Global supergroup BTS announced on July 29, 2026, that they will not submit their comeback album ARIRANG
for 2027 Grammy Awards consideration, following the introduction of the Recording Academy’s new Asian Pop Music Performance category.
The decision by all seven members—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—sent shockwaves through the global music industry. The group simultaneously posted an identical statement across their individual Instagram accounts, declining to enter their music into any Grammy category for the upcoming cycle.
“We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year. I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. Thank you to ARMY and everyone who is always with us.”
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, BTS
The Recording Academy’s New Asian Pop Category
The announcement arrives just weeks after the Recording Academy unveiled five new categories for the 69th Grammy Awards. Among them is the Best Asian Pop Music Performance award, designed to recognize contemporary popular music originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop.
According to Billboard, the category guidelines specify that eligible recordings must feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages
to be identifiable with that language. While the Korean-language tracks on the group’s latest release would theoretically fit those parameters, the album’s English-language hit, Swim,
would be excluded from the genre-specific category entirely.
Industry critics and fans quickly pointed out the potential pitfalls of the new rules. Many expressed concern that carving out a specific Asian pop category could unintentionally isolate international acts, locking them into a subcategory rather than clearing a path toward the Grammys’ high-profile General Field categories like Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
ARIRANG Breaks Records Amid High Anticipation
The boycott hits particularly hard given the scale of the group’s current comeback. After fulfilling their mandatory military service, the seven members reunited to release their fifth studio album, ARIRANG, in March 2026.
The project dominated global charts. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 units in the United States alone—marking the biggest opening week for a group album in over a decade. The album also landed at No. 1 on South Korea’s Circle Chart, Japan’s Oricon Charts, Germany’s Album Chart, and the U.K. Official Albums Chart.
Meanwhile, the lead single Swim
debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group’s seventh chart-topper. Industry analysts had widely pegged the album as a frontrunner for major Grammy contention.
History of Nominations
The decision not to submit material also highlights a history with the American awards institution. BTS has earned five Grammy nominations across their career but has yet to take home a golden gramophone. Their nominations include three consecutive nods for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Dynamite
in 2021, Butter
in 2022, and their Coldplay collaboration My Universe
in 2023. They also received nods for Best Music Video for Yet to Come
and Album of the Year as featured artists on Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres.
Despite performing at the ceremony—including a remote broadcast from a Seoul skyscraper in 2021 and a spy-themed live rendition of Butter
in Las Vegas in 2022—the group has routinely missed out on wins.
Broader Repercussions for Western Award Shows
By opting out of the 2027 consideration cycle, BTS deprives the Grammy telecast of one of its most reliable global viewership draws. Beyond the immediate impact on the broadcast, industry observers note that the move could trigger wider conversations across the Western music landscape.
As global acts continue to break linguistic and geographic barriers, the question of whether separate genre categories promote genuine inclusion or reinforce industry stratification remains a central debate for artists and executives alike.
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