BTS Announces They Won’t Submit Music to Grammys, Allegedly Over Controversial Asian Pop Category

BTS will sit out the 2027 Grammy Awards race. The seven-member group announced that they will not submit their comeback album ARIRANG or any of its songs for Grammy consideration. The move came weeks after the Recording Academy unveiled five new Grammy categories, including Best Asian Pop Music Performance, which covers K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and other Asian pop genres. Although the group did not specify the reason behind their decision, fans and critics have blamed the introduction of the new category as yet another attempt to pigeonhole international artists in the awards ceremony.  

In a joint statement, the seven members wrote, “We have decided not to submit for Grammys this year. Rather than music being divided by region or language, we hope music itself can be heard and loved for what it is.” The announcement quickly became a major topic across the music industry, where artists, critics and fans have continued to debate whether region-specific categories create additional opportunities or encourage voters to group musicians according to geography rather than evaluate them across the broader field. The conversation gained further attention after fans noticed that several BTS performance videos had disappeared from the Grammys’ official YouTube channel. The Recording Academy has not publicly explained the removals.

Meanwhile, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. released a statement noting he was “saddened” about the band’s action, while emphasizing that the category “was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia.” Mason added that artists remain eligible for the Grammys’ general field awards regardless of whether they compete in genre-specific categories, stressing that the Academy’s goal is to expand opportunities rather than limit them.

The Grammys remain the only major music award BTS have yet to win despite multiple nominations throughout their career. However, the K-Pop supergroup isn’t in anyway lacking in any other front. BTS are in the midst of the North American leg of their ARIRANG World Tour, which has produced sold-out stadium shows and follows the chart-topping success of their first full-group album since completing military service.