BTS won’t submit music for Grammys, says songs should be judged beyond region and language
BTS announced on Wednesday, July 29, that they will not submit music for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards, telling fans they want their work “heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
“We thank the ARMY and everyone who has always stood by us,” they added. All seven members shared the same statement on their individual Instagram accounts, just over a month after the Recording Academy unveiled a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category for the show’s 69th edition.
According to the category’s rules, it recognizes performances “originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets,” a group that explicitly includes K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, provided the entry makes “meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.”
The rulebook further specifies that an Asian language must “play a significant role within the song in bilingual or multilingual structures such that the recording is identifiable with that language.”
This part gave the band a disadvantage as the band’s most recent album, Arirang, ranked among the year’s bestselling records, but its lead single was recorded mostly in English, a detail that would have affected the group’s eligibility for the very category many assumed was built with them in mind.
Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responded to the news in a statement of his own, saying he was saddened by the group’s choice but understood it.
“As a music creator, I understand and respect their decision,” he said, adding that the new category exists to celebrate “the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia.” Mason added that the new catergory means to expand the field of nominees instead of separating them saying, “expanding categories means more artists’ works will be recognized.”
“The Asian Pop category was newly established to celebrate the depth, diversity and remarkable growth of pop art born in Asia” he continued, “The purpose of this new category is to shine a spotlight on outstanding Asian artists.”
“It should be made clear that submitting music to genre-specific categories like Asian Pop, Jazz, or Country does not disqualify entries from general field categories, including ‘Record of the Year,’ ‘Album of the Year,’ and ‘Song of the Year.’ These general categories are open to all eligible recordings regardless of genre,” he clrified.
BTS holds a distinct place in Grammy history despite never taking home a competitive trophy. The group became the first K-pop act nominated for a Grammy when “Dynamite” earned a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nod at the 2021 ceremony.
“Butter” picked up a nomination the following year and by 2023 the band had three nominations in a single cycle, including one for “My Universe,” its collaboration with Coldplay. These nominations made BTS the most-nominated Korean act in Grammy history, though all five nominations ended without a win.
The group’s Grammy record sits alongside a broader run of mainstream recognition earned outside the Recording Academy. BTS won the Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist five times between 2017 and 2021, was named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards in both 2021 and 2026 and became the most awarded group in Billboard Music Award history in 2022.
BTS is currently on its Arirang World Tour in support of its 2026 album Arirang and recently wrapped their European run in Paris. The band followed that stretch with an appearance at the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show on July 19 at MetLife Stadium.