BTS pulls out of Grammys after Asian pop category introduction

BTS withdraws from Grammys over new Asian pop category

K-pop supergroup BTS has announced it will not submit its music for next year's Grammy Awards, a decision widely seen as a protest against the Recording Academy's introduction of a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category. The group's members said in coordinated social media posts that they hoped music could be "heard and loved for what it is, rather than divided by region or language," as reported by multiple outlets.

BTS, which returned to the music scene this year with their fifth studio album Arirang after a hiatus for mandatory military service, had been widely tipped for several top Grammy honors, including Album of the Year, according to France 24 and the South China Morning Post. The group has received multiple nominations in past years but has never won.

The Recording Academy announced the new category last month, along with four other new awards for the 69th Grammys, scheduled for February 2027. The academy said the category was created to "celebrate the depth, diversity, and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia," as quoted by France 24 and the South China Morning Post. The category requires "meaningful use" of an Asian language, a detail reported by The Guardian.

Coverage comparison

Reports on the story vary in emphasis and detail. ABC Australia framed the decision as a "boycott" and noted the Grammys have "long faced criticism for being more conservative and exclusive toward non-white artists." France 24 and the South China Morning Post described it as a protest against the new category, with the latter noting that BTS's album Arirang would not have qualified for the new category because it uses mostly English lyrics.

The Guardian reported that BTS's recent material is overwhelmingly in Korean, making them a near-certainty for inclusion in the new category, and characterized the group's statement as a "striking – if gently worded – rebuke" of the academy. The Guardian also noted that the academy announced the category in response to "our music community sharing with us that they felt they needed to have more opportunities to celebrate different and new genres of music," as stated by academy president Harvey Mason Jr. at the time.

Yonhap News reported that the decision was "apparently in protest" over the new category and that the group's fanbase, known as ARMY, voiced support for the decision. Yonhap also reported that the Recording Academy's CEO expressed sadness over the group's decision.

Key claims

• BTS will not submit music for next year's Grammy Awards, as confirmed by all sources.
• The decision is widely attributed to the introduction of the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.
• BTS members stated they hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than divided by region or language.
• The Recording Academy created the new category to celebrate Asian pop artistry, according to academy statements.
• The category requires meaningful use of an Asian language, as reported by The Guardian.
• The Grammys have faced longstanding criticism for being conservative and exclusive toward non-white artists, as reported by ABC Australia and Yonhap.
• ARMY, BTS's fanbase, has voiced support for the decision, as reported by Yonhap.

Perspectives

BTS: The group announced their decision in a coordinated social media statement, expressing hope that music could be "heard and loved for what it is, rather than divided by region or language." The members did not explicitly mention the new category, but the move is widely seen as a protest against it.

Recording Academy: CEO Harvey Mason Jr. issued a statement saying he was "saddened" by BTS's decision but respected it. He defended the new category as a way to celebrate Asian pop artistry and insisted it was "never to divide," adding that recognition in genre categories does not preclude artists from competing in top General Field honors.