among the general public beyond their music, are highlighted. These include:

1. Speaking up at YouTube’s “Dear Class of 2020” virtual graduation event alongside Barack and Michelle Obama.

2. Speaking alongside South Korea’s President Moon Jae In to kick off South Korea’s first annual National Youth Day.

3. Made a special video appearance at the virtual U.N. General Assembly, offering up a speech about resilience in the face of uncertainty during the pandemic.

4. Being awarded the Van Fleet Award for their role in promoting U.S.-Korean cultural ties.

5. Being named TIME magazine’s “Entertainer of the Year” for 2020.

Listed alongside all these major group achievements, is Jungkook’s own individual feat.

Variety included Jungkook winning the prestigious People magazine’s “Sexiest International Man” title as one of the contributors to BTS’s rising public profile in 2020. It is the only individual achievement by a BTS member which is included.

This truly showcases the huge scale and how big of a deal it was that Jungkook not only managed to get nominated, but he also won the prestigious title. Jungkook’s winning an “international” category is also an honour to Asian male representative. The Golden Maknae truly had made a name for himself and for his group, contributed to BTS’s rising public profile which led to the group’s first-ever Grammy stage and nomination.

This isn’t the first time reputable media indirectly mentioning Jungkook’s contribution in getting BTS their Grammy nomination. Previously, Rolling Stone U.S. and NME mentioned Jungkook as the highlight of BTS’ Grammy-nominated hit ‘Dynamite.’

Rolling Stone said, “All seven of them show off, though Jungkook takes the spotlight when he yells “Cup of milk, let’s rock & roll / King Kong beat the drum / Roll on like a Rolling Stone!””

NME highlighted Jungkook's part as their "best bit," praising his beautiful vocals:

"The combo of the stomping beat and Jungkook’s caramel cries ushering in a crescendo that somehow ups the already skyscraping euphoria to even greater heights."