The news came out as a coordinated Instagram post. All seven band members shared a joint statement saying they will not submit their reunion album, Arirang, or any of its songs, for the 2027 Grammy Awards. They finished their statement with a message for their fans. Many people believe BTS is boycotting the Grammys because of the award show’s new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.
The translation of the message read as “We have decided not to submit for Grammy consideration this year. We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.” “We sincerely thank ARMY and everyone who always supports us.” Many expected the band to be nominated for major Grammys, such as Album of the Year, because their comeback album, Arirang, was one of the best-selling records of the year.
Their top US hit, Swim, was also expected to be nominated for Song of the Year. However, because the song is in English, it wouldn’t have qualified for the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance award announced last month. The Grammys’ new “Best Asian Pop Music Performance” award has rules that do not allow English-language songs to compete. The Grammys require songs in this category to feature meaningful use of an Asian language.
Grammys Delete Their Past Performances?
It’s unclear if BTS’s Grammy performance videos were deleted from the Grammys’ website or are just temporarily down. BTS fans started asking questions after their Grammy performance videos disappeared from the Recording Academy’s website. This followed the group’s decision not to submit music for next year’s awards.
As of Thursday, links to BTS’s 2020 “Dynamite” and 2021 “Butter” Grammy performances show error pages on the Recording Academy’s website, which normally archives past shows. Many say that all performance clips from the 2021 and 2022 shows have disappeared from the official Grammy website.
How Grammy CEO Responded
After BTS decided not to submit their music for the 2027 Grammys, Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said he was disappointed by the choice. He explained that the new Asian Pop category was meant to expand recognition, not divide artists. In his statement, Mason said, “I am saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision.”
Mason also added, “I do want to clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation. The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia. The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters.”
He also clarified that submitting music to a genre category like Asian Pop, Jazz, or Country doesn’t stop artists from also competing for top awards like Record, Album, or Song of the Year, meaning artists can pursue both at the same time.
HYBE Confirms It Is NOT Boycotting the GRAMMY Awards
BTS’s agency released a statement regarding the situation. They stated, “It’s hard to accept that the Grammys changed these rules right when BTS has the best chance of winning a main award.” However, the company clarified that it isn’t a company-wide boycott. An official added that other artists can still participate as scheduled if they want to.. HYBE added that BTS thought about whether to participate until the last minute. They ultimately chose to step back for the good of K-pop and the music industry.
Analysts say BTS’s decision could push other award shows to change their rules. This is especially true since all four major U.S. music awards have recently added K-pop categories. Even so, neither BTS nor HYBE has asked other artists to boycott.
Fans’ Reaction
The controversy has caused a massive online reaction, with fans worldwide praising BTS for choosing fairness over awards. Users across X are furious that the group’s 2021 and 2022 performance videos have disappeared. They are calling it a petty act of retaliation by the Academy. At the same time, Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. tried to calm the backlash by saying he is sad about the decision. He also defended the new Asian Pop category as a way to celebrate artists, not separate them. However, his response only made things worse. It left fans and critics feeling that the Academy still doesn’t understand the core issue of systemic categorization.
Creating a segregated category instead of judging music as music is wild. BTS made the right call
That a good decision they make for not submitting their music; the more we get artists like them Grammy awards will not be favouring some artists more than others who deserve to get it
You cannot look at the largest, most culturally and linguistically diverse continent on Earth and decide that ONE category is an adequate representation of its artistry. That’s not recognition. That’s segregation!
They say artists can still enter the big categories, but it almost never happens for non Western artists.
Big respect to BTS for saying no.
Looking Back at BTS’s History with the Grammys
They were the first K-Pop band to receive a nomination at the Grammys in 2021 for Dynamite. This was their first song performed completely in English. All seven members have been voting members of the Recording Academy since 2019. They have graced the Grammy stage multiple times and earned four additional nominations, including Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video.
The Grammys have struggled for years to properly reflect K-pop’s massive growth. To help fix this, the Academy expanded its voting panel in 2025 to include major Korean artists like ENHYPEN’s Jungwon, SEVENTEEN’s Woozi and Vernon, LE SSERAFIM’s Huh Yunjin, and all six members of KATSEYE. The numbers were boosted again this year when members of Twice and Stray Kids were granted voting privileges.
