K-pop sensation BTS said Wednesday that it will not submit its music for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards, citing concerns over category divisions.
The seven members — RM, Jimin, V, Suga, Jungkook, Jin and j-Hope — uploaded the same statement to their individual Instagram accounts.
“We have decided not to enter the Grammys this year,” a translation of the message read. “I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
The hugely popular group from South Korea was widely expected to be nominated for some of the Recording Academy’s top accolades at the 69th Grammy Awards — including album of the year. The boyband’s most recent album, “Arirang,” has been one of the bestselling records of the year.
The album’s lead single, “Swim,” was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit in the United States.
Under the new categorizations, “Swim” might have been excluded from competing for best Asian pop music performance, one of the five new categories the Recording Academy announced last month. The new award categories were sold as an effort to boost inclusivity.
While a lot of BTS’ songs are in Korean, the lead track is mostly sung in English. A rulebook for the Grammy Awards specifies that the recordings for the new award “must feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.”
“An Asian language should play a significant role within the song in bilingual or multilingual structures such that the recording is identifiable with that language,” the rulebook reads.
Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement Wednesday that he was saddened by the group’s decision “but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision.”
He said the Asian Pop category was created to celebrate “the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia.”
“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,” Mason said.
He noted that submitting music in a specific genre category doesn’t exclude artists from also submitting and being considered general categories, such as Song of the Year.
Mason said the Grammys will “continue to listen to the global music community and work to honor and celebrate all the artists whose music moves the world.”
BTS, which formed in 2013 and has been compared to The Beatles, has previously performed at the Grammys and was the first K-pop act to receive a Grammy nomination. It has earned five nominations but so far hasn’t won.
BTS stands for the Korean phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan,” which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts.” The band has a huge global following and recently performed in the United States during the World Cup final’s halftime show.
On Wednesday, the group thanked its fans for their support.
“Thank you to Army and everyone who is always with us,” the band said.
