Overview
- On Wednesday the seven members of BTS posted a joint statement saying they will not submit music for Grammy consideration for the 2027 awards because they oppose dividing music by region or language.
- The band cited the Recording Academy’s June decision to add five categories, including a "Best Pop Asian Music" award, which BTS and supporters say risks confining Asian and non‑English work to separate prizes.
- HYBE, BTS’s management company, said the move is a personal decision by the members and not an institutional boycott, and that other artists on the label remain free to enter the Grammys.
- BTS’s absence removes their commercially successful 2026 album ARIRANG from contention and undercuts what many industry observers had viewed as a likely Album of the Year challenge.
- Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responded that new categories aim to recognize more artists while leaving general‑field awards open, and the dispute has prompted public debate among voters, fans and media about how the Academy treats global music.