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BTS Snubs Grammys: No Music Submission Next Year
BTS Says "No Thanks" to the Grammys: Here’s Why the Biggest Band in the World Is Sitting Out
The Big News in Simple Terms
Imagine you’re the most popular kid in school. You’ve won every award there is—best dancer, best singer, most liked. Then the teachers create a new award just for "kids from your neighborhood." You’d probably feel a little weird, right? Like they’re putting you in a box?
That’s exactly what happened with BTS and the Grammy Awards.
In March 2026, the seven members of BTS posted a joint statement on Instagram: they will not submit their music for the 2027 Grammy Awards.
"We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year… I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."
— BTS Official Statement
Why Did They Do This? The Backstory
1. A Brand-New Category Appears
A little over a month before BTS’s announcement, the Recording Academy (the group that runs the Grammys) announced a new category for the 2027 ceremony: "Best Asian Pop Music Performance."
2. The Academy’s Intentions
Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said the category was created to:
- Celebrate the "depth, diversity, and extraordinary growth" of Asian pop
- Shine a "dedicated spotlight" on these artists
- Allow artists to also enter general categories like Record of the Year
3. But There’s a Catch (The "One Song, One Category" Rule)
According to Grammy rules, a single song can only be entered in ONE performance category per year.
| If BTS enters "Arirang" in… | They CANNOT also enter it in… |
|---|---|
| Best Asian Pop Music Performance | Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (where they were nominated in 2021 & 2022) |
| Best Pop Duo/Group Performance | Best Asian Pop Music Performance |
This forces a choice: Compete in the new "Asian" box or the main "everyone" box. Not both.
Why Fans and Experts Are Upset
Fan Voices: "It Feels Like Segregation"
Will Scragg, 27 (UK superfan):
"I feel like it’s a way to keep BTS out of the main, more prestigious categories. It feels like it’s a way to sideline Asian artists."
— Has seen BTS live in London AND MunichEleri Williams, 22 (Wales, seen BTS 10 times):
"I think the purpose of music is to bring people together, and this is just another form of segregation."
Expert Opinion: "Unnecessary and Flawed"
Matthew Pellegrino (NYU music professor & K-pop expert) calls the category:
- "Veiled under the guise of good intentions"
- A way to "place Asian artists into a separate box that makes them unequal to mainstream American pop artists"
- Fundamentally flawed because "Asia" isn’t one sound—it’s dozens of countries, languages, and styles
Pellegrino’s pointed question:
"Bruno Mars has Asian heritage—should he be in the Asian Grammy category? Or perhaps the Latin Grammy category?"
(Bruno Mars is of Filipino, Puerto Rican, and Jewish descent)
Wait—Don’t Other "Regional" Categories Exist?
Yes, they do. The Grammys already have:
- Best Latin Jazz Album
- Best Tropical Latin Album
- Best African Music Performance
But here’s the difference fans and experts highlight:
Those categories are often genre-based (Jazz, Tropical) or continent-wide (African Music Performance covers 54 countries with wildly different sounds). The new "Asian Pop" category lumps together K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, T-pop, and more—styles that have almost nothing in common except geography.
BTS: A Quick Resume (In Case You’ve Been Living Under a Rock)
Since forming in 2010, BTS has:
- Won Billboard’s Top Social Artist 5 times (2017–2021)
- Named Artist of the Year at the AMAs (2021, 2026)
- Became the most awarded group in Billboard Music Awards history (2022)
- Released Korean-language albums that hit #1 globally
- Just returned from a 4-year hiatus (all 7 members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service)
Their Latest Album: Arirang (March 2026)
- #1 on Billboard 200 (US main album chart)
- #1 in 23 countries including UK, Germany, Japan
- Sixth Korean-language studio album—proving language is no barrier
Important Points to Remember
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- BTS isn’t boycotting the Grammys out of anger—they’re making a principled stand about how music is categorized.
- The "one song, one category" rule forces a false choice between a new geographic box and the main competitive categories.
- Fans and experts agree: Geography ≠ Genre. "Asian Pop" isn’t a sound—it’s a postal code.
- BTS has already "made it" globally—they don’t need a special category to be seen.
- The debate is bigger than BTS: It’s about whether the Grammys truly value global music equally—or just want to keep it neatly separated.
Summary: What This All Means
BTS didn’t just "snub" an awards show. They held up a mirror to the music industry’s biggest night and asked:
"Why does my music need a special label based on where I’m from?"
The Grammys say they want to celebrate Asian artists. But by creating a category that isolates them from the main stage, they may have done the opposite.
BTS’s response? Dignified. Clear. And very, very on-brand.
They’ll keep making music. They’ll keep breaking records. And they’ll keep proving that great music doesn’t need a passport.
FAQ: Your Questions, Answered
1. Is BTS boycotting the Grammys forever?
Not necessarily. They said "this year" (for the 2027 ceremony). If rules change—or if the category structure evolves—they could submit in the future.
2. Can BTS still win a Grammy without submitting?
No. You must submit your work to be considered. By not submitting, they’ve removed themselves from all 2027 Grammy consideration.
3. Why does the "one category per song" rule matter so much?
Because BTS was previously nominated in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (a major, general category). If they enter the new Asian Pop category, they give up their shot at the general one. It’s an either/or trap.
4. Do other artists support BTS?
Many fans, critics, and scholars do. The conversation has sparked wider debate about how the Grammys categorize non-Western music—and whether "regional" categories help or hurt.
5. What happens to the new Asian Pop category now?
It will still exist at the 2027 Grammys. Other artists will submit. But without the biggest Asian act in history, the category launches under a cloud of controversy.
Want to dive deeper? Watch BTS’s acceptance speeches at past awards shows—they’ve been talking about "music without borders" for years. This didn’t come out of nowhere. It came from a decade of proving it.
