The group’s decision follows the Recording Academy’s introduction of a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, which they see as segregating music by region and language.
BTS will not submit their music for consideration at the 69th annual Grammy Awards, the seven members announced in identical statements on Instagram Stories Wednesday. “We have decided not to submit for Grammy consideration this year,” they wrote. “We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
The decision lands one month after the Recording Academy unveiled the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, set to debut at the February 7, 2027 ceremony. The category recognizes “artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.” For a group like BTS—nominated five times since 2019, never a winner—the creation of a language- and region-specific honor appears to have clarified where they see their work fitting. Or not fitting.
BTS aren’t the first major act to step back from the Grammys. The Weeknd boycotted the awards after being shut out of nominations in 2021, and Drake withdrew his two nominations the following year. In each case, the protest highlighted structural tensions between the artists’ global reach and the institution’s frameworks. BTS’s move, though quiet in tone, makes a similar point: that a dedicated category for Asian pop can look less like recognition than partition.
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ROMBO Editorial Staff
The collective voice behind ROMBO Magazine’s news, reviews, features, and cultural coverage.
