BTS Boycotts the Grammys Over New 'Best Asian Pop Music Performance' Category
All seven members of BTS announced July 29 that they will not submit music for consideration at the 69th Grammy Awards, set for February 7, 2027, in an apparent protest of a new category the Recording Academy created in mid-June. Each member posted an identical statement, in Korean, saying they hope music can be heard and loved for what it is rather than divided by region or language, and thanking their fan base, ARMY, for its support.
The new category, Best Asian Pop Music Performance, was created to recognize K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and similar genres featuring Asian languages. The move comes after BTS's newest album, Arirang, had been considered a contender for major categories this year. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement he was saddened by BTS's decision but respected it, while defending the new category as intended to expand recognition for Asian pop artists rather than sideline them.
The case for:
Segregating Asian-language music into its own category can function as a soft ceiling, letting voters recognize the genre while still excluding it from top prizes like Album of the Year.
BTS's collective statement, delivered in Korean rather than English, was widely read as a deliberate rejection of being filtered into a niche box after years of chart-topping global success.
The move echoes long-standing complaints from Black artists in R&B and rap about genre categories used to avoid awarding them in top categories.
The case against:
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. says the category was created specifically to grow recognition for Asian pop artists who historically had little pathway to any Grammy at all.
A dedicated category guarantees Asian-language acts a shot at a Grammy in a year when they might otherwise be overlooked in genre-blind categories dominated by English-language releases.
Other K-pop and Asian pop acts may benefit from the increased visibility and voter attention a standalone category brings, even if BTS itself opts out.
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Sources:
#BTS #Grammys #KPop #RecordingAcademy #MusicIndustry
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