BTS Pulls Out of 2027 Grammys Over Asian Pop Award
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- BTS (all seven members) announced they will not enter the 2027 Grammys, with each member writing on Instagram: "We hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."
- The Recording Academy introduced the best Asian pop music performance category last month alongside best Latin song, with president Harvey Mason Jr saying artists wanted "more opportunities to celebrate different and new genres."
- BTS's recent album Arirang is overwhelmingly in Korean, making them a near-certainty for the new category, which requires "meaningful use" of an Asian language; the Recording Academy has not commented on their decision.
- No K-pop act was nominated at the Grammys until BTS in 2021; this year's ceremony saw "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters become the first K-pop winner (best song written for visual media).
- Other new 2027 Grammy categories include best R&B collaboration or duo/group performance, best traditional pop vocal performance, and best traditional folk album.
- The 2027 Grammy ceremony will be held 7 February in Los Angeles.
Why it matters: The Recording Academy created the Asian pop category to expand recognition, but BTS's withdrawal — the world's most prominent K-pop act — suggests the move isolates Asian artists from the Grammys' top prizes rather than elevating them. Asian and Latin pop markets already command vast US revenues after decades of maturity, directly contradicting the Academy's framing of these genres as "new."
