BTS will not be entering their album ARIRANG for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards.
In syndicated Instagram stories shared across all seven members’ accounts, RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook issued a statement on their decision. Translated from Korean by the Meta-owned platform, each statement reads:
“We have decided not to enter the Grammys this year. I hope music itself can be heard and loved rather than being distinguished by region or language.”
Each member then thanked BTS fans, known as ARMY, and “all of you who are always with me,” to close the statement.
The K-pop powerhouse’s decision to not put their sixth studio album forward for the Grammys comes a month after the Recording Academy’s addition of five new award categories in June, including Best Asian Pop Music Performance. This award in particular came under scrutiny from K-pop fans and journalists alike, called out as another example of the Grammys splitting awards when non-white artists and artists who perform in languages other than English dominate the cultural zeitgeist and deservedly take home the gold.
The Grammys’ description for Best Asian Pop Music Performance describes the award as one that “recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.” The rules have a few more paragraphs of detail, but essentially, the award groups “Asian pop” into one generalised category, which is separate from major categories like Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
Teen Vogue‘s Ayan Artan placed the Grammys’ new Best Asian Pop Music Performance award “as part of a history of gatekeeping non-white artists from major award categories.”
“There seems to be a pattern emerging here, and it becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss it the more you pay attention,” Artan writes. “It goes like this: A non-white artist breaks into mainstream-music consciousness by delivering a critically acclaimed project and looks likely to win a Grammy in a major category. Soon after, a new category is announced by the Recording Academy to help segregate these artists.”
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BTS’ ARIRANG landed in March, marking the anticipated return of the K-pop superstars after a four-year hiatus, during which they fulfilled South Korea’s mandatory military service and spent time on solo projects. ARIRANG, as well as lead single “SWIM,” both debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The album was critically heralded. The group’s 34-city, 82-show ARIRANG world tour is essentially completely sold out. To say BTS’ comeback album is leading mainstream music conversation is an understatement.
And it’s BTS’ own statements that show just how aware of the Grammys award-splitting the group seems to be: “I hope music itself can be heard and loved rather than being distinguished by region or language.”
BTS has five Grammy nominations, the first K-pop artists to be nominated, and have performed at the Grammys several times, including the 64th Grammy Awards in 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, before their hiatus.
BTS perform during the 64th Grammy Awards in April 2022 in Las Vegas.
Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images
Fans have reacted to BTS’ decision with wholehearted support, with ARMY hitting social media with praise.
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Mashable has reached out to the Recording Academy and HYBE, the company that owns BTS’ label Big Hit Music, for comment.
On Thursday, Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. issued a statement on BTS’ decision, per Variety, saying he was “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 Jr. explained in his statement that “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.”
The CEO also maintained that “submitting music in a genre category such as Asian Pop, or Jazz or Country does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the General Field categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.”
UPDATE: Jul. 30, 2026, 9:46 a.m. GMT Added statement from Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
