BTS will not submit the album ARIRANG or their other releases for the 2027 Grammy Awards. Here is what is known about the group’s decision and the controversy surrounding the new Asian music category.
South Korean group BTS has decided not to submit its releases for consideration at the 69th Grammy Awards, which will take place in February 2027. The announcement was published on July 29 across the social media accounts of all seven members — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook.
The musicians said they would not submit their work to the Recording Academy for consideration this year. BTS emphasised that they want music to be heard and appreciated for its substance rather than confined by regional or linguistic boundaries. The group concluded its statement by thanking ARMY and everyone who continues to support them.
The decision means that one of the biggest releases of 2026 — the album ARIRANG, along with its related tracks — will not be part of BTS’s current campaign for Grammy nominations.
Is BTS’s decision connected to the new category?
The members of BTS did not directly state that they were boycotting the awards specifically because of the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category. However, their wording about music existing “beyond region or language,” combined with the timing of the statement, led Korean and international media outlets to interpret the decision as a protest against the new classification system.
The Recording Academy introduced the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category on June 16, 2026. It will be one of five new categories at the 69th Grammy Awards, alongside awards for R&B collaboration, traditional pop vocal performance, traditional folk album and Latin song.
According to the official rules, the new category is intended for vocal singles and tracks belonging to contemporary popular music that originated in Asian markets or gained widespread recognition there. The Academy cites K-pop, J-pop and C-pop as examples.
One of the main requirements is the substantial use of at least one Asian language. Individual words, short phrases or ad-libs are not sufficient. Songs performed entirely in English are not eligible for this category, although they may still be submitted in other appropriate categories. The Academy also specifies that musical style, rather than the performer’s nationality or ethnic background, should be the determining factor.
Why has the new category caused controversy?
The Academy presents the new award as recognition of the growing influence of Asian pop music. From this perspective, a dedicated category could increase the representation of K-pop, J-pop and C-pop among Grammy nominees and winners.
Critics, however, fear the opposite effect. In their view, a separate category defined by region and language could become a kind of “closed corridor” into which Asian artists are directed instead of having their work fully considered in the main pop categories and the so-called Big Four: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
It is important to note that there is no formal rule preventing Asian artists from competing in the main categories. The debate concerns not so much eligibility requirements as the possible behaviour of voters: the existence of a specialised category may allow Academy members to support a K-pop release in a separate field without considering it alongside American and European pop recordings in the awards’ most prestigious categories.
The definition of “Asian pop music” itself has also raised questions. Asia encompasses numerous countries, languages and musical traditions, and some commentators regard the grouping of such different industries within a single category as an excessive simplification.
Why BTS’s withdrawal attracted particular attention
BTS had been regarded as one of the strongest contenders to secure the first victory in the new category. In March 2026, the group released its fifth studio album, ARIRANG — its first full-length group project in six years and its most significant collective release following the completion of the members’ military service. The album contains 14 tracks.
ARIRANG debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 equivalent album units in its first week, becoming BTS’s seventh album to top the US chart. Its lead single, SWIM, simultaneously reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, SWIM is performed entirely in English and would therefore not meet the current eligibility requirements for Best Asian Pop Music Performance. Several other tracks on ARIRANG contain Korean-language sections, although a special Academy screening committee would have been responsible for determining whether each song satisfied the category’s language criteria.
ARIRANG’s commercial success made the upcoming awards season one of BTS’s most promising opportunities to win its first Grammy. The group has received five nominations to date, including recognition for Dynamite, Butter, My Universe, the Yet to Come music video and its participation in Coldplay’s album Music of the Spheres, but it has yet to secure a win.
What happens next?
Submissions for the 69th Grammy Awards are open from July 7 to August 21, 2026. The nominees will be announced on November 16, while the ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on February 7, 2027. The eligibility period covers recordings released between August 31, 2025, and August 28, 2026.
BTS has not announced a complete or indefinite break with the Recording Academy. Its statement applies to the current awards cycle, meaning the group could theoretically return to the competition in future years.
Nevertheless, the decision by one of the most influential groups in contemporary pop music has transformed the dispute surrounding the new category into a broader conversation about how Western awards institutions evaluate global musical phenomena. BTS is effectively calling for Asian music to be considered not only as a separate regional sector, but as a fully integrated part of the international mainstream.
