BTS Opt Out of 2027 Grammys, Citing New Asian Pop Category
K-pop powerhouse BTS have announced they will not submit their music for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards, a decision made public through a coordinated message shared by all seven members on Wednesday.
In a statement posted simultaneously by RM, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, Jung Kook and Jin, the group said: "We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language." The message, originally released in Korean, also thanked their fans, known as the BTS Army.
The announcement comes just over a month after the Recording Academy — the organisation that hosts the Grammys — introduced five new categories, including one for best Asian pop music performance. That new award has drawn criticism from some fans who say it creates a racialised barrier for Asian performers, a view echoed in online K-pop spaces where many complained the category pigeonholes artists rather than celebrating them.
BTS, who returned to the music scene after an almost four-year hiatus while completing South Korea's mandatory military service, were widely expected to be contenders in major Grammy categories. Their comeback album, Arirang, became one of the year's biggest-sellers, and its lead single, Swim, reached number one in the US.
However, the band's decision appears linked to the new Asian pop category. According to Grammy rules, songs nominated for best Asian pop music performance must contain "meaningful use" of an Asian language. More than 80% of the lyrics on Arirang are in English, which would have excluded it from that category. By referencing both region and language in their statement, the members appeared to reflect concerns about being boxed in by the new award.
The Recording Academy, which organises the ceremony, has not yet responded to the announcement.
BTS have never won a Grammy, despite five nominations: three for best pop duo/group performance, one for album of the year for their contributions to Coldplay's Music of the Spheres, and one for best music video for Yet to Come. They were the first K-pop act to receive a Grammy nomination, in 2021, for their all-English song Dynamite.
The band's history with the Grammys includes a performance of Butter at the 2022 ceremony, though they were overlooked in the awards that night. Up until this year, no K-pop act had ever won a Grammy; that changed when the song "Golden" from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters won best song for visual media at the most recent ceremony.
BTS's new album, Arirang, takes its name from a traditional Korean folk song often regarded as the country's unofficial national anthem. The band have been voting members of the Recording Academy since 2019, according to reports.
Perspectives
Fans and critics of the new category argue that the best Asian pop music performance award creates an exclusionary barrier, preventing Asian artists from competing in other Grammy categories and effectively segregating them by region or language. They see BTS's decision as a protest against being pigeonholed.
Supporters of the new category contend that it is simply the latest in a long line of genre-specific awards, one of more than 90 categories at the Grammys, and that it provides recognition for styles that might otherwise be overlooked. They note that the category was introduced alongside four others, reflecting the diversity of modern music.
The Recording Academy has yet to respond publicly to BTS's announcement.