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BTS spent years chasing Grammys; now tables have turned
K-pop boy group BTS / Courtesy of BigHit Music
By Pyo Kyung-min
BTS' move unlikely to produce an immediate industry-wide boycott
For years, BTS spoke openly of the Grammys as a goal. On Wednesday, the group walked away from them at the very moment it appeared likeliest to finally win.
In a joint statement posted to their individual Instagram accounts Wednesday, the seven BTS members said they have decided not to submit anything to the Grammys this year, adding that they hope music "can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."
The announcement came just over a month after the Recording Academy unveiled five new categories for the 69th Grammy Awards, among them Best Asian Pop Music Performance, a prize for performances rooted in Asian markets that make "meaningful use" of one or more Asian languages.
The statement did not name the category, but has been widely read as a response to it.
K-pop boy band BTS performs at the Half Time Show during the 2026 World Cup final match between Spain and Argentina at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., July 19. AFP-Yonhap
The decision carries the weight of history. Between 2021 and 2023, BTS collected five Grammy nominations without a win for "Dynamite," "Butter," "My Universe" or "Yet to Come" and the group's credited work on Coldplay's "Music of the Spheres." Each cycle, the members described the Grammys as the "last summit" left to climb.
What has changed since those near misses is BTS' own standing.
The group returned in March from its military service hiatus with "ARIRANG," its fifth studio album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and topped charts in 23 countries, while lead single "SWIM" debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100, the group's highest entry to date.
On May 25, BTS swept all three of its categories at the 52nd American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year. On July 19, the septet took the stage at the FIFA World Cup final halftime show at MetLife Stadium, sharing the bill with Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber.
By the time the academy opened submissions on July 7, BTS was widely projected as an album of the year frontrunner.
Las Vegas landmarks glow red as part of "BTS THE CITY ARIRANG - LAS VEGAS," a citywide campaign launched July 20 ahead of K-pop boy band BTS' concerts in the city, July 23-24 and 27-28. Courtesy of BigHit Music
"SWIM" is performed in English, meaning the chart-topping single would not even qualify for the new category. An award that explicitly cites K-pop among the genres it honors has no room for K-pop's biggest hit of the year.
The timing is delicate for the academy. The ceremony on Feb. 7, 2027 will be the first to air on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu after more than five decades on CBS, a debut for which a BTS performance would have been a ratings centerpiece.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responded Wednesday (local time), saying he was "saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year," while adding that "as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision."
Mason also pushed back on the reading that the new category sidelines Asian acts.
"Submitting music in a genre category such as Asian Pop, or Jazz or Country does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the General Field categories," he said. "Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both."
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of The Recording Academy, poses amongst commemorative records he has worked on during his career at Harvey Mason Media music production studios in Burbank, Calif., Oct. 11, 2021. AP-Yonhap
However, Korean critics have largely interpreted BTS' decision as a challenge to the academy's approach to categorizing music, arguing that the dispute is less about award eligibility than about separating artists by region and language.
Lee Gyu-tag, a professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea, said the issue went beyond whether K-pop acts remained eligible for the Grammys' general categories.
"Creating a separate award for Asian music, including K-pop, amounts to declaring that non-Western and non-English-language music will be treated apart from the Grammys' main stage," Lee told a local media outlet. "For BTS, which already occupies a place among global musicians rather than simply Korean or Asian acts, there is little reason to remain fixated on Grammy recognition."
By declining to submit, he added, BTS had not only removed itself from another cycle of speculation over whether it would finally win, but had also made clear its opposition to what he described as the academy's "segregation" of non-Western music.
Girl group KATSEYE performs "Gnarly" during the 68th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Feb. 1. The group, nominated for Best New Artist, became the first act rooted in the K-pop system to earn a nod in the Grammys' general field, less than two years after its debut. Courtesy of HYBE
The move, however, is unlikely to produce an immediate industry-wide boycott, according to an international public relations official at a major Korean entertainment company. While BTS has enough global stature to forgo the Grammy exposure, most K-pop acts continue to view even a genre-category nomination as a valuable opportunity to expand their global profiles.
"BTS is in a position that very few artists can replicate. For most agencies, submitting to the Grammys still offers significant promotional value," the official said.
"But companies will be watching closely to see whether the new category expands opportunities for Asian artists or ultimately keeps them confined to a separate space," they added.